How to Clean Pesticides off Fruit & Vegies
There is strong evidence that pesticides are linked to chronic diseases such as different types of cancers, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson, Alzheimer, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), birth defects, and reproductive disorders.
It’s not always possible to buy organic. Sometimes it’s just too expensive for our budget or it’s just not available. Even organic produce can contain pesticides.
You can cut the peel off fruit and vegies to reduce the pesticides, but then you lose valuable nutrients (and really, are we going to peel every grape we eat!!)
It is however, possible to clean your fruit and vegies to get some of the toxins off. Of course you won’t be able to reduce the toxins that have absorbed into the produce as it is growing. But, something is better than nothing!
Washing with just water isn’t really the most effective solution as a lot of produce is coated with wax which seals in the pesticides. Some people recommend dishwashing detergent, but I don’t recommend it because of the chemicals in the detergent (and ewwwww… soapy fruit!)
Here are two ways you can clean your fruit and veg and get some of those pesticides off.
1. Homemade Wash
Fill up your clean sink or a large bowl with room temperature filtered water.
Add in organic apple cider vinegar (one part to two parts water), bicarbonate of soda (one to one hundred) or salt (one to ten).
Add your fruit and veggies, agitate and soak for around 15 minutes if you can. Rinse, dry and store as normal.
You will be amazed at the scuzzy stuff left behind!
You can do the wash as soon as you get the fruit and vegies home (recommended if you have kids that like to tuck in) or wait and just do it before you prepare something.
2. Buy a Commercial Wash
There are several fruit and vegetable washes on the market that will help you remove dirt, oils, waxes mould spores and some pesticides from your produce.
Add a few squirts to a sink or bowl of water, agitate, rinse and dry.
Try Koala Eco Natural Fruit and Veggie Wash or Abode Fruit and Vegetable Wash.
So there are some ways you can clean pesticides off fruit and vegies!
Have you got something to add? What do you use?
Sources:
I’d love to try the Norwex Veggie And Fruit Scrub Cloth on nectarines as I can’t stop eating them (and nor can my two boys!) and this way we could have one each on the way home from the shops!
We love our apples and pears but would love to try the cloth so we don’t have to peel our fruit first 🙂
Id love to try it on apples!
So does the ‘dirty dozen’ apply to Australia?
well no, it applies to American produce!
So do we have an Aussie dirty dozen?
I haven’t been able to find one… but I am asking around! 🙂
http://www.superchargedfood.com/why-organic/
This is the dirty dozen listed from an Australian blog site.
Thanks Tory, but Lee is still quoting from an American site, EWG. I am on a mission to find out if the American Dirty Dozen also equates to Australia, but I am having a lot of trouble finding this out! As a rule, Australia seems to use a lot less pesticide than America. 🙂
I’d love to try it on apples. I buy Organic Apples when I can, but they are not available all year around. I try and get most of the wax off by running a potato pealer lightly across the skin of the apple (without cutting the skin). Then soaking it in water and vinegar. It’s amazing how much comes off, but sometimes you don’t want to spend the time, just want to grab an apple and go. So, if this cloth works, it would be fantastic!
A timely post, as I’ve been wondering what the best way to clean our fruit & veg is, as unfortunately we don’t have much organic produce available here. We would use the Norwex cloth to first clean apples & pears. Sonia, I was aware that the dirty dozen/clean fifteen was American, and as far as I know there is no Australian version? Would American produce be sprayed very differently to ours, or is it still a good ‘guide’ to go by I wonder?
I have been trying to find an Aussie version, but to no avail. I think it is quite different from my readings about it. I will keep investigating !
I’d like to try the Norwex cloth on carrots – especially home grown ones – we had so much dirt caught on them when we pulled them up.
Would love to try the Norwex Veggie And Fruit Scrub Cloth, we would use it on apples.
I’ve actually been thinking about the Norwex Veggie And Fruit Scrub Cloth for a little while now after recently purchasing my first lot of Norwex cloths! I would love to try the cloth on carrots and cucumbers!
Apples would be the first thing we would try the cloth on as we always have them in the fridge 🙂
While I was reading this post, my 3yo daughter appeared in the lounge room half way through an unwashed apple.. I think I need a Norwex cleaning cloth to use on them! We live on the Granite Belt, and there’s an amazing array of fresh produce to be picked locally, but definitely not all organic, so the cloth would be very handy 🙂 Love the suggestion about teaching the kids to clean the fruit themselves – think I’ll give it a go.
Those cloths are a great idea! Would def try them in plums and pears now that they are in season and my 7 month olds fav finger food (in the mesh net!)
My son helps himself with unwashed fruits all the time (scares me… all those nasties)! The Norwex Veggie And Fruit Scrub Cloth sounds like a great product to try.
Would love a Norwex cloth for cleaning ALL of our fruit & veg. But especially for pears, apples & nectarines as these are some of the most ‘treated’ fruits. I worry every time my children eat fruit & veg, exactly what it had been exposed to.
Id love to try the scrub cloth on apples and potatos. These are both highly sprayed with pesticides and not always easy to buy organic, especially out of season.
I use the ACV and water method, but I will now take your advice and clean a whole bunch of fruit and veg together….ahh yes, I was cleaning things batch by batch!!
It’s quicker and easier especially when you live with fruit bats aka kids 😀
I would love to try one of the Norwex cloths – apples & pears would be our starting point!
Another timely post Sonia. I wash with normal white vinegar which does help keep fruit & veg fresher for longer.
I’ve read & heard grocery shops actually inject apples to keep them fresh on top of waxes and spray as the average supermarket apple is 1yr old! , it’s scary. I’ve started buying organic for the fresher, safer option as no amount of soaking or scrubbing will get rid of whatever they’re injected with.
Id actually use mine on capsicum and cucumber as I snack on them daily and despite soaking they do tend decompose the quickest out of all I buy…im keen to test the cloth to see if it will remove more resides to keep fresher for longer
I have just come in to find that my 3yr old has eaten an apple and a pear, both unwashed. Would like to have one of these cloths to leave next to the fruit bowl for times like this!
I would use it on apples and cucumbers first, I love them in a green smoothie, and the kids take apples in their lunchbox.
I would use the Norwex cloth firstly on the plums that my boys devour, and they always have some sort of waxy film on them which water alone doesn’t always remove completely! Thanks
Oh my word I love the sound of the Norwex Veggie and Fruit Scrub Cloth for when we’re walking around our fruit and veg shop and the kids decide they NEED something to eat RIGHT NOW 🙂 I’m such a stickler for washing everything so there is no snacking on the way home unless it’s a banana and we can peel it!
Sonia, I’ve noticed on a few posts/blogs you highlight ‘filtered water’. I’ve been looking into water filters to decrease the amount of chemicals we consume from our tap water. They are very expensive. I’m just wondering if you have ever done a post/blog about tap water and what you do in your household?
Hi Mel.. I personally think this is so, so important.. we had our heavy metals tested at the naturopath and my daughters was very high in lead!! Eeek!! Mine was okay, because I was drinking cask water! Here is the post about the one I bought https://naturalnewagemum.com/five-favourite-things-july-2/
Have you had your daughters’ levels tested since having the filter. I was advised at a clean eating session by the speaker that bench top ones are no good & that I’d need to buy one that filters the water and puts mineral back in? Did you find anything about that in your research?
This does that and alkalizes the water. You can message Jo at Shop Naturally where I got it from… she has a lot more of the science info about. 🙂
I was wondering about which vinegar to use, I reall need to start washing our fruit and veg. I’d love to try to cloth on plums. I never seem to be able to rub the gunk off them with my chux.
Love this post.Making healthier choice more accessible to all – you are brilliant at what you do Sonia!
I’d use it on my juicing carrots. Meantime acv for me. I didn’t know there was any option except buying a special liquid. Thank you 🙂
With the new apple season fast approaching it’s a no brainer. We eat a lot of apples. Great to know we can make them even better for us to eat.
I liked Heather’s FB age.
I would love this cloth to clean carrots & apples – until tonight, I have just been rinsing fruit & veg in water, letting it dry and putting in fridge. Now I realise I was not actually cleaning any pesticides of – pretty scary stuff.
ENJO also have a great fruit and veg cloth.
Apples, my kids are crazy for them at the moment! Also I thought that whilst the ‘dirty dozen’ etc are American, Ceres organics in Melb say it is pretty much the same here? I haven’t heard any decent arguments otherwise? Thoughts?
I have heard.. can’t remember where that it is quite different… I am trying to get some more info on it! 😉
I sprinkle with bicarb soda then spray with vinegar & rub, rinse with water.
Hi , I was wondering if you wash the fruit with ACV and store will the fruit go soggy and yuk?
Also I realise washing cloths etc are great ways to reduce contamination of chemicals but I guess the treated soil will ultimately mean contaminated fruit 🙁
I guess we just have to try our best because the only sure way would be to grow our own ( my dream eventually ) .
NOt if you only do a few minutes Lisa…. Yes, you are right. It won’t remove all the chemicals because some chemicals penetrate the skin of the fruit and veges, so organic is always best or grow your own. But it’s not always an option for some people.
wow, i would LOVE to use the Norwex fruit and veg cloth on the kid’s apples – they love to eat them whole but the waxy finish always worries me!! i am intrigued by Norwex, been keen to try some of their products!
The Norwex cloth sounds amazing! There are many things I’d love to use it for such as apples, pears, cucumbers, tomatoes, capsicums. I would firstly try some apples as the waxy residue is so difficult to remove, even after soaking in vinegar or veggie wash in water, and then scrubbing. It really deters me from eating them after all the effort 🙁
I use hot water and wash them that way!
I would try on apples and pears. What a wonderful idea.
I’d love to try the Norwex cloth on Nectarines, Lemons, and Apples. I think it is a wonderful idea.
I’d clean nashi’s first cause they’re my absolute favorite. Yum!
I soak my F & V in vinegar and water, just don’t do it with stone fruit as it gets into the stem end and under the delicate skin and ruins them, wash these just before eating.
I’d be trying it on apples first, as they’re one of the obvious dirty dozen
I would LOVE the norwex fruit & veggie scrub cloth to try on apples and tomatoes! I’m new to norwex stuff and being in a rural town, organic stuff isn’t locally available and super $$ to order in from out of town, and for some reason even the vinegar wash still doesn’t remove all the scudge on our supermarket fruit!
I would use the Norwex Veggie And Fruit Scrub Cloth on red capsicums as I use them a lot – in my omelettes and wraps. I’d love to see how glossy they become after cleaning them with the cloth!
I’d love to try the cloth on mushrooms, if possibleMy kids love snacking on them more than fruit so it would be comforting to know they’ve been cleaned.
We eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies on a daily basis. I would like to see how it works on apples and pears.
Would love to use it on apples first
I would definitely use it on apples or carrots first. Our two kids eat them like they are lollies!! It would be a great way of getting them involved in cleaning them as well 🙂
I would like to try the cloth on plums as they are always filmy looking
I’d love to try the Norwex cloth. I’m getting a few of their other products to try soon, but I didn’t order the cloth. I’d use it on apples first – they never do seem clean when you wash and dry them normally, so I’d be interested to see how they come up with this.
I love to try the Nowrex wash cloth firstly on my apples – I eat so many of them and I can never get the wax off them! It would be great to have them to make sure my child isn’t ingesting all the nasties.
I’d like to try the norwex cloth on apples and maybe potatoes? I only buy organic but it would be nice to try. Am very interested in all the other Norwex products. Never heard of them, but I love new eco friendly stuff.
Ooh, I’ve heard lots about Norwex. I’d love to try it out on apples, but I’m wondering how it works on soft fuzzy peaches?
The Norwex cloth sounds like an ideal solution to a big problem. We are huge fruit and veggie eaters but plums and pears are the favourite at present. Definitely try on these first.
I’d like to try out the Norwex cloth on the plums I have been buying – they look shiny but need to be washed before eating.
Haha, it’s funny, when I saw your headline first, I was going to come and tell you how great the Norwex Veggie & Fruit scrub cloth is, but I see I don’t need to! I use this all the time, it is really good for scrubbing carrots and potatoes so you don’t have to peel them, and gets that layer of wax of supermarket apples too. Love it!
I also use vinegar to rinse grapes and berries – with berries, it doesn’t just clean them, it helps to stop them going mouldy so quickly.
Thanks Kirsten! I will try the cloth on potatoes too! Good tip!
Apples! we go through a stack in just a few days.
Apples & carrots 🙂
I would def try apples first I can’t stand that waxy feel
I would use it to clean stone fruit as I accidentally soaked my plums and nectarines in the vinegar wash and then realised it is not to be used for stone fruit!
I would SO LOVE to have a Norwex Veggie and Fruit Scrub Cloth to use on our family’s veggies and apples that I juice of a morning. I stand for ages peeling them all if i can’t buy organic….this cloth would be PERFECT !!! Thankyou for the opportunity to try to win one !! 🙂
Probably a pear, my daughter’s obsessed,
I would love to clean nectarines, potatoes, and carrots. My daughter loves to just grab and munch all sorts of fruit and veggies so it would be handy to have a Norwex Veggie and Fruit Scub Cloth. Thanks for the opportunity to win one.
Apples for this household!!