Washing eggs: Water temperature and egg temperature.

[Hoytman]

I probably should have did a search on this, but I'm pressed for time before I leave this computer behind for the night.

We like to leave our eggs on the counter. We also refrigerate some.

The question I have is:
What temperature water to wash our eggs in if we decide to wash them?

I think I've read that if you wash freshly gathered eggs, then they should be refrigerated. Does the water temp matter given summer or winter?

What about room temperature eggs left on the counter ... what temp water to wash in?

Refrigerated unwashed eggs ... what temp water to wash them in?

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I always washed my unrefrigerated dirty eggs in warm water with a little bit of Dawn soap. Once washed, they need to be refrigerated right away, because the bloom is no longer protecting the egg.

 

[Hoytman]

Doesn't it matter what the temp of the egg is with to start though?

For example, an egg that's nearly frozen, say 34 degrees. Obviously, it makes more sense to let eggs warm up to room temperature. Some say use warm water, some say cold.

Our eggs aren't really dirty at all actually. I'd just crack and eat, but the wife is insisting on washing. My issue is washing in the wrong temps for fear of "pushing" (used loosely) bacteria into the egg through the shell.

My thought process is to use water colder than the temperature of the egg (room temp eggs). I say cold because the egg is warm, the cold water causes the egg to contract therefore tightening the shell and not letting bacteria through.

However, I have read that cold water on a room temperature egg is wrong and that the cold water is worse than warm for letting bacteria in the egg. The conflicting information is exactly why I am asking because I do not know.

Would be nice if someone could post some scientific reasoning which temperature of water to use. I surely don't want to over think it, but I don't want anyone getting sick either.

 

[HatchCraft]

I don't know how scientific my reasoning is, but all the literature I have read on the subject says washing in water colder than the eggs internal temp causes the contents of the egg to contract, creating an internal vacuum and drawing contaminates though the pores of the shell. For hatching purposes, washing while the egg is still warm, soon after being laid, and before the air cell has developed is ideal. Of course most people don't wash hatching eggs.

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Wash in warm water and refrigerate immediately after. You wash off the bloom and it no longer protects the egg. Eggs on the counter unwashed can stay out for a month. Eggs that are washed last up to 6 months in the refrigerator.

 

[imnukensc]

If you wash eggs, the temperature of the water used should be 20F (11C) warmer than the eggs.
This is from 9 CFR 590.515:
(2) The temperature of the wash water shall be maintained at 90 °F or higher, and shall be at least 20 °F warmer than the temperature of the eggs to be washed. These temperatures shall be maintained throughout the cleaning cycle.

 

[The Lazy L]

Warm water and a vegetable brush. Wiped with a clean cloth then into the refrigerator.

 

[Ms Biddy]

110-120F according to this article that I use as a reference.
https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8120.pdf