A Viral TikTok Reveals Just How Dirty Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Can Be

Everyone knows they’re supposed to wash fresh fruit and vegetables before eating them, but it seems like a fairly innocuous rule to break every now and then. Who among us hasn’t snacked on an unwashed grape while grocery shopping or dumped a pre-washed salad directly into a serving bowl before serving it up to our family? Well, thanks to the latest viral TikTok, chances are you won’t be letting anyone in your family eat any unwashed vegetables or fruits ever again.

TikTok user Amy Hitch’s video of her washing grocery store grapes and blueberries with a fruit and vegetable washing machine went viral after viewers saw just how much ick came out of the fruit. In the video, Hitch tells viewers she has already washed the grapes twice in water prior to putting them in a white bowl with the gadget.

After being washed with the hypersonic device, an abundance of dirt and general grossness floats to the top of the water. “This is what we eat,” Hinch says. “This is so freaking nasty. We need to watch what we eat.”

Hinch went on to test a number of other vegetables, including a head of lettuce and bagged salad. While the prewashed bagged salad only produced a tiny bit of dirt, the lettuce was full of bugs. Yes, bugs. “Those are bugs,” she says. “Clusters of freaking bugs.”

Everyone knows their fruit and vegetables are grown outside in the dirt. Before reaching your table, they're bound to come in contact with some creepy crawlies, and yes, some of them will make it through even the most vigorous cleaning process at a production level. (Never forget just how many bug particles the FDA allows in random manufactured products like chocolate and boxes of raisins.)

Still, the fewer bugs and dirt on your fresh fruits and veggies, the better, right? While regular washing is usually enough to keep your family from the real dangers of unwashed produce — think germs like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria — a little extra peace of mind never hurt any mom. Read on to find out how fruit and vegetable washing machines work, and where you can get your own.

What is a fruit and vegetable washing machine?

While it would be adorable if this handy device looked like a miniature washing machine, it's styled more like a pill-shaped Bluetooth speaker. Produce washing machines are small devices you can pop into a bowl of water alongside your fruits and veggies to give them a deep clean. (Quick side note: Hinch uses purified water, which you should also do for accurate results — tap water often has its own ick level that factors into the cleaning process.)

How do produce washing machines actually work?

The devices work using ultrasonic cleaning, which basically means they put off high-frequency sound waves that cause vibrations in the water. In turn, the sound waves help loosen dirt and bugs that regular washing might miss. The product is also super easy to clean thanks to its removable top, and it comes with a charger so you can keep it ready to use every time you return from a trip to the grocery store.

If you’re ready to give your produce a deep clean, check out the link below: