Cleaning the Flow frames

Flow Hive
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It was @busso as @AdamMaskew says. He spent hours unblocking it and cleaning the wax off the inside of the machine. His wife was not amused… :blush:

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I agree, it was Busso. After reading what happened with Busso, I definitely wouldn’t be putting flow frames in a dishwasher. I would take @AdamMaskew 's advice & use a pressure cleaner. You can hold the nozzle back a bit until you get more comfortable to get closer. I know my K4 Karcher cleaner does a good job in our paths, but it wont cut grass. My theory is that if it wont cut grass, it probably wont break flow frames.

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I do intend to try the pressure washer. But I do not have the same kind that you guys are talking about. mine is a little more heavy duty than that. It has four different tips that go on the spray wand. Each one equates to a different psi. I will start with the lowest one and stand quite a ways back from the flow frame.

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You could test it on something else polypropylene.

Yogurt containers are mostly “#5 PP” in the US.

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Now it’s my turn to take on an off-season Flow frame cleanup. Thanks for all the tips! Especially grateful for the reminder about @busso’s adventure :joy: Two of my Fframes grew some mildew while waiting patiently in my garden cart under a tarp after the bees were finished with them. I stupidly tapped one against the doorstep to dislodge a beetle and it collapsed into about seven pieces :weary: - so, now I get to have a go at reassembly too!

As do I, buddy - the folks who sold us our house had turned down other offers because those buyers wanted to demolish it and build four houses on the lot. They were holding out for some can-do (semi-delusional) types like us :crazy_face:

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Thanks all for your contributions to this thread. We have been advised by a customer that caustic soda corroded their Flow Frames cables. While it is each beekeeper’s perogative to experiment with different methods, please be aware that our recommendation is to use only hot-ish water to clean your Flow Frames - please see this page of our FAQs for more information on cleaning your frames https://support.honeyflow.com/do-i-need-to-clean-the-flow-frames/