How do you clean your egg shells?

[Ohhhdear]

I put a couple inches of hot water in the sink, add a couple drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid and use that as a soak for a minute, then hand rub them all clean under hot running water. The eggs are air dried on a towel then weighed, dated and cartoned. Since I have only 10-12 eggs a day the job only takes a few minutes.

I don't care about the bloom because I don't keep eggs sitting out once they're cleaned. They're not fertile eggs and will never be incubated.

My customers want clean, refrigerated eggs just like they're used to buying at the grocery store, but healthier and better and "farm fresh". I get all sorts of repeat customers who trust that the eggs I sell are nicer than the ones they can buy commercially. I also sell to the local feed mill and they require the eggs be washed.

I do reuse cartons but only if they're clean and unstained and I can put my own sticker on them without it looking tacky. I have a few foam cartons I use for giving eggs to my relatives and I don't care if I get them back or not. A lot of my customers think I'd like their used egg cartons, so they show up with a couple empties when they buy more eggs. I have many more cartons than I'll use in a year!

 

[coldinnh]

I use 2 TBS of vinegar in HOT (as hot as my hands can stand it) water Vinegar is a natural germ killer

 

[thumper29a]

me to ex
specially in the winter MUD MUD MUD

 

[aoxa]

I'm surprised.. I never wash my eggs unless they are obviously dirty, which they never seem to be :/

 

[P'Fowls]

Hi, I have been raising chickens (silkies) for at least 10 years and have had added lovely free range, organic eggs to my diet. The other day I offered a dozen of these eggs to a new neighbor who asked if I had washed them. Well, yes I had. I said, the eggs was washed under cool running water and brushed with a vegetable brush. Then they go into a box and into the frig. But I had the definite impression that the neighbor imagined a complicated machine in the back of our barn that scrubbed and sterilized egg shells. So how ignorant am I? How do you all clean your eggs for storage or do you clean them at all?

How about reusing egg boxes? Any problems there?

What do you think?

I do mine similar to you but I dont use running water. I just wet my fingers a little and rub the dirty spot then dry them off. The egg shell will soak in water if you leave it under running water to long. I also resuse egg cartons. If the hest is clean, majority of the time the eggs will be to depending on how their laying boxes are out in the weather.

 

[lolita117]

If they are dirty I clean the spots with a little water and a clean wash towel or paper towel otherwise they go straight into my egg cartons. And I reuse egg cartons. I actually made labels to go on my cartons to encourage people to save me their egg cartons cause they aren't cheap (especially the labels I put on them). But I prefer foam cartons because they can be washed. Also once they are in rough shape or are too dirty then I toss them. If eggs are too dirty, the dogs get a tasty treat. But I try to educate people when they ask me about cleaning eggs. I tell them about the bloom and let them know that if they would like they can wash the eggs right before they are going to use them. Most seem to understand.

 

[moonhaus]

I sell eggs at a farmers market in Ohio, and although there are no washing laws here, I wash them with warm water and white vinegar. I also build a little egg jacuzzi that shoots air bubbles through a bucket of water (similar to the incredible egg washer but loads cheaper)

I have heard that you should use water that is about 20 degrees warmer than the eggs because the shell will contract in cold water and can draw in bacteria. Has anyone else heard this?

I have been trying to find a good explanation of how an egg shell works and how it responds to outside temperature, how it absorbs things, etc, but haven't gotten a good answer.

Does anyone know?

 

[jesirose]

I put a couple inches of hot water in the sink, add a couple drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid and use that as a soak for a minute, then hand rub them all clean under hot running water. The eggs are air dried on a towel then weighed, dated and cartoned. Since I have only 10-12 eggs a day the job only takes a few minutes.

I don't care about the bloom because I don't keep eggs sitting out once they're cleaned. They're not fertile eggs and will never be incubated.

My customers want clean, refrigerated eggs just like they're used to buying at the grocery store, but healthier and better and "farm fresh". I get all sorts of repeat customers who trust that the eggs I sell are nicer than the ones they can buy commercially. I also sell to the local feed mill and they require the eggs be washed.

Thanks for this! My state requires eggs be washed before being sold from your own flock, so we do - it's good to hear other people do actually wash too