Cleaning and sterilising honey buckets

[beekake]

So, the nectar is being piled into the hives and it will soon be time to take the first crop. I'm interested to know how forum members clean and sterilise their honey buckets each year.

What- cleaning products?
Process- scrub, soak and air dry?
Storage- how to keep them pristine until extraction?

Or maybe you don't clean them...?! Or just buy new ones each year?! (surely not!)

 

[REDWOOD]

I wash them out before storing them and then re wash them before use with anti bacterial washing up liquid solution then rinse them out with clean water and dry them with paper towels

 

[beekake]

More or less what I do! Although I was looking at some home brew sites the other day and there is a range of chemicals you can use to make your fermenting buckets sparkly clean...I suppose I was wondering if the KISS approach is enough, or whether there are more fastidious techniques!

 

[Tdc1]

I was having the same thoughts about sterilising plastic buckets etc and was considering sterilising solutions used for baby's bottles as I use the stuff for cleaning my sports water bottles and it's done me no harm (so far).

 

[beekake]

Is that Jeyes? I looked at that but wondered if it might require a washing temperature that is not good for the plastic buckets.

 

[beekake]

I meant Milton!

 

[Swarm]

It's Milton, definitely not Jeyes!!!

 

[alanf]

...I was looking at some home brew sites the other day and there is a range of chemicals you can use to make your fermenting buckets sparkly clean...

Most of the brewing cleaners (Bruclens etc) are basically washing soda. One kg packs are cheaper at the supermarket. Use for washing buckets, filters, extractors etc as well as cleaning your hive tool and gloves.

 

[psafloyd]

So, the nectar is being piled into the hives and it will soon be time to take the first crop. I'm interested to know how forum members clean and sterilise their honey buckets each year.

What- cleaning products?
Process- scrub, soak and air dry?
Storage- how to keep them pristine until extraction?

Or maybe you don't clean them...?! Or just buy new ones each year?! (surely not!)

I wash them with soda before stacking and putting away with the lids and top of buckets wrapped in cellophane.

Then I wash them again when they come out.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I meant Milton!

Works fine but leaves a bleachy smell afterwards so I always rinse well if using that

 

[peterbees]

I wash 30 pound plastic honey buckets one at a time in the dishwasher on a 40 deg C fast wash, same for all my new honey jars, 50 at a time.

 

[bontbee]

Works fine but leaves a bleachy smell afterwards so I always rinse well if using that

A long time ago when I did my dissertation, I discovered that equipment had to be rinsed eight times in distilled water to ensure that all traces of a washing solution were removed....

Happy rinsing!!

 

[beekake]

Blimey! That'll hit the water meter pretty hard then. Maybe sterilising then using a dishwasher to rinse would be the way to go.

 

[bontbee]

I don't rinse 8 times in distilled water eight times either. Four or so in hot tap water is enough for me!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Heavens!
Mine get a hot wash in Ecover and a rinse in the sink and are left to drain on the drainer.
None of my customers has been ill..................

 

[bontbee]

ahh, but have you considered the effects that a mild case of obsession can have on the cleanliness of buckets, jars, lids???

 

[REDWOOD]

And don't forget your face mask in case you breath on them,....... don't tell me some of you do

 

[oliver90owner]

Heavens above! Sterilising! Whatever next!

As Erichalfbee. Clean dry and empty is good enough. Honey has been collected by bees as nectar from all sorts of plants, contains yeasts and other microbes. Extracted from softwood frames in a spinner that was thoroughly cleaned but not washed under sterile conditions. If you would eat off it, it is likely a good enough surface (well, OK, not for some!)

Honey is, by nature, pretty well anti-bacterial. Good basic hygiene is what you need to follow. 40 degree washing is never going to sterilise anything. I wash my jars and dry them at 125 degrees (autoclav temperature) but buckets are simply thoroughly cleaned. They may go through a 60+ degree dishwasher cycle. I sanitise my fermenting buckets, to avoid nasty infections, for wine but the contents of the musts are not all pasteurised before use. The buckets are never completely sterile, of course. Just not achievable in domestic surroundings.

Nobody ever seen bees collecting water? The bees walk over brood frames and capped honey cells all the time. As I said, good hygiene is what is needed.

 

[BeeJayBee]

I wash ex-mayonnaise buckets with warm soapy water, then rinse with a bicarb solution to get rid of any lingering aroma. Easy!