Wash the eggs? Or not?

[bigredpres]

Two days ago we welcomed into our family 2 BEAUTIFUL 1 year old Barred Rocks. Oh! They're gorgeous!

Well, in less than 48 hours we have 3 eggs. I've read a LOT of conflicting info about how to handle the eggs. So I'm posing this question to my new-found friends here at BYC... should I wash the eggs? Only one egg had a small speck of poop on it. The other two looked (forgive me, I'm new) like they came from the store, i.e. pristine.


If I DO wash, what solution do you recommend? If "dry cleaning" is your preferred method, what tool do you find most convenient and effective?

Super thanks!
Mom to Waffle and Fifi
and 3 kids and a hubby

P.S. OH! And do you refrigerate? Some say no, some say yes. What do y'all recommend?

 

[chickened]

I assume they are for eating so here goes, 140 degree water or less but warmer than the ambient temperature no soap or detergents just water and a scrubbie. Now for hatching my favorite alltime method... don"t wash the hen doesn't. I just do my best to keep them clean.

 

[andalusn]

The vet and I had this discussion just the other day.. good old soap & water with a touch of bleach is fine. Since I have cracked egg accidents(shell in the bowl) I like to know I did my best to make sure they are clean for cooking.

 

[Dutchess]

Quote:
First of all...Welcome!

you've come to the right place with questions!

Most of the time my eggs are not dirty, but if they are, just some warm water. And I don't refrigerate, they are good without refrigeration for approx. 30 days and our eggs are all eaten before they are ONE WEEK old!

 

[gavinandallison]

Congrats on the Barred rocks.... We have 4 BR hens, get eggs everyday. If they have poop on them I wipe it gently with warm water, otherwise I leave them alone as the have a natural bloom on them (an oil) which preserves them. Other than that I just crack the eggs and use them, but I do tell people when I give them eggs that they are unwashed. As a nation we have gotten obsessed with anticeptic wipes and cleaning everything to be 100% sanitized, which is not natural....

 

[cluckin_crazy]

My girls generally don't poop in the nest box, so my eggs usually only have some pine shaving stuck to them. If I can brush that off easily with my fingers or by rubbing it on my jeans, I will only run them under water and set them on a towel to dry before I put them in the carton. If there is some mud or poo or blood, they get the green kitchen scrubber but again, only with water. I'm a firm believer in needing exposure to germs otherwise you won't ever be able to fight anything. It's like self-vaccination, sort of...