How to Wash Fresh Eggs & Store Them: The Ultimate Guide

One of the best parts about raising backyard chickens is collecting and enjoying fresh eggs. And, if you’re wondering how to wash fresh eggs, you’re in the right place! This guide will tell you what steps you need to take to safely clean your eggs, how to store them, and other essential tips.

Properly cleaning your eggs is essential for ensuring they’re safe to eat and delicious. While there are several ways people clean their eggs, we’re going to share what your options are and what we’ve found is the best way.

What is the safest way to wash fresh eggs?

When it comes to how to wash fresh eggs, the steps you take are crucial. You want to make sure you avoid using harmful chemicals, wash with warm water, and let your eggs completely dry. While you may be eager to run and wash your eggs as soon as you collect them, you’ll actually wait until you’re ready to eat them.

Below, you’ll find the exact steps for how to clean fresh eggs safely.

How to Wash Fresh Eggs

While washing eggs is a careful process, there’s just a few steps to follow before you can make your next tasty egg recipe.

• Dry wipe clean
• Store unwashed eggs
• Wash in warm water
• Gently dry
• Check for cracks
• Enjoy!

Let’s take a look at the process so you can be on your way to enjoying your fresh eggs!

Dry Wipe Clean

As soon as you collect your eggs, you can gently dry wipe them clean. This will eliminate any excess dirt until you’re ready to wash with water and use them.

*Tip: If you collect eggs often and keep your coop clean by refreshing the bedding and getting rid of droppings regularly, your eggs shouldn’t be too dirty.

Interested in tracking your daily egg count? Check out this chicken-keeping logbook!

Store Unwashed Eggs

You may be surprised to hear this, but until you’re ready to use your fresh eggs, you won’t do anything else to them. That’s right! You actually shouldn’t wash your eggs with water right after you collect them, so you’ll just store them until then.

The reason you won’t wash your eggs before you’re ready to use them is that there’s a coating on the eggs that prevent bacteria from entering. You don’t want to wash this off prematurely.

Storing chicken eggs is simple! All you need to do is place your eggs in a chicken egg holder like this one. Then, you can store them at room temperature or in the refrigerator. While many people think eggs must be refrigerated, it’s perfectly safe to leave them out for up to a couple of weeks.

Do you like to share your eggs with family and friends?

If you’re collecting and preparing your eggs to share, you may prefer to wash them beforehand. If you do, make sure you let them thoroughly dry before placing them in their chicken egg holder. You can gently pat them dry, then let them finish air-drying. Or, you can suggest the recipient wash them with warm water before using them.

Egg stamps are a fun way to decorate eggs that will sit out or be shared!

Wash in Warm Water

When you’re ready to use your eggs, it’s time to wash them! A hot topic about how to wash fresh eggs is whether or not to use soap or another cleaning solution. Since there’s no must-do technique, we’ll share with you a few ways you can wash your eggs and our go-to method.

• Warm water only: Wash your eggs with warm water only. It’s said that since egg shells are porous, chemicals and other substances can enter. Keep in mind that the eggs’ pores are tiny.
• Gentle soap: Wash your eggs with a gentle soap, then rinse with warm water. Avoid fragrances as the eggs can take on an off-flavor.
• Diluted bleach: Place a very small amount of bleach into a bowl or bucket of warm water, dunk the eggs, then rinse with warm water.

So, what method do we use? We prefer using warm water only. Remember that a warm water temperature is key no matter which method you go with. The water should be warmer than the egg to push away any contaminants from the eggs’ pores. The warmer, the better.

Gently Dry

To prevent foodborne illnesses, it’s essential to make sure your eggs are completely dry before storing them. But, since we suggest not washing your eggs until you’re ready to use them, they don’t need to be completely dry. If you want to dry them, do so gently.

Check for Cracks

Of course, you want to check for any cracks before using your eggs. Sometimes, there are tiny, barely visible hairline cracks, so make sure you look closely. If you find any that do have cracks, toss them out to avoid consuming any harmful bacteria.

Enjoy!

Once your eggs are nice and clean, it’s time to enjoy them. What’s your favorite way to have eggs? Let us know in the comments below!

Final Thoughts on How to Wash Fresh Eggs

If you follow the simple steps we’ve shared for how to wash fresh eggs, your eggs should be good to go! The best way to ensure your eggs are clean is by keeping clean nesting boxes and collecting eggs often.

If you’re curious about which chicken breeds are best for producing eggs, check out this article!