clean the eggs? or not?

CoffeeCow

Songster
9 Years
Apr 29, 2010
331
14
121
Washington, NC
my ladies are going to be laying soon (i hope), and I have read that you are not supposed to wash the eggs, that there is some protective something-or-other that you don't want to wash off....

Is this true? I am sure that there will be all kinds of ... erm.... unwanted materials.. on the eggs... so, wash em' or not?
and if its "wash em'", how?

thanks folks
smile.png
 
We don't wash them until just before eating. If applicable, we do wipe off anything that can be cleaned without water. Dirty eggs are not give away or sold.
 
I will "spot clean" if necessary (which isn't too often) but I never do a full clean until they are to be used. ETA: If your nesting boxes are clean, then your eggs will be clean too.

Yes there is a protective bloom on the egg, and it keeps bacteria from penetrating the egg. They will keep longer unwashed because of the bloom.
 
Last edited:
When the hen lays the egg she secretes a filming covering called a "bloom". If you can get out there right when she lays the eggs you can see and feel it. This protects the egg from incursion of bacteria. If the bloom is not washed off, the egg will remain fresh for 3 months or more. If the egg is washed this period is reduced to 3 weeks.

I therefore do not wash most of my eggs. I have a CSA where I inform my members that the eggs will usually not be washed and that they should not wash them until just before eating, at which time they should use only a warm water rinse.

I collect the eggs 3 times a day and keep the nest boxes as clean as possible. If an egg is quite dirty I either wash it or use sandpaper.
Otherwise I leave it alone.

During the recent egg recall it was mentioned that some supermarket eggs did not need to be recalled as they were OVER FOUR MONTHS OLD! These were eggs that had been washed with chlorine so they should really not have been sold after one month. This means that most of the eggs sold in the stores are way past the date they should be sold given the fact that they are washed.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom