You don’t need fancy fruit washes (and definitely skip the soap) with these effective methods for cleaning apples.
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Lisa Milbrand has more than 20 years of experience as a lifestyle writer and editor, writing thousands of articles on topics that help people live better and healthier lives for Real Simple, Parents, and dozens of other top publications.
Updated on March 2, 2023
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Fact checked byEmily Peterson
Emily Peterson is an experienced fact-checker and editor with Bachelor's degrees in English Literature and French.
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Whether you picked them yourself at a local orchard or bought them at the supermarket, different types of apples are the ultimate fall treat. Who doesn't love apple pie or even just a great apple salad? Even if your apples look spotless and glossy, there may be dirt, bacteria, or pesticides lurking on the skin—but you can stop grime in its tracks by learning how to wash apples.
Finding the most effective ways to clean apples is essential for ensuring your apples are safe to eat. Keep in mind even organic apples may use organic pesticides, so you'll want to make sure you're cleaning your organic apples just like you would conventionally grown produce. Read on to learn more about effective apple cleaning methods.
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Don't Rinse Them Until You're Ready To Eat
You can brush off visible dirt before you store apples, but it doesn't make sense to wash them until you're ready to eat or cook with them. Cleaning apples with water can actually make them rot and decay faster—so store them as is until you're ready to take a bite or use them in apple recipes.
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Don't Use Soap
Those suds may be reassuring, but both the FDA and the USDA warn about using soap on your produce. Even with a good rinse afterward, some soap residue will be absorbed by your apples, and most soaps feature chemicals that aren't safe to eat.
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Soak 'Em In Baking Soda
A 2017 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that the best method for cleaning apples required soaking them for 15 minutes in a solution of a teaspoon of baking soda and two cups of water, followed by a thorough rinse with water.
Try Using Vinegar
Mix a third cup of vinegar with a cup of water and spray or wipe the solution on your apples. Rinse your apples thoroughly afterward to make sure you lose that vinegar taste in your recipes.
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Scrub With a Brush
A vegetable brush and tap water can help remove a lot of the bacteria and dirt from an apple—and a brush is more effective than just tap water alone.
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Think Twice About the Fancy Commercial Produce Washes
The FDA recommends washing produce thoroughly under running water before eating, but not using soap, detergent, or commercial produce wash. The FDA further indicates that "the safety of the residues of commercial produce washes is not known and their effectiveness has not been tested." Plus, that produce wash is much more expensive.
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Peel Your Apples
Most pesticides and other contaminants remain on the peel, so simply removing the apple peel will remove the vast majority of the issue. Of course, you'll also lose some of the vitamins and minerals that are in the peel—so it may be better to try one of the other methods for cleaning apples.
Remember: You still need to rinse apples thoroughly before you peel, or your peeler could contaminate the apple's flesh with some of the dirt from the peel.
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Sources
Real Simple is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts in our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy.
FDA, Selecting and serving produce safely. Accessed February 26, 2023.
Yang T, Doherty J, Zhao B, et al. Effectiveness of commercial and homemade washing agents in removing pesticide residues on and in apples.J Agric Food Chem. 2017;65(44):9744-9752. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.7b03118
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Selecting and serving produce safely. Accessed March 21, 2023.
