# Do you wash food with Soap? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2025, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771 "2025-10-08T06:38:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/21 "2025-10-08T17:43:21Z")
Never soap myself and even my rinsing is seldom and only on a need-to basis. For example, if the cilantro is too sandy or a few gross blueberries fuzzslimed their neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/22 "2025-10-08T17:55:40Z")
No. Realistically, we survived for millenia in very low hygiene environments and, unless you are very old and sickly, we’re generally able to safely handle most every-day bacterial exposure. It may even be slightly good for us to have low-level exposure to such things, so that we maintain a level of immunity. > [@Velocity](#): > > I almost never do, because the risk of ingesting soap seems higher, this way, than the risk of pesticide (after a water-only rinse.) For the record, it seems that the British had a habit of not rinsing soap off their dishes after cleaning, due to their weird hot/cold double-spigot, for a period of several decades (with some continuing to do it today). I’m doubtful that it had any significant impact on their longevity. Certainly, they live longer than us so there’s worse things out there. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/23 "2025-10-08T18:00:58Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Some pesticides are systemic — they’re all through the plant. You can’t wash those off. Thank you for adding that. I had heard that, but never looked it up. I never use soap for washing food. I do use a vegetable brush as necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/24 "2025-10-08T18:01:33Z")
Isn’t there food-grade detergent to do this with? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/25 "2025-10-08T18:22:20Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’m doubtful that it had any significant impact on their longevity. Certainly, they live longer than us so there’s worse things out there. For me, I’m not afraid of shortening my life from soap. I am afraid of having immediate negative gastro effects from ingesting soap. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/26 "2025-10-08T18:23:53Z")
It has never even occurred to me to do so. I rinse (at most) and that’s it. Pretty certain nobody in my family uses or has used soap on food. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/27 "2025-10-08T18:35:40Z")
Water and a brush for potatoes. Very seldom do I bother washing anything else unless there is actual dirt that needs removed (looking at you, celery!) ETA: and never with soap. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/28 "2025-10-08T18:40:13Z")
Just water. When we lived in Africa, all produce got a dip in a mild bleach solution, then rinsed with filtered water. You really couldn’t taste the bleach and it killed most everything that might make you sick. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/29 "2025-10-08T18:45:09Z")
If it’s something that has been obviously waxed (cucumbers!) I may use soap. Otherwise I don’t usually - just a quick rinse. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/30 "2025-10-08T18:54:45Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I am afraid of having immediate negative gastro effects from ingesting soap. Fair enough. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/31 "2025-10-08T19:00:00Z")
_Generally_, though, you peel and discard the skin of cucumbers. So who cares if the skin is waxed? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/32 "2025-10-08T19:23:51Z")
I’m with the “never even thought of using soap” crowd. Not a big eater of fresh fruits and veggies anyway, mostly tomatoes (which I rinse in cold water and wipe down with a paper towel) and potatoes (which I scrub with a stiff brush under running water, quite thoroughly if they’re going to be baked, less carefully if they’re just going to be peeled. For most other veggie type things the question is irrelevant for me because I tend to buy a lot of prepared foods, including pre-made salads. Lettuce can be a pain and I use a lot of it for sandwiches, but my lettuce of choice now is a greenhouse-grown Romaine-iceberg hybrid advertised as grown without insecticides, “never touched by human hands”, and “no need to wash”. Maybe I’m too gullible but I take them at their word and I have no horrible diseases yet. ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/33 "2025-10-08T20:33:25Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Never. I have never even thought of the idea of doing that. Me neither. I worked in restaurants for a long time and I never heard of washing food with soap. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/34 "2025-10-08T20:38:37Z")
I keep a spray bottle of vodka in the kitchen. A couple spritz of that and a rinse, and I’m fine. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/35 "2025-10-08T20:52:29Z")
I sometimes add a drop of soap to the water in rinsing my veggies in, and then rinse again with copious fresh water. I’ve never tasted the soap. And usually, I’m to lazy to do that, and just rinse with water. Or don’t even rinse. I guess I’m inconsistent and irrational that way. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/36 "2025-10-08T20:54:34Z")
I got a lot more fussy about food sanitation when my immune system was impaired by being on chemo. Which is something to consider if you or a loved one is on or about to be on chemo. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/37 "2025-10-08T20:55:39Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Isn’t there food-grade detergent to do this with? I recall a product from maybe the 1990s or 2000s that was marketed as a “fruit and vegetable wash” for this purpose. But I have no idea if it’s still on the market. ETA: Googling that phrase turns up several of these products. I think Fit might be the brand I was thinking of, but there are others as well. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/38 "2025-10-08T21:05:15Z")
I’ve seen the food grade soap or detergent in the supermarket produce section. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/39 "2025-10-08T21:17:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I got a lot more fussy about food sanitation when my immune system was impaired by being on chemo. Which is something to consider if you or a loved one is on or about to be on chemo. Yup. I’ve been thinking a lot about that. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771/40 "2025-10-08T22:11:32Z")
NGL seems kinda neurotic to wash food you are going to eat with soap to me. I realize I’m kinda on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to food safety however (I’ll wash salad, but not anything that’s going to be cooked. I mean what is rinsing under the tap gonna do that immersing in boiling water is not?) I also realize this is talking from a position of privilege and being neurotic is actually a very healthy thing if you are immunocompromised. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-food-with-soap/1023771.md?page=3)