DIY or buy [fruit and vegetable wash]

There are a few people in my life (health nuts, the newly pregnant, the organic obsessors) that have lately all recommended I start using a cleansing fruit and veggie wash on the ample amounts of produce I'm eating. Especially as I rarely buy organic, it certainly can't hurt me to take a bit more care in my preparation. DIY or buy?

This one is tough to call, since I don't have any structured way to test the cleanliness of my produce after using either a homemade or a store-bought cleanser. I'm going to say that using a wash is better than using nothing (which is how I've been living my life for years), so if you won't make one, than go place an order on Amazon. However, I will of course recommend you make your own, because it's vastly cheaper to make than purchase.

It seems that FIT and Veggie Wash are the two most popular washes on the market, and they sell for under $10 for a 16oz bottle. The ingredient list is a bit obscure, listing "natural cleaners made form corn, palm and coconut, sodium citrate, glycerin", and a few extracts and oils, but they claim that all of the ingredients are plant derivatives. When the main ingredient is water, by a vast proportion, it makes sense to find your own recipe.

The DIY version, which I mixed up a batch of, is just 1 tablespoon lemon, 1 tablespoon baking soda, and 1 cup of water. Fill up a spray bottle (less than a dollar for a small one at Ikea- I use it to water my succulents, too) and go to town, but be sure to rinse your food off after giving it a good spray and rub. For soft fruits like berries and stone fruits, mix equal parts white vinegar and water in a tub and let the produce soak for a few minutes. Aside from cleaning, this can prolong the life of your produce, since vinegar is a natural disinfectant and can kill off bacteria that shortens shelf life.

Happy washing!