# \[Washing\] Fruit **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245 "2012-11-16T21:09:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pacific420](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Pacific420](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pacific420)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/1 "2012-11-16T21:09:36Z")
I always wash my apples before eating them but I wonder if it does any good. I use plain cold water so it’s more a rinse than a wash. Seeing people paw through the bins and not knowing what the apples have been exposed to I wonder what you folks do. Do you wash your fruit and if so how do you do it? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/2 "2012-11-16T21:13:43Z")
Since this is seeking opinions, let’s move it to IMHO. Title edited to indicate subject. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/3 "2012-11-16T22:37:11Z")
The best way according to [this NPR article](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14540742) is with a dilute vinegar solution, but it also notes " . . . water can remove 98 percent of bacteria when it’s used to rinse and soak produce." I don’t eat much fruit myself, but when I do, I usually just use running water to rinse, and then dry with a paper towel. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/4 "2012-11-16T23:51:57Z")
My immune system washes the apple after I swallow it. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/5 "2012-11-17T00:18:45Z")
> [@VanIsleScott](#): > > Seeing people paw through the bins and not knowing what the apples have been exposed to… I’d be interested in evidence that pathogens can persist on apples. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/6 "2012-11-17T00:27:26Z")
I live on the wild side; I just eat the fruit. Nothing’s happened so far…:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/7 "2012-11-17T00:39:18Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > My immune system washes the apple after I swallow it. Same here. I rarely wash fruit before eating it. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/8 "2012-11-17T00:49:37Z")
Not usually. Also the “5 second rule” when something falls on the ground, has been extended to… “eh…looks fine to me!” I does depend on where it fell, I suppose. My stomach acids have killed everything so far. I live on an even wilder side than **Ambivalid**. ---
**Author:** ![turtledove\_river](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@turtledove\_river](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtledove_river)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/9 "2012-11-17T00:52:22Z")
I always wash fruit before eating it. Apples, grapes, mangoes, even oranges. It’s really just to wash off any dirt on them. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/10 "2012-11-17T01:20:45Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I’d be interested in evidence that pathogens can persist on apples. A Google search for “contaminated apples” gives over 4 million results, including recalls, mainly due to listeria but e. coli and salmonella are also found (salmonella is actually a [plant pathogen](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0024112); it infects the plant cells themselves, not just a contaminant, the same bacteria infect animals as well). Anyway, I don’t really think about this when I eat apples, or other fruit and vegetables, as long as it doesn’t _look_ dirty (and as far as I know, I never got sick from it). ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/11 "2012-11-17T04:30:54Z")
I like to keep my immune system on it’s toes. Most store bought produce is free of dirt and debris, so I rarely bother to wash any except potatoes. Farmers market or garden picked gets washed after harvesting to remove any field dirt, but I’ve never gone as far as trying to disinfect any. ---
**Author:** ![Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curiosity_Kills_Her)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/12 "2012-11-17T05:15:52Z")
Hell yes I wash it, and with the hottest water that will come out of the tap. Sometimes I even use some dish soap for good measure. Not washing fruit and veggies is disgusting. Anecdotal evidence = I know someone that once turned around in a grocery store’s produce section to catch their young son standing in the cart and urinating on the grape display. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/13 "2012-11-17T05:43:29Z")
> [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](#): > > Hell yes I wash it, and with the hottest water that will come out of the tap. Sometimes I even use some dish soap for good measure. > > Not washing fruit and veggies is disgusting. Anecdotal evidence = I know someone that once turned around in a grocery store’s produce section to catch their young son standing in the cart and urinating on the grape display. Amusing username\post combo. ---
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/14 "2012-11-17T06:00:50Z")
> [@scootergirl](#): > > My stomach acids have killed everything so far. I live on an even wilder side than **Ambivalid**. How do your stomach acids kill something that is not alive - e.g. viruses? ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/15 "2012-11-17T06:05:57Z")
My dad uses a brush. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/16 "2012-11-17T06:13:12Z")
> [@IceQube](#): > > How do your stomach acids kill something that is not alive - e.g. viruses? I wouldn’t say that is [Iexactly]\* true. Rocks are not alive; viruses certainly don’t exist in the same sphere of lifelessness of rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/17 "2012-11-17T06:54:18Z")
> [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](#): > > Not washing fruit and veggies is disgusting. Anecdotal evidence = I know someone that once turned around in a grocery store’s produce section to catch their young son standing in the cart and urinating on the grape display. How likely is it that I’ll contract a disease from eating a little kid’s long-dried urine? (boy, that’s one sentence I never imagined myself typing) ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/18 "2012-11-17T11:30:43Z")
> [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](#): > > Hell yes I wash it, and with the hottest water that will come out of the tap. Sometimes I even use some dish soap for good measure. > > Not washing fruit and veggies is disgusting. Anecdotal evidence = I know someone that once turned around in a grocery store’s produce section to catch their young son standing in the cart and urinating on the grape display. It doesn’t top pee, but I have a somewhat similar story. I frequently stop on my way to work to pick up fresh fruit for breakfast, usually around 6 am. On multiple occasions in different stores, whoever is cleaning the floors in the produce section has taken the [rubber mats](http://www.partwell.com/images/pictures/photos/products/bu4/rubber-floor-matting-partwell.jpg) they put in front of some of the bins ON the bins and the produce to get the out of the way. They’re disgustingly dirty and covered with all manner of greasy shoe filth. So yeah, I wash all my produce. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/19 "2012-11-18T03:59:20Z")
Yes, I have a piece of plastic mesh I use to scrub the apple under warm running water. I got the apples from my neighbor and I know he had pesticides applied 3 times this year. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245/20 "2012-11-18T04:07:14Z")
See, this is why I don’t eat fruit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-fruit/641245.md?page=2)