• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Hello Nest

The Art of Making a Home

  • Green Cleaning
    • Air Fresheners
    • Bathroom
    • Bedroom
    • Kitchen
    • Laundry
  • Natural Living
    • Homemade Recipes
    • Essential Oils
    • Plants & Flowers
    • Zero Waste
    • Organizing & Simplifying
  • DIY & Decor
    • Candle Projects
    • Holiday Projects
    • Sewing Projects
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

A Simple 4-Ingredient Produce Wash You Can Make at Home

10 · Jun 24, 2023 · Stephanie Pollard · 10 Comments

Everyone’s got their bugaboos. Me? I’m little high strung when it comes to produce.

I went through a phase where I only bought organic, locally grown produce from the farmers market. It was super expensive, somewhat pretentious and totally inconvenient, but I was that dead set on avoiding chemicals.

Thankfully, I’ve loosened my grip on what it means to eat “healthy” since then. But even though my local grocery store and I are now BFFs, I’d rather not eat chemicals if I can help it. That’s where a good fruit and veggie wash comes in. You see, even if you only buy organic, if it was commercially grown chances are it was sprayed with pesticides in some form or another. And even if it wasn’t, you still run the risk of ingesting germs or parasites.

That means you should be washing all of your produce all of the time.

This super easy produce wash only contains 4 ingredients and can be whipped up in a matter of minutes. Make it in bulk and use it as a soak for your weekly produce haul. Or pour it in a spray bottle and spritz it on loose greens or single serving fruits and veggies.

A Simple 4-Ingredient Produce Wash You Can Make at Home

DIY Produce Wash

Store-bought produce washes are super convenient, but they’re also super pricey. Even when purchased online, 16 ounces of the high quality stuff can cost you $10 or more. That’s a lot to spend on just two cups of veggie wash.

But if you think you’ll save a buck and go with a cheaper wash, studies show that most bargain brands are actually ineffective. Researchers at the University of Maine found that distilled water was just as effective at removing bacteria and mold from produce than some commercial produce washes.

A Simple 4-Ingredient Produce Wash You Can Make at Home

But there is one thing we can do to effectively clean fruits and veggies without breaking the bank: make our own produce wash.

This wash only contains a handful on ingredients and costs less than $5 a gallon. I usually add about 1 cup to a sink of cool water and let my produce soak.

Or if I’m in a hurry, I’ll spray it directly on produce and then give it a quick scrub. The vinegar, one of our favorite natural cleaners, will help kill germs on contact while the lemon juice breaks down grease and grime.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 2 cups filtered water
  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 3 drops lemon essential oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Transfer the mixture to a spray bottle or an airtight container.

To use, pour 1 cup solution in a sink full of cool water. Let produce soak for up at least 15 minutes before rinsing off. Alternatively, spray solution directly on produce, scrub gently and then rinse before eating. To prevent spoilage, let produce dry completely before storing in the fridge.

A Simple 4-Ingredient Produce Wash You Can Make at Home

10

Kitchen 28, nest

More Posts from Kitchen

  • How to Clean an Air Fryer

  • DIY refrigerator tabs

    DIY Refrigerator Deodorizer Tabs Made with Essential Oils

  • How to clean an electric kettle

    How to Clean an Electric Kettle

  • How To Clean a Dishwasher in 5 Easy Steps

  • How to clean a glass stove top naturally

    How to Clean a Glass Stove Top Naturally

  • How to Restore Blackened Cookie Sheets to Their Former Glory

    How to Restore Blackened Cookie Sheets to Their Former Glory


Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. jimmy says

    August 13, 2021 at 2:32 am

    This is a great idea! So much better than pricey store bought washes!

    https://7islandsgame.com/

    Reply
  2. Harshita Bhawnani says

    May 27, 2020 at 2:40 am

    your blog is very interesting.

    Reply
  3. arvind says

    December 19, 2018 at 10:57 am

    Thanks for this artcile
    https://heartsgameonline.net
    i really loved to see this game.

    Reply
  4. kanchipuram sarees says

    September 8, 2018 at 1:19 am

    nice post

    Reply
  5. golu dolls chennai says

    September 8, 2018 at 1:18 am

    i like it

    Reply
  6. Karen McMillin says

    August 6, 2018 at 9:40 am

    I use this mixture with the same ingredients but I also add about 1/4 c. of organic castile soap to it, too. It really takes off the germs from other people handling it before it comes home and will help cut through wax coatings used to shine veggies for the display counter. An example of this is the light wax coating that they spray on the cucumbers. I also always wash the outside of my melons before I slice into them. For that, I smear dishsoap straight out of the bottle and rinse thoroughly. You just can’t be too safe these days with all of the listeria and e-coli outbreaks.

    Reply
  7. Issie says

    August 2, 2018 at 4:37 am

    Hi there. Great tips for wash removing bacteria and mold. Usually, I use Antibacterial Soaps as shown here http://www.womensedge.org/best-antibacterial-soaps/. I also found a positive result. By the way, your homemade tips is really new thing to me. I’m interested in it. I’ll try. thank you for great tips , I love this.

    Reply
  8. A Life Adjacent says

    July 31, 2018 at 5:12 pm

    This is a great idea! So much better than pricey store bought washes!

    Reply
  9. Marylou Kormann says

    July 27, 2018 at 7:26 am

    I was wondering the same…tap water? And what does the lemon oil do other than flvour the water?

    Reply
  10. shelleyo. says

    July 26, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    Can I use regular tap water from the kitchen sink instead of filtered water?

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Featured DIY

How to clean Birks

How to Clean Birkenstocks (Because They Deserve Better)

The Best essential oils for dryer balls

The Best Essential Oils for Dryer Balls

DIY Before-You-Go Spray

How to Clean an Air Fryer

DIY refrigerator tabs

DIY Refrigerator Deodorizer Tabs Made with Essential Oils

More

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Hello Glow
  • Hello Veggie

Copyright © 2025 · Hello Nest