Recipe
Per hive:
- 1 Swedish Dishcloth
- 40g Glycerin
- 40g Oxalic Acid
Note: Randy Oliver's experiments range from 30g to 50g OA per hive.
Prep
Best do this in a sheltered outdoor area with no wind, or perhaps in the garage. Oxalic Acid is toxic... I would recommend not doing this in the kitchen or indoors. If you are outside, be careful about the OA blowing around. It is a similar consistency to granulated sugar, so a gust of wind would tend to blow it around, making for a hazardous workspace and more involved cleanup.
1. Cut the Swedish Dishcloths in half.
2. Prep your storage container - I use a heavy-duty Ziploc bag, and roll back the top so it stays open for easier insertion of the finished pads.
3. Put on your eye protection, gloves, and mask.
4. Put about an inch of water in the deeper pan, and bring it to a boil.
5. Put the shallower pan on the digital scale, set it grams, and tare it.
6. Slowly pour in the glycerin to the computed weight (40g x number of treatments).
7. Tare the scale.
8. Carefully add the Oxalic Acid to the computed weight (40g x number of treatments).
9. Put the shallow pan in the boiling deep pan. Use the tongs or a spoon to stir the mixture. Stir occasionally and wait until the mixture is clear, and all the OA is dissolved.
10. Turn off the stove.
11. Insert the Swedish Dishcloth halves, and use the tongs to gently move them around until all of the OA mixture has been absorbed by the towels.
12. Place the OA pads into your storage container, seal, and rinse off the outside and your gloves to remove any residual OA.
13. Thoroughly rinse off all your equipment outside.