Easy Homemade Fruit and Veggie Wash (That Actually Works)

Want a simple way to clean your produce without harsh chemicals? This homemade fruit and veggie wash is an easy, natural way to remove dirt, wax, and pesticide residue from your fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Whether you’re prepping apples for snack time or rinsing lettuce for dinner, this DIY produce wash uses just a few pantry staples—no fancy ingredients required! It’s gentle, budget-friendly, and takes less than five minutes to mix up.

When it comes to feeding our families, ensuring the safety and cleanliness of our food is a top priority, especially with the fruits and vegetables we work oh-so-hard to get our kids to eat daily. 😉

After years of trial and error, I finally found the perfect way to remove any unwanted residues on our produce: a vinegar fruit wash!

Today, I’m showing you three different ways to use the ultimate natural powerhouse (aka vinegar!) to get those fruits and veggies squeaky clean, including a spray recipe and two different veggie wash soaks.

I prefer the produce wash soak, but I have friends who love the spray. Choose which works best for you!

Do I need to wash every fruit and vegetable?

In a word, yes. However, some produce has been proven to be more contaminated with pesticides than others. If you want a list of places to really focus your cleaning efforts on, I’d suggest starting with the Dirty Dozen.

2025 Dirty Dozen Produce List

While just about all non-organic produce includes some level of pesticides, this 2024 Dirty Dozen list usually contains the MOST pesticides.

This list includes (in order from the most to the least):

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale/Collard/Mustard greens
4. Grapes
5. Peaches
6. Pears
7. Nectarines
8. Apples
9. Bell and hot peppers
10. Cherries
11. Blueberries
12. Green Beans

Some people will choose to buy organic fruits and vegetables on the dirty dozen list to minimize pesticide exposure and buy regular produce for everything else.

Whether you choose to do that or simply buy regular produce all around (because organic is often VERY expensive for some things), this natural veggie wash can help.

Why can’t I just use water to wash produce?

If you are concerned about washing off extra pesticides or wax coatings found on many fruits and veggies, you’ll need something stronger than tap water.

The acid in vinegar, along with the citric acid in lemon essential oil or lemon juice, will help remove pesticides, as well as dirt, bacteria, or wax. You won’t find that with water alone.

Disclaimer: We’re not a professional lab and, unfortunately, can’t give you scientific proof of exactly how effective these homemade fruit and veggie washes are. However, based on our research on the ingredients we are using, I am comfortable stating that they are more effective than water alone.

Remember, I’m going to show you three different methods to keep your produce clean. Choose whichever works best for your family!

Method 1: Make a Fruit and Vegetable Wash Spray

If you like the ease of a spray bottle, this veggie wash is for you!

Ingredients Needed:

• White vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• Water
• Lemon essential oil or lemon juice
• Glass spray 16 oz bottle (I advise against using plastic as both the vinegar and essential oils can corrode the plastic)
• Optional – free printable label (see below)

How to Make the Produce Spray

This homemade produce spray is very easy to make. Here’s how you do it:

1. Combine vinegar, water, and lemon essential oil in your bottle. If you don’t have any lemon essential oil, you can substitute lemon juice instead.
2. Shake well. When all three ingredients are added to your bottle, you can gently shake it, and it’s ready to use!
3. Spray your produce. Allow produce to sit for 10-15 minutes on the counter.
4. Rinse in cold water.

Optional Step – Download your free printable fruit & veggie wash label when you join my email list here!

Method 2 – DIY Fruit & Vegetable Wash Soak

This is a simple produce soak that allows you to keep your foods squeaky clean.

What You’ll Need:

• White vinegar or apple cider vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar, but plain white vinegar would also work)
• Water
• Lemon essential oil or lemon juice
• Large mixing bowl

How to Make this Fruit Wash Recipe

1. Mix vinegar and water in a bowl. You’ll want a ratio of 3:1 water to vinegar.
2. Add lemon essential oil or lemon juice.
3. Add your fruits or vegetables to the bowl. Make sure all the produce is submerged in the vinegar fruit wash.
4. Allow your produce to soak for 10-15 minutes. Don’t skip this step! It’s crucial!
5. Rinse your produce well. After your produce has soaked, gently pour it into a strainer and rinse well with cold tap water. An even better trick would be to find a strainer that fits into your bowl so you can soak your produce in the strainer and then just lift it out of the soak to rinse. Easy peasy!

Method 3 – Homemade Fruit and Veggie Wash  

This last method uses baking soda and salt to help you exfoliate off all those potential germs!

What You’ll Need:

• Vinegar
• Salt
• Lemon essential oil or lemon juice
• Baking soda
• Water
• Large mixing bowl

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Combine all ingredients (except water). Add vinegar, salt, lemon essential oil, or lemon juice, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
2. Fill the remainder of the bowl with water. Fill it with enough water to be able to cover the produce you plan to wash.
3. Stir the vinegar fruit wash. You’ll simply stir until the ingredients are well mixed and the baking soda and salt have dissolved.
4. Add your fruits and vegetables.
5. Allow your produce to soak for 10-15 minutes.
6. Rinse your produce well.
7. Let your produce dry.

Once your fruit or veggies are well rinsed, either dry them off with a towel or let them air dry on a towel.  For small or delicate fruit like berries, it’s easiest to just let them air dry on a towel.

Keep in mind that the berries can also leave stains, so it’s best to use a towel that you don’t mind getting stained if it gets some fruit juice on it.

Now that you see just how easy it is to make your own homemade fruit and veggie wash, be sure to get some more vinegar next time you are at the store and have your lemon essential oil close by! 

By doing this, you can keep those fruits and veggies cleaner, with fewer pesticides, and ready to eat!

Which essential oil brand is best?

For the best results, you will want to choose a high-quality essential oil brand that is 100% pure and offers third-party testing for quality control. Read this post for more info on how to choose essential oils that work for you and your family (beyond the brand.)

My favorite essential oil company is Rocky Mountain Oils, followed by Eden’s Garden.

More Posts About Cleaning with Essential Oils:

• How To Make a Simple Homemade Dusting Spray
• Homemade Garbage Disposal Deodorizer with Essential Oils
• DIY Foaming Hand Soap
• Homemade Stinky Shoe Spray with Essential Oils

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