Good point about the vinegar--I haven't dyed eggs since I was a child, so I didn't remember the exact procedure. I do want to hear how that goes, although my experience has led me to believe it's best not to wash at all.
When I was first starting, I had only three laying hens and they didn't all lay every day, so I had to save ALL my eggs for several days to get a decent hatch. Now I get between six and eight eggs a day, so I can pick and choose a bit. I simply choose eggs that aren't that dirty to begin with for hatching, and wash & eat those that are filthy.
As an aside, that is why I charge more for hatching eggs than for eating eggs--I choose the best (as well as cleanest) eggs for hatching, and the rest go in the fridge (really filthy eggs I wash before refrigerating, the rest I leave). Something to consider for folks who want to buy "eating eggs" at eating prices, and then hatch them--if you're buying from a breeder who handles their eggs like I do, you may not be getting as good a deal as it sounds like, lol.
If your eggs are really filthy (and mine were the first year, but I still set them dirty, and they still hatched better than when I washed), you can try putting a golf ball or ping pong ball in the nesting area, with TONS of fresh straw. This really helped encourage my girls to lay in the nests, and most of my eggs are now clean when I pull them. Still some are laid in the mud (or poop--ew!), or the hen manages to dig the nest deep enough to get the eggs dirty, but it does help.
