Egg washing method

[dogdollar]

I would prefer that every egg I pick up would be spotless, but unfortunately that's not the way it is.

So, here's what I do:

1.) Run tap water at a high temperature that is just approaching uncomfortable for the hands.
2.) In stainless steel mixing bowl, mix 1 teaspoon of bleach with six cups of the hot tap water. Set on the side.
3.) In the sink, hold egg under running water while cleaning debris with "non-scratch (pink)" scotch-brite pad.
4.) When egg is clean, swish it around in the bleach/water bowl to disinfect.If it is a "questionable" egg, I will set it on the bottom of the bowl and release for just a second to make sure it doesn't want to float.
5.) Remove from the bleach solution back under the running water and rinse well.
6.) Dry with a clean, absorbent rag and set on layered paper towels to complete drying and return to room temperature.
7.) Set point side down in clean egg carton and mark collection date on top of egg with a pencil (M17 = Monday the seventeenth)
8.) Refrigerate

Then I put the scotch brite pad and anything I else I have used into the bleach solution for a few minutes to disinfect it all for the next time.

Any of you very experienced egg harvesters see any problems with this?

Please, I know about people not washing their eggs and about the "bloom" and all of that good stuff..........but sometimes I have to wash eggs and this is how I do it, I am just asking for opinions on the method.

Thanks !!
DD

 

[ranchhand]

Wow! I just give them a quick rinse before I use them. I do keep the cartons in order, so older ones are always used first.

Eighteen years of homegrown eggs and no problems yet.

 

[Judy]

Nothing at all wrong with your method. I also wash only when there is poop. I just run the water til it's warmer than the egg, then rinse or rub it til the poop is gone, then air dry in the dish rack and refrigerate. I don't even refrigerate if I will cook it within 48 hours or so, even if I washed it.

Air drying, besides being easier, is actually the preferred method by food handlers. In a commercial kitchen they are not allowed to dry dishes any other way.

 

[purecountrychicken]

Sounds like a lot of work to me. I going to be getting about 9 dozen per day in about 2 month. I would be cleaning eggs all night that way.

 

[dogdollar]

It may seem a bit excessive, but I give eggs to a lady who has a compromised immune system due to chemo and I can't leave anything to chance. By the way, this makes for a very pretty shine on the eggs, too.
DD

 

[Pequena Bandada]

Honestly, I would not use bleach on eggs. Shells are porous and it's possible that bleach could get inside. And that's not something you really want to eat! Of course you need to be extra careful if you're providing eggs to someone who's immuno-compromised... but bleach could do more harm than good (I'd think). The woman isn't going to eat the egg shells, so I don't know why you need to do more than rinse and scrub off the gunk. That said, if you're not comfortable with just water, maybe use a fruit/vegetable wash on the eggs. Those are designed to dissolve organic matter - which is what you'd be trying to remove.

 

[dichotomymom]

I wouldn't use bleach either. I don't wash them immediately unless they have visible poop. I do believe the bloom keeps them fresh longer so until I get a call wanting them, (or using them myself) I wash before they pick them up.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:

I would never use bleach - the whole eggshells being porous thing and my DH does have a compromised immune system.

 

[luvmyhens]

I am new to chickens, but when I asked 2 weeks ago if I should wash them, many of you wrote back and said no washing is necessary because you remove the protective covering on the shell and bacteria will get in through the porous shell. I was told to wash just right before use if you choose to.

Now all this washing on this post. Sooooo what is it to wash or not to wash that is the question.

 

[Nostalchic]

Oh, luvmyhens, if you are expecting consistency on this site, you will be disappointed! The range of opinions on ANY topic is broad, to put it very mildly, and there is sometimes advice that you should consider only with a big hunk of salt. For the most part, well meaning, but very diverse. I'm of the "no wash" contingent myself, and any badly poopy eggs are relegated to the "Icky dog eggs" carton, but those are very few. Keeping the nests clean (meaning no one is sleeping in them and some sort of bedding in front of the nests which I clean up first thing every day) I hardly ever have poopy eggs. Washing eggs dramatically lessens their "seal" from bacteria, even if you use warm water. Mother Earth News did a study about how best to keep eggs, and those put in the refrigerator right from the hen, not washed, not treated in any way, from backyard hens (ie, not big egg farms that do wash their eggs) kept (for "kept", read: bacteria could not get inside the egg from the outside) for months and months with almost no changes in taste or texture.