# Soiled Eggs: Do you wash and how? Or not?



## GoatLady129 (Jan 2, 2014)

We change the hay in the coop weekly, and they do not sleep in the nest box but it seems our girls just tend to be messier some times more than others. What do you all do for those soiled eggs? As a rule we do not wash them for personal use because we know how beneficial that bloom is, but I sold some this past weekend and those who don't own chickens are more difficult to convince that keeping them in their "natural" state keeps them fresher longer. We do scrape off any obvious hardened on "stuff" with a dry scrub sponge, but I've had people ask me about washing. I honestly don't know what the best thing to tell them because I never wash mine. What do you all do that works for you? Obviously I've heard opinions from both sides, just curious how everyone else handles it. I certainly don't want anyone getting sick from my eggs because of improper handling!

Thanks!


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## LoriH (Jan 12, 2014)

I wash the ones that I sell under lukewarm running water. I agree its best to leave them with the bloom on but like you say ....Non-chicken people can't seem to appreciate this and want them to look like the grocery store eggs.


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## GoatLady129 (Jan 2, 2014)

Do you add an olive oil coating or anything after washing?


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

I keep the really messy ones for myself. The others I just simply tell my customers....I don't wash eggs because there is a special oil on them that will keep them fresh. I'm lucky tho that most of my customers have a farm background and understand.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Give customers what they are used to seeing. Clean washed eggs. Don't put anything on the eggs because it wouldn't be normal to them.


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## GoatLady129 (Jan 2, 2014)

ksalvagno said:


> Give customers what they are used to seeing. Clean washed eggs. Don't put anything on the eggs because it wouldn't be normal to them.


Karen, do you have a method that works well for you? I've seen MANY different ways to do it. Some involving washes and sanitizing dips...


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## Frosty (Feb 13, 2010)

I wash mine under warm running water some I use a little scrubby pad on they are so bad. The ladies in my neighbor hood say I have the best tasting eggs around. Don't know why they say that but I am glad they do they keep coming back for more.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I just used a plastic scrub pad and dish soap. Maybe not the best but the eggs were clean like everyone liked. I would rinse off the poop then wash the egg then rinse it and let it dry. I wasn't interested in going crazy.


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## glndg (Feb 8, 2013)

"My mother always told me"....not to wash a chicken egg, use sandpaper to lightly sand off the soiled part.

http://www.urbanchickens.net/2008/06/how-to-clean-urban-chicken-eggs.html


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## SeventeenFarms (Dec 10, 2013)

I put the eggs in the sink and cover them with cold water. I look to see if any "float" and then I wash them with a sponge and carefully rinse the eggs in cold water, but not until someone is ready to come pick them up. That way I am leaving the natural coating on for as long as possible. I don't use a sanitizer and in all these years- knock on wood- I have never had a problem. I do have a few customers that know fresh eggs and don't want them washed, but I have found out that many who ride the "fresh and local" wave still expect them to look like they came from the supermarket. I know this goes a little off thread, but I have one person who wants them perfectly washed and every time goes through the carton one by one asking me which eggs were laid which day...


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

For sale eggs, I use baby wipes on any that are obviously dirty (and we keep laying ducks as well as chickens - there's no such thing as a clean duck egg!). If they are badly soiled they go to the dog; if cleaned but stained, in the "family use" carton. Then they go right into the fridge. My understanding is that you can remove the bloom without harm, but if you do they must stay refrigerated. Also if you do use water you must be sure to use water that is warmer than the egg.


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

I wash before use with warm water and dishsoap. I tell the people I give eggs to, to wash before use. No one has a problem with it, but I also give them the cleanest looking eggs. I've been thinking of selling at the little farmer market in town and I think I'd wash them before selling. They're fine that way if they're refridgerated and that's what most people do with their eggs anyway.


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## Greybird (May 14, 2014)

Whether or not you should wash eggs, and how you should do it, depends on what you intend to do with them.
If you want your eggs to hatch then it's usually better if you don't wash them at all, *but* there are some situations where it's better to slightly reduce the chances for any one individual egg in order to increase the chances for the entire group. So, with large capacity incubators, hatching eggs should be very gently washed and then disinfected.

I won't go into the disinfecting process, but there is one rule of thumb which _always_ applies when you are washing eggs, whether you want to hatch them or eat them:

*Always use water that is a little bit warmer than the eggs you are washing.*

The reason for this is that egg shells are porous as well as rigid. When you wash an egg in warm water it causes the liquid inside to expand, and that increases the pressure inside to force the bacteria and other contaminants out of the shell so they can be better washed away. 
If you wash an egg in water that's colder than the liquid inside it then the opposite happens: it creates a vacuum and pulls the dirt and bacteria deeper into the shell.

Personally, I won't wash "for food" eggs until right before I eat them, and if they're really filthy I toss them in the trash. (Our dogs would happily eat them, but OMG ... the gas!)
If I were going to sell them then I would wash them very quickly in warm water only - no soap or scrubbing - in order to preserve as much of the bloom as possible.
If they were too dirty to come clean with that limited amount of cleaning then I would keep them for my own use.

One more thing:
Eggs should always be stored with the pointed end down! They will stay fresh for a lot longer this way.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

I don't wash them at all. I've heard that leaving the bloom on them helps with preservation. I am able to keep my eggs at room temperature for months without a decrease in quality. No clue if that's true if you wash them or not.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It still comes down to what your customer will buy. So do what you need to do to make your customers happy. You know they store their eggs in the refrigerator and probably don't keep them more than a couple weeks. Too many fussy city people.


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