Cleaning Eggs
Another egg cleaning question...........
| I get a variety of eggs from a friend and she gives me usually 100 eggs every two weeks so far. It should be more by next week. My dilemma is how to most efficiently clean the eggs. I got wonderful advice so far. I now have a great stone for putting the holes in the bottom. I made a terrific egg blower with an air pump and I have cleaning the inside down pat. |
| My question is: How do I clean the outside of the eggs so all the discoloration is gone. I get the eggs in a very dirty condition so I have been washing them in the kitchen sink with water and a sponge but it takes 5-10 minutes each egg to scrub them clean and there still a bit stained and my hands are killing me. LOL! If anyone has advice on how to get them really clean I would be eternally grateful. |
| Oh, I am getting turkey, quail, partridge, guinea hen and white and blue/green duck eggs. I am asking about the duck eggs at this point. I am leaving the others as is. They don't stain like the duck eggs do. They do come spotted but not stained looking. |
From Maureen.........
| When I had lots of eggs to blow I used to soak them (before blowing) in a bucket of water with about 1/2 - 3/4 cup bleach added, depending on the strength of the bleach. If I was using Clorwhite which is industrial strength then I used about 1/2 a cup but for normal household bleach just add a bit more. I would leave a few hours or even overnight for really dirty ones. |
| This will get rid of the farm dirt and will also remove the waxy residue on the duck eggs. Be careful using this method on eggs with speckles (eg turkey, quail etc) as the bleach will remove the speckles although I haven't noticed it affects full coloured eggs. |
| Once blown I would put the eggs back into a fresh bucket of bleach & water to clean the insides, (a big syringe is good to make sure you get the solution inside the shell) give them a good shake around and then blow out the water. Leave them out in the sunshine to dry thoroughly and this will also help with the whitening process. |
From Alice...........
| I had one of those plastic scrubbers and I put some bleach into the palm of gloved hand and rolled the eggs around some and proceeded to start scrubbing. Next thing I knew, the spots were gone. I just soaked them in soapy water for a full day if not too dirty. Then it just wiped right off. I rinsed, dried and they were ready to go. Vinegar on a cotton ball will remove the spots. |
| I just gently scrubbed the spots off with a scotch brite scrubber that I use on my dishes, the green ones or you can buy a fake steel wool in the paint section that is a little more abrasive. I scratched some of the spots, the larger ones, off with a exacto knife. |
| I have removed the spots from quail eggs by soaking them in a vinegar solution for 3-5 minutes and GENTLY brushing them with a soft brush (old toothbrush...).
These are just a few of the many responses I received. Most recommended the use of vinegar or bleach. I just tried a drop of white vinegar applied with one of those scrubby pads used for cleaning teflon, followed by a good clear water rinse. Took only a couple of minutes and worked like a charm. |
See Alice's web site here
Just remember that vinegar will desolve the shell.
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from d'Shae........
Cleaning and bleaching Emu Eggs
| First and foremost, do not soak the shell in bleach. It will discolor the shell.
This is my method of cleaning the shells. I use a funnel or large syringe to get bleach inside the egg. If I'm just disinfecting, I fill with one-fourth cup of bleach. Cover the hole and shake it for a couple of minutes. Then I finish filling with water and let set for 10 or 15 minutes. Then empty out. Fill completely with water and empty. |
| This step is to rinse out any left-over bleach. I set the egg on a coffee mug or message spindle to drain.
If I'm wanting to remove the membrane, I fill the egg half full of bleach. Let it set on a cup for 30 - 40 minutes and then turn over and let it set another 30 - 40 minutes. This way both halves of the shell is cleaned without the risk of the bleach bubbling over the blow hole. |
| CAUTION: You don't want the bleach to get on the egg, so when emptying the bleach out I keep the egg under running water for dilution. You also don't want the shell to lay on a wet towel or remain wet. Water will also cause discoloration, much like water rings on a wooden table. I towel dry the exterior before setting on a spindle or mug to dry. |
| If I'm in a hurry, I'll set up a fan to speed up the drying process. It's important that the shell be completely dry before storing if you don't want it to get musty.
Oh yes, for removing the water and bleach I use an air compressor with a basketball air nozzle attachment and the pressure set on low (5lb). This is also what I use to displace the shell contents when emptying. |