How many really wash eggs just before use?

[Kezzie]

Quote:
It only protects the egg while the shell is intact. As soon as you crack it, the egg comes in contact with the bacteria on the outside of the shell. My opinion is that they should be washed just before use.

 

[Chickens n' more]

Quote:
I dont wash my eggs unless they are very dirty. Seems to me, that if egg shells are very porous and can absorb things so easily, then when you run water over them, they will only be absorbing some of the "cooties" that you are trying to wash off! When unwashed, they have the protective coating that has kept the "cooties" out of the egg. Just my theory, but I do live in my own little world most of the time.

 

[hikerchick]

Chickens n' more :

Quote:
I dont wash my eggs unless they are very dirty. Seems to me, that if egg shells are very porous and can absorb things so easily, then when you run water over them, they will only be absorbing some of the "cooties" that you are trying to wash off! When unwashed, they have the protective coating that has kept the "cooties" out of the egg. Just my theory, but I do live in my own little world most of the time.

No, you are correct. There is a natural anti cootie shield on the egg.​

 

[Brassmaster]

I guess I have always thought of this from the other side. I tend to rinse my eggs off (not "wash" unless they are obviously poopie) before putting them in the frig, not so much for cleaning the eggs as to not bring the cooties in to the other things in the frig. So far we haven't had any problems. May be unneccesary but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[mountaintopchicken]

My understanding is that you should only wash the eggs in very hot water.

If the contents of the egg are colder than the water, then contact w/ the hot water will cause the contents of the egg to expand, thereby forcing microbes out of the porous shell rather than drawing them in.

If the contents of the egg are warmer than the water used for washing, the microbes will tend to be drawn into the shell.

 

[Equus5O]

On a side note ... which end goes up?

 

[19hhbelgian]

Well, if i didn't rinse my eggs off before putting them away, nobody would let us give them our eggs, let alone actually eat them! My MIL actually wasted a whole carton of wonderful fresh eggs one time (before I educated her

) just because the shell color was blueish green!!

 

[underground chickenman]

I don't wash them before use. I keep clean nest boxes and I get clean eggs. I don't see the point in washing them at any time. If I ever get any that are so dirty they need washing, I will probably just toss them. I am not expecting that.

Egg shells are porous. There is no way that rinsing them under some warm water is going to remove much of anything.

Let's put it in perspective: If you stuck your fingers up your butt, would you be satisfied with a warm water rinse before sticking them in your mouth? Didn't think so. And your fingers aren't porous. Washing eggs isn't going to do much unless you scrub them with soap or a disinfectant just like you would your poopy hands. This is just my opinion. I have no scientific data for this. Just common sense to me.

Sorry for the graphic example, but you get my point.

UGCM

 

[Chickens n' more]

Quote:

 

[Galaxiedriver]

Bloom or no bloom, porous or not, if a hard surface like an egg shell has cooties on it and you rinse it off, hot or cold, I believe far more cooties will be washed off than are absorbed, if indeed a cootie can get through the microscopic pourosity of the shell.

We will wash our eggs. It just seems like the right thing to do.