This homemade produce wash recipe is a simple way to remove dirt, wax, and pesticide residue from fresh produce. Plus, it helps extends freshness and shelf-life of fruits and vegetables!

In a perfect world, we’d all buy organic all the time…

Or I suppose in a perfect world, we wouldn’t have to… would we?

Anywho, the reality of the situation is that for some of us, it’s just not feasible. This is one of the main reasons I am such a fan of the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists: they help you determine which produce really must be purchased organically-grown and which are OK to purchase conventionally-grown.

Regardless of which list a fruit or veggie falls on, a produce wash is a great way to minimize dirt, wax, and pesticide residue.

Now you may be wondering, “Do I actually need to use a produce wash?”

And I’m going to be 100% honest with you: nope. You don’t! You can go right on ahead and simply rinse your produce with water.

But again, using a produce wash can help to better remove dirt, waxes, and some lingering pesticide residue from the skins of fruits and vegetables.

If you’ve made any DIY natural home cleaners, you know the power of vinegar.

It should be no surprise then that vinegar cleans produce just as well as it cleans the tub. The acetic acid in vinegar kills the bacteria and dissolves the wax and pesticide residues found on the skins of fruits and vegetables.

Super Simple Homemade Produce Wash Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white vinegar OR 1/2 cup white vinegar for berries and other thin-skinned fruits

Directions

Either combine the mixture in a bowl to soak produce or put in a spray bottle to spray directly on produce. Let the solution work its magic for 5 minutes for hard-skinned produce, and 2 minutes for soft-skinned produce. Then simply rinse and enjoy!

Tip: I keep a spray bottle of the solution next to my kitchen sink so that it’s readily available when I need it (as a snacker, I need it quite often).