A Toxic-Free Way to Clean Your Produce

I’m not sure about you, but I’m a pretty frugal shopper- I like to save where I can so that I can spend in the right places. The grocery stores (and all stores) bombard us with things we don’t really need or that we can make ourselves. When I see produce wash, that is one item I don’t need or want to buy because I think the solution is right in my pantry, and it’s probably in yours, too: White Distilled Vinegar. 

I do this for all produce, not just berries and not just non-organic produce. Your fruits and veggies can come into contact with a gazillion of things along their way to you. Even those you chuck from your own garden can be contaminated with air pollutants, germs from animals that crawl around in your garden and viruses that are carried through the air. I know that sounds like a lot of heavy stuff, but don’t you want to rinse all that away? Vinegar is a natural cleaner and disinfectant. Read more interesting facts about that here. 

Also, use purified water when you rinse your produce. Most tap water is chlorinated and fluoridated, which is controversial in how healthy it really is and I encourage you to do the research on it for you and your family. As a side note, since moving on a well and septic system, we have learned so much about water- what’s in it and how to purify it- and now we drink, rinse, and cook only with water purified by our under-the-sink reverse osmosis system. 

I do about 1: 3 ration- 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water, over my produce. While the science on it killing germs in the same way bleach does is still not considered ‘sound’, it does help remove the waxiness that is all over fruits like apples. Just don’t leave the vinegar water solution for too long- 3- 5 minutes is fine and any longer can actually start breaking down the flesh of some delicate fruits like strawberries. 

What’s your go-to method for cleaning produce when you bring it home?