How do you clean your egg shells?

[Schroeder]

I understand the benefit of the bloom, and don't wash the eggs my family eats. I can't imagine buyers wanting eggs with ANY foreign matter on them though. If you're taking dozens of eggs to a farmers market, doesn't it make sense to wash them all off first?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I don't wash but wipe any dirty ones too. That way the cartoons stay clean. Those that are given away or sold are always the naturally clean. I tell them they are unwashed so they can rinse and scrub em before cracking open if they want.

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Exactly--use warm water though as it should be warmer than the egg. If I get an especially dirty egg, I thoroughly wash it, put it in the refrig and use it first. I collect egg boxes and reused them all the time. Yesterday we took 24 doz, to the local food bank and they gave me about as many empty boxes in return.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Exactly--use warm water though as it should be warmer than the egg. If I get an especially dirty egg, I thoroughly wash it, put it in the refrig and use it first. I collect egg boxes and reused them all the time. Yesterday we took 24 doz, to the local food bank and they gave me about as many empty boxes in return.

This is what I do, and probably what most on here do; this topic comes up often on here.

 

[stilldeb]

Ours are almost always completely clean. I put them in the frig and wash them off right before I use them. We reuse cartons and take extras to the food co-op where we buy groceries.

deb g
KY

 

[Talihofarms]

Clean nest boxes and collect eggs at least 3 times a day. Since we free range we do get dirty eggs when the ground is muddy.
We wipe with clean rag and if the egg is real dirty wipe with warm paper towel. Customers seem to prefer a slightly dirty egg, they seem to know for sure it is not the average grocery store egg. If the egg is for hatching we only use clean eggs never washed.







just my .02

 

[UrbanGrower]

Quote:
You should always wash the eggs with water that is warmer than the egg, otherwise a partial vacuum is created that tends to suck foreign matter into the egg. Once the egg bloom is removed that egg should be used sooner and should remain refrigerated at around 40 degrees until used. If you are getting dirty eggs on a regular basis you should lay down more straw or whatever litter you are using in areas where they are collecting dirt, it'll be worth it. Smaller spots are better to be wiped off with a damp towel as others have stated.

 

[junglebird]

Since I discovered one of my hens hoarding her eggs under a bush and trained her to the nesting boxes, I haven't had any dirty eggs either. I think their hop up to the pop door, and the deep litter method flooring pretty well cleans their feet off by the time they get to the nesting boxes.

When I interned on a farm that didn't have running water near the coop, we used a little piece of fine sandpaper to scrape off chunks of dirt/poo on the eggs.

ddawn, thanks for mentioning taking eggs to the food bank - that's a great idea!

 

[elizabethbinary]

In Food Health and Safety class we were taught to never EVER wash an egg with water because the pourousness of the egg became vulnerable and everything from the outside (the invisible stuff anyway) goes into the egg. I was also taught never to refrigerate them unless I never planned on warming them up again - which I notice is not similar to American studies at all.

I wipe mine with a dry microfibre rag or just explain to people how it works and why I don't clean. I also get the eggs 3-5x a day to keep them clean.

 

[CPW Chicks]

Most of our eggs come out clean but if the egg is dirty we use a dry paper towel to wipe it. Never wash because it removes the bloom that protects the egg from bacteria getting in. If someone you are giving or selling eggs to questions it you can always tell them to look it up because they will see washing eggs is discouraged.