Suits, coats, and gloves for beekeeping are essential components of safety gear. They can supply long-lasting and effective sting prevention if you take care of them and maintain them properly. It's essential that your protective gear is not invincible, so we thought we'd share some basic maintenance suggestions to try and ensure your kit is resilient and offers you the greatest possible ongoing protection.
A beekeeping jacket or suit is simple to clean. You should maintain a routine of cleaning your bee's suit or jacket every season following the manufacturer's washing instructions.
Empty pockets and remove the veil: Take off your suit and veil. Make sure to remove anything you might find from your pockets. These pockets become filled with numerous items, including sticks, mud, pine needles, and other debris. Zip up the leg zippers if your suit has them. Likewise, close the front zipper. It protects the zipper from tearing as you wash the suit.
Pretreat Stains: It is a good idea to pretreat the dirtiest areas of the suit before putting it in the washing. Combine warm water, a small amount of laundry detergent, and very little bleach (perhaps 1/4 cup per gallon of water) in a small bucket.
Clean Up the Messiest Areas First: Scrub a little Oxiclean into the dirtiest places with a brush dampened with the pail's contents. Typically, this is the region near the pockets, sleeve ends, and leg cuffs. Place the suit in the washer after treating all of the stains.
We advise you to constantly take extra caution when looking at your veil because bees are quite skilled at squeezing through tight gaps.
As soon as you're clothed, look around for any openings or holes a bee could fit through. Make sure your zippers are closed.The position of your veil is supposed to be forward and away from your face. Bear in mind that, although it's unusual, bees can sting through the fabric, so keep in mind that your skin isn't in contact with your veil.
When not in use, store your suit gently (hanging it up is ideal), and keep it away from sharp things. Keep it out of the way of any insects that devour fabric and avoid storing it underneath heavy objects.
These instructions apply to the majority of beekeeping suits and jackets, regardless of whether the cotton material is stung-resistant/ventilated or not. We have compared the jackets and suits produced by Oz Beekeeping, our own Foxhound Bee Company clothing, Bees & Co., Ultra-breeze, and Mann Lake, and found that they are all quite similarly manufactured and all machine washable. Although the types of vented material vary between brands, they may all be washed in the same manner.
I'll go over how to wash your beekeeper's suit or jacket in the washing machine properly. Here is some basic information about washing different beekeeper clothes.
If you think your beekeeper's suit may use a good cleaning, then follow the washing instruction carefully.
Never use a washing machine to clean a veil. In general, all types of veils must be hand washed. It is necessary to take off the veils before washing the bee suits or bee jackets. Warm running water in a sink has a small amount of detergent added. Wash, rinse, then hang the veil in the sink to dry. Dry by hanging in the shade. Do not tumble dry.
Before cleaning, You can remove the veil from the jacket. It must be using a mild detergent and cool water. Wash the jacket together with your other beekeeping apparel. Avoid washing bee clothing in the washing machine to prevent the other garments from getting stained. Dry by hanging or tumble-drying on low heat.
Before you wash the outfit, thoroughly remove the veil. Wash the suit with your other beekeeping clothing in lukewarm water with a small amount of detergent. Prevent the other clothes from getting stained, and avoid washing bee apparel with others. Dry by hanging out or using a low-heat dryer. It must be air-drying in the shade. Do not tumble dry. Do not use bleach.
To get rid of propolis, wax, and grime, remove the helmet's veil and wipe the entire thing off with a fresh, wet rag. Before restoring the veils, let them air dry.
The leather portions of leather beekeeping gloves will be damaged in the water if you wash them in the washing machine or the sink. It must be hand-washing them in cold water. We do not recommend doing anything else to remove the propolis since many other things you may use could include chemicals that would be dangerous to the bees. You can clean the gloves with a moist cloth to remove debris, but we do not recommend using anything else to remove the propolis. Avoid tumble drying and Avoid using bleach.