How To Wash Fruit With Vinegar – Homemade Produce Spray

How to clean fruits and vegetables with vinegar using a homemade produce wash.

Using a homemade vinegar based fruit wash, is important to removing a significant amount of the bacteria, pesticides and fungi (yes, fungi) that store-bought produce is coated in.

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What you need to wash produce with vinegar:

ingredients

• Vinegar – Either distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar diluted with the appropriate amounts of water will work to strip the bacteria and junk off your produce.
• Filtered Water – Regular unfiltered water will work if you are using this recipe to soak fruit. But make sure you use distilled water in the spray version since bacteria can grow in your spray bottle from regular tap water. Ewww.
• Lemon Essential Oil – Lemon oil is not a necessary part of this recipe but does add to the cleaning power! Orange or grapefruit oils work well too. I like this brand of food safe essential oils.

how to wash fruit and vegetables with vinegar:

For homemade vinegar fruit wash spray:

Step 1: Mix 1/2 cup of white vinegar or 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 15 drops of lemon essential oil in a 16 ounce glass spray bottle.

Step 2: Fill the rest of the bottle with water. Shake to mix.

To Use: Spray each piece of fruit and let the spray sit for a couple of minutes. Rub to clean and rinse the spray off.

Store: Store the spray bottle in the fridge.

For homemade vinegar fruit wash soak:

Step 1: Place fruit in a large bowl.

Step 2: Pour in vinegar and 15 drops of lemon oil and 2 cups white vinegar or 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.

Step 3: Fill the rest of the way with water. You should use a ratio of 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water.

Let Soak: Let the fruit soak for about 5 minutes. Rub and rinse the fruit wash off.

FAQ about washing produce with vinegar:

should you wash fruit with vinegar?

Soaking fruit in a mixture of water and vinegar helps disinfect and sanitize it. The acetic acid in vinegar kills most types of bacteria and fungi making it safer to eat!

what is the ratio of vinegar to water for washing fruit?

For cleaning fruit and vegetables, you need to use a ratio of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. So if you use one cup of vinegar, you will dilute it with 3 cups of water.

how long should you soak produce in vinegar?

Fill a large bowl with 2 cups of vinegar and 6 cups of water. Add your produce and allow it to soak for 10-15 minutes. Drain the water and rub each piece of fruit under running water for a few seconds. Air dry or pat dry with a towel.

What fruit can you wash with vinegar?

Any fruits and vegetables can be washed with diluted vinegar to help remove pesticides and bacteria.

The Environmental Working Group has released a list of 12 fruits and vegetables known as “The Dirty Dozen”. These are the ones that are believed to contain the most pesticides. It is advised to buy only organically grown produce that is on the dirty dozen list since washing them will not remove all of the chemicals.

Can I use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar for cleaning fruit?

Yes! If you use apple cider vinegar to wash your fruit, you don’t need to use as much. For every 4 cups of water, add 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.

what essential oils are good for cleaning fruit?

The best essential oils to use for cleaning fruit, are citrus ones such as lemon, orange or grapefruit. The most commonly used oil is lemon. The citric acid in these oils help strip the pesticides, dirt, wax and bacteria that come on store-bought fruit.

The fruit will take on a bit of the flavor of whatever oil you use to clean them so keep that in mind. Lemon flavor can give your produce a tinge of nice bright and fresh flavor.

More natural homemade cleaning recipes:

If you liked this recipe, I think you’ll really enjoy these other natural cleaning tutorials on the blog!

• Homemade Laundry Stain Remover Spray
• How to Clean a White Enamel Sink
• The Best Homemade Hardwood Floor Cleaner
• Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• DIY Thieves Cleaner From Scratch

I hope you love this recipe for homemade vinegar fruit wash soak and spray! If you make it, I’d love for you to come back and leave a comment and rating so that I know how you like using it!

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