Eggs ~ to wash or not to wash

I recently discovered that there is actually a controversy over whether farm fresh eggs should be washed  or not when bringing them in from the coop.

Seriously?  I've had laying hens for a year and a half. 
 How did I not know this?

The non washers say that there is a coating that covers the egg when it is laid that protects it and keeps out germs.  They stay fresher longer.  Instead they keep their nesting boxes super clean.
Hum...

We all know, however, there is other stuff that comes out of that end of the hen and sooner or later (and usually at least one a day at our house) there is a soiled egg.  Should that go in the refrigerator like it is in the name of less germs or freshness? 
Hum...

Our eggs don't last long around here.  They are consumed, given away, or sold the week they are laid.  Sometimes they are eaten before they ever make it to the fridge! 
I don't know about you but I think that's pretty fresh.

So which would you rather have? 
Sealed and super fresh or fresh and super clean?

I think you can figure out which way I like mine.

Comments

  1. I always spot-cleaned mine, and threw out the really dirty ones. Some folks (and this is the recommended-by-experts method) scour dirty spots off with sandpaper.

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  2. I am a warm water rinser, not really a washer scrubber. I want them cleaned and popped in the fridge.

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  3. LOL - Yeah we get almost 7 daily and we always have washed them. Im to clean to want chicken poop in my frig... Although I ve been told and told its better.... Well Im already trying to eat and raise farm fresh chickens so I will just go with it :)

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  4. I didn't wash my eggs until I was ready to use them. (I am laughing... I just mistyped 'use' so the sentence came out that I was suing the eggs!)
    Anyway, I had heard that the liquid inside evaporates faster if they are washed. My hens were also free range so the chance of coming in contact with chicken poop was smaller.

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  5. I have two responses to this post: One where was this controversy when I was a kid and in charge of washing the dang eggs? I would really have gone for that non-washing theory then. I still go with the non-washing theory now, because I don't wash anything I eat. I feel I am eating germs and exercising my internal germ fighters. The more they fight germs the tougher they get. I rarely get sick, so I'm sticking with that theory. Not popular I know, but so far I'm alive. People literelly cringe when I don't wash my apples.

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  6. I'm with you....I wash the eggs.

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  7. We eat our eggs quickly too, but I don't wash until I'm ready to use them. Occasionally, I get some dirty ones, even though, I keep the nests clean. Sometimes, they break an egg and that gets all over every other egg that gets laid in that box and I still don't wash. I don't put them in the fridge either. I keep them in a bowl or egg carton, until I need them. When they have the bloom on them, prewashed condition, they don't need to be refrigerated.

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  8. I have to agree with you. As much as the other way sounds logical, I just can't do it. When I pick up local eggs from the Amish down the road, I gag at what they look like :) So I HAVE to wash them...and then everything is fine! hehehehehe

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  9. i know, it seems there is a contraversy {sp?} about everything these days.

    we used to take a wet paper towel and wipe the dirty ones down. if they were disgusting dirty i fed them to the dog. don't tell d :)

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  10. We used to wash all the eggs when we first got the hens but after reading about the protective coating we stopped washing unless absolutely necessary. We take a damp rag to the really dirty ones and try to only wet the soiled spot. After all, God knew what He was doing during Creation!

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  11. Wash them. And then wash them again! :)

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  12. I'm with you too! I wash with lukewarm water; although maybe I should stop using soap. : /

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  13. never wash. Only spot clean the random gross egg.

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  14. I do what Indio does. They sit on the counter until they're ready to be used. Although, because I sell eggs, the eggs I sell get washed and refrigerated. State law...

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So what do you think of that?