Kitchen Kapers: DIY Fruit & Veggie Wash
This DIY Fruit and Veggie Wash is a simple way to naturally (and inexpensively) clean your fruit and vegetables. Just one simple ingredient!
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How to Make DIY Fruit & Veggie Wash
A simple 1 ingredient cleaner!
I have been using this simple 1-ingredient cleaning method to wash my fruit and vegetables for years. It’s as easy as filling a sink with water and vinegar, then adding your fresh produce to soak. Inexpensive, easy and effective!
How do I know my fruit and vegetables are clean?
All you have to do is look at the water. It’s dirty. Brownish and with pieces of wax and debris from the produce.
After soaking, why do some of my fruits and vegetables have a white layer on them?
When you get produce from the market it’s always shiny, and the vinegar from this wash dissolves most of that shiny layer, and what you are seeing is just the remnants of that.
Will my fruits and vegetables taste like vinegar?
No. If you rinse well, there is no vinegar taste. Even in the berries.
Let’s talk about berries.
You can use this cleaning method to wash berries as well. You just can’t let them soak as long as you would apples or oranges. I will only soak mine for about 5 minutes or so. Rinse well.
Fruit and Veggie Wash Tips:
- Ratio: Basic cleaning ratio of 1 cup vinegar to 4 cups water.
- Vinegar: Use regular white household vinegar.
- Soaking: You can make this wash and soak your produce in your clean kitchen sink, or feel free to use a bucket.
- Scrubbing: Feel free to lightly scrub your produce with the vinegar/water solution after it has soaked. This will get rid of any remaining wax and dirt.
- Rinsing: Make sure to rinse your produce well after soaking in the vinegar/water solution.
- Drying: After rinsing, lay your produce out to dry on a clean tea towel.
Clean. Ready to eat fruit and vegetables.
DIY Fruit and Veggie Wash
Ingredients
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 sink filled with lukewarm water
Instructions
- Make sure your sink is very clean. Or if you wish, use a large clean bucket.
- Fill a sink halfway with lukewarm water.
- Add 1 cup of white vinegar.
- Mix.
- Add your fruit. Don't over fill your sink with fruit.
- Soak for about 10 minutes (shorter for berries - about 2 - 5 minutes).
- Rinse well.
- The Result: Clean fruit.
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Here are 10+ way to use vinegar in your home– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
hey! what a helpful post! you mentioned mainly fruit, but can i put my veggies in there too? what about lettuce? you think the vinigar would stay in the leaves and taste funny?
Thank you! I am very happy that you found it useful! I use it for a lot of my veggies – things like cucumbers, peppers, that kind of thing. I’ve never used it for things like lettuce or celery – so I’m not sure about those – I would be a bit worried these types of veggies would taste vinegary.
I hope that helps!
Jo-Anna
I’ve seen on some other websites that give the same vinegar/water ratio and they say for lettuce, separate the leaves and swish them around in the water then rinse quickly, don’t let them sit in there for more than a minute and dry as best you can before putting them away because the water will cause them to wilt faster. And for celery, simply put it in for a couple minutes, I’d recommend less than 5. And always rinse very well and let dry properly and you won’t have any vinegar taste at all.
Oh and when it comes to berries, even raspberries, the easiest and safest way I’ve found to clean them is to put them in a collander before dipping them in the mix and rinsing them, that way you don’t bruise them or anything. Just give them a few swishes in the mix and then gently toss them to get them all rinsed off in the water.
I soak them, but leave them in the container they came in.
Have you tried strawberries in this mixture? I can’t wait to start cleaning my fruit this way!
I have, but I don’t soak them. I just quickly wash them in the mix, and rinse really well! The water after strawberries is SO dirty! 😉
Jo-Anna
Just found the posts about strawberries. THanks, but will the berries last in the fridge for any length of time after the soaking? THanks, Denise. Just discovered your great blog!
What about oranges, lemons, limes, etc?
Definitely! It’s amazing for citrus fruit! You can see the wax that comes off of them, floating in the water after they have soaked!
Jo-Anna
Vinegar kills bacteria and mold. Your fruit will last days longer. I also have a spray bottle of vinegar water mix.
Has anyone tried this on vegetables as well such as potatoes, carrots, baby carrots (already peeled & cut), etc? Thank you.
I haven’t, but if I did, I would use it as a wash, not a soak. I would just quickly wash them in the solution, then rinse really well.
Jo-Anna
Hey nice post, I have question though, do you think the wash takes out the pesticides too?
Thanks! That’s a good question, and unfortunately I don’t really have an answer. My guess is that this wash helps to remove some residual pesticides on the surface of the fruits, but not all of it. A lot of pesticides end up in the fruit too, so it’s almost impossible to remove them. Every little bit helps, but organic is best.
Jo-Anna
Grapefruit seed extract removes pesticides.
Does Apple Cider Vinegar work?
Hi! I’ve never tried it, but I’m sure it would!
Jo-Anna
I just tried the apple cider vinegar soak with my grapes which I was originally disgusted with and after soaking them it was like eating organic produce. Thank you for the info.
Fabulous tip. Thanks so much for sharing
I just used this today…but didn’t see any “icky” stuff floating around…not sure if there just wasn’t that much on the fruit (apples & grapes, carrots & peppers). I had a hard time keeping everything submerged, so I took my larger cutting board & placed it on top to keep everything down. Worked great! Thanks for the awesome tip!
Just make sure your sink is super clean before doing this. Sinks are one of the dirtiest, bacteria carrying places in our home. Thanks for your tip. I’ll be using this will my delicious summer fruit!
Definitely.
What would the best way to make sure your sink is clean with out using soap?.
Do you have a good way to clean the sink with out soap?
I use a vinegar/water solution and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, then I use hot soapy water to clean out the sink.
Jo-Anna
In your vinegar/water solution that you use to clean the sink, what ratio of water to vinegar do you use?
I will definately use this mixture to wash my fruit!! But, instead of using the sink, I’m using a lg square wash basin. Then I store it away and only use it for cooking purposes.:)