So, What is the best way to clean dirty eggs? The part I enjoy the most as a chicken owner is collecting eggs. Each day I have to visit the coop in the hope of finding newly laid eggs. Indeed I come across a dozen eggs in the nesting boxes or somewhere in the corner. Some of these eggs look clean while others appear dirty after coming into contact with chicken poop. The sight of dirty eggs is somehow a turn-off, especially among new chicken owners. The good news is, those dirty eggs can be cleaned to look appealing. And that’s exactly what I’m going to discuss in detail.
If you come across dirty eggs during your routine egg collection, you need to clean them. The best way of doing so is by scrubbing or brushing them with a scouring pad. But if they don’t get as clean as you would expect, wash them in warm water.
It is common to find new eggs covered in mud, chicken droppings and nesting materials. This a common sight if you are a seasoned chicken keeper. As such, it should not take you by surprise to have a few eggs covered in dirt.
If you’re getting started with keeping chickens, the sight of dirty eggs might send you in a moment of confusion. Or you may end up asking yourself a lot of questions on how to keep those eggs clean. Below are possible ways to clean your dirty eggs after collecting them.
Easy Ways to Clean Dirty Eggs
Before we get to the real cleaning of dirty eggs, you should take note of the type of water to use. In this case, avoid cold water by all means. This information might be conflicting with your obvious thought of washing eggs with ice-cold water. No matter how dirty your eggs might look, cold water should not be used to wash them.
Normally, cold water causes the pores ( on the eggshell) to suck pathogens such as bacteria from the surface into the egg. Furthermore, any unwashed egg possesses a natural antibacterial coating known as bloom.
So, if you wash an egg in a traditional way, you might remove the bloom from its surface. This may encourage the bacteria to invade the internal section of the egg. For that reason, use warm water to remove all dirt from the eggshells.
Dry-Clean Your Dirty Eggs
- Egg Scrubber BrushEgg Scrubber Brush
The easiest and most effective way of cleaning eggs is by dry cleaning them. To do this, you need something slightly abrasive and dry to rub off chicken poop and dirt. Use a clean sanding sponge, fine sandpaper, loofah or abrasive sponge to dry-clean dirty eggs.
Rub gently to remove the dirt from the shells, leaving the entire egg cleaner than before. Repeat this procedure until all your eggs are clean.
Remember to sanitize the sponge, loofah or the fine sandpaper to prevent the build-up of harmful bacteria on the eggshell. You may discard the already used sponge in favor of a new one to ensure better cleaning of all eggs.
The best thing about dry-cleaning eggs is that it preserves a large percentage of the bloom on the eggshells. Without the bloom, bacteria will find their way into the egg and mess up with the content inside.
After you have dry-cleaned your eggs, you must store them in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Place the clean eggs in an egg carton with the larger portion facing up.
If your eggs are freshly laid, you may store them on the countertop. Make sure that the temperature around where your eggs are stored is right for them. Leave them at that particular room temperature for two weeks or keep them in a refrigerator for one month.
Wet-Clean Your Dirty Eggs
Wet-cleaning is another way of keeping your eggs clean. This technique is important when washing eggs that are too grimy to dry-clean. Usually, such eggs are covered with the chicken droppings or contents of a broken egg. This makes it impossible to clean eggs that are too grimy.
In this regard, wet cleaning remains the only effective way to keep your eggs clean. With this option, use clean warm water. Keep in mind that the temperature of this water should be slightly more than that of the egg.
Ensure that the water for cleaning your eggs is at medium warmth. This means that the water should not be too hot or tepid to render your cleaning exercise ineffective.
For better results, use the following wet-cleaning tips:
- Don’t immerse dirty eggs or leave them to stand in water.
- Wash your eggs using running water from your faucet or simply spray them in washer flats with warm water. After they are clean, allow them to dry or wipe them dry using dry paper towels at a time. Then transfer your clean eggs into a basket or container.
- Use a sanitizing spray to spray cleaned eggs. Once you are done with spraying the eggs, let them dry in a basket, on a rack or washer flat.
In case you encounter stubborn stains on some eggs, you should find an alternative way of removing them. Warm vinegar is known to be effective in removing stubborn stains from eggshells. Use it to remove all stubborn stains from your eggs.
Given that your eggs are clean, you can store them as required. Keep them in a refrigerator for future use.
Before taking the clean eggs into the fridge, arrange them carefully inside a reusable egg carton. If you don’t have an egg carton, you can use a large bowl to hold the eggs while they are inside the fridge.
However, keep your clean eggs away from strong-smelling foods such as fish and onions. Eggs tend to absorb the scent of such foods which eventually change their flavors.
Best Way To Keep Your Eggs Clean
One of the best ways of maintaining the cleanliness of the eggs is by collecting them daily. This routine picking of eggs every day is advisable because it prevents them from getting dirty.
Make sure to check your hens’ nest boxes at least once per day to see if they laid any eggs. When you find the freshly laid eggs in the nest boxes, pick them immediately so they don’t become dirty.
If you let them stay there for long, they are likely to get covered by droppings or dirt. Check every egg to remove the broken ones before cleaning or storing them.
Another effective way of keeping the eggs clean is by positioning the nesting boxes in an appropriate location. You should place these boxes in a lower position than the roosting areas. This is because your birds will sleep on their highest perch inside the coop, causing the eggs to break easily.
To avoid such cases, position the nest boxes in such a way that they are lower than roosters inside the coop. Doing so will prevent your hens from breaking or destroying their own eggs.
Make a habit of changing the nesting materials once every two weeks to maintain cleanliness inside the coop. Inspect the bedding or hay inside the nest boxes to know if it is still clean.
Should you notice some dirt elements such as feathers or chicken droppings, replace all nesting materials as soon as possible. In case the nesting material doesn’t look dirty during your inspection time, replace them to discourage bacterial growth.
Finally, wash your hens if you notice they have dirty vents. The vent is located on the hen’s backside and serves as a passage for eggs during the egg-laying process.
To clean it, fill a shallow container with warm water mixed with dish soap. Set your hen inside and lather the feathers with soap.
After washing the backside, place the chicken in a second shallow container filled with clean water. Rinse it off to remove the soap. Then dry it using a towel before blow-drying it to remove excess water. If your hen’s vent becomes extremely dirty once more, consult with your local vet to find a long-lasting solution.
Related Questions
Is it possible to put anything on my eggs after washing them to keep away bacteria? You can use an all-natural, vegetable-based egg wash to cover the eggs after washing them. This substance cleans and sanitizes the eggs, leaving a slight coating on them. The coating stimulates the bloom to protect the eggs against bacteria.
If I let my dirty eggs cool before cleaning, will they absorb the bacteria into the shell? All eggs are fine regardless of whether they are clean, dirty or cooled. When you wet your dirty eggs, make sure to use warmer water to prevent the eggs from sucking bacteria inside the shell.
In Conclusion
The best way to clean dirty eggs is by washing them using warm water. You can also dry-clean them by rubbing them with a slightly abrasive sponge. Eggs get dirty when they are left in the nest boxes for too long. Therefore, you can keep them clean by checking nest boxes regularly to collect newly laid eggs. Clean eggs are not only attractive to look at, but can also sell fast on the market.
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your Backyard Chicken Board!!
