# How much filtering/screening of raw honey is normal?



## frustrateddrone (Jan 31, 2015)

I don't sell honey. I do know if you let your honey settle and drain off the bottom you'll be fine. I have no filters. I do crush and strain it through a wire mesh. Let it settle and then draw from the spout. As for the body, it's all good and makes it better. Nothing wrong with pollen and wax if you get a piece of it in the honey. 
Just curious as to how much honey you have to be selling it. I have a long list of people that I have gifted to have a surplus is incredible.
Most don't understand that just the glassware that they hold cost me money. They just look at the honey and are marveled. Myself I am marveled in the response I get and that's enough. It's hard work getting to where I am.


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## cconnell (Mar 5, 2017)

I was very surprised to get any honey this first year, but it's been a good season here. I estimate I have about 35 - 40 pounds. It's more than I can use; I will give some away to family and a couple of friends, but a lot of people are offering to buy, so I will sell.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Have been extracting thru a Mann Lake honey sieve into 5-gallon buckets. Each bucket eventually gets put thru the sieve a second time as it goes into the bottling bucket. The honey sieve has a 420 micron sieve at the bottom. Plenty big enough to let pollen thru.


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## jooky (Mar 18, 2016)

once, metal sieve


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## TPalmer (Jun 11, 2012)

I use the 600 mesh bucket insert then set the metal strainer on top. The metal one catches the wax which I scrape off as I go. I put the 600 insert in the bucket to keep any stray cat hairs ( I have three) or airborne dust getting to the honey in the bucket. Also, I know if I fill to the bottom of the insert it will give me about 50lbs.


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## IslandLife (Apr 14, 2015)

I think that in industry parlance anything that’s allowed to drain through your filter mesh (via gravity) is considered “straining” and not filtering. Filtering is what China does with high pressure presses through very fine filter material to remove all pollen and/or evidence of country of origin ...


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## rachelstinson07 (Oct 23, 2017)

I mention that pollen grains are smaller than 200 micrometers and thus a filter with openings larger than that should not remove pollen. Filtering until the honey is fine enough to use is good for it.


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

You will get all types of answers. For me settling works best I do run it through a 5 gallon paint strainer for bee parts.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I just run it through the stainless steel double strainer that most of the supply places sell. I doubt you would measure it in microns...


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