Dettol To Wash Veggies?

[rrose070]

Or can anyone suggest an alternative? I will wait till I know. Thanks!

[rrose070]

I mean, highly diluted of course.

[Crow Boy]

I mean, highly diluted of course.

Even highly diluted it will most likely affect the taste. At home we carefully clean our food in cold running water to remove any dirt and "fertiliser". Nobody died at our place yet

CB

[rrose070]

That makes sense. But, with running water, isn't there the risk of the royal poops?

[cmsally]

Dettol ... ooo.. gross

Wash in tap water or soak in tap water for 15-20 mins is better.

Soak in water with a few drops of iodine if you are afraid of bacteria

or some people soak in water with some vinegar. But as far as I know only the iodine mix will kill the bacteria.

[rrose070]

Dettol ... ooo.. gross

Wash in tap water or soak in tap water for 15-20 mins is better.

Soak in water with a few drops of iodine if you are afraid of bacteria

or some people soak in water with some vinegar. But as far as I know only the iodine mix will kill the bacteria.

Excellent info! I was going on the theory that to make drinking water safe, you add a scootch of bleach. But, couldn't find the ingredients in Dettol listed in English! This I will try...and will let everyone know the outcome (!) Ha! If any. Or not.

[Crow Boy]

Dettol ... ooo.. gross

Wash in tap water or soak in tap water for 15-20 mins is better.

Soak in water with a few drops of iodine if you are afraid of bacteria

or some people soak in water with some vinegar. But as far as I know only the iodine mix will kill the bacteria.

Excellent info! I was going on the theory that to make drinking water safe, you add a scootch of bleach. But, couldn't find the ingredients in Dettol listed in English! This I will try...and will let everyone know the outcome (!) Ha! If any. Or not.

Things like dettol are only intended for external use and could make you quite ill if you ingested it. I have seen a product at CarreFour called "vege wash" which I think was from the US. I have never had problem from tap water in Chiang Mai. We wash everything including the meat and vegetables in ordinary tap water without problems.

To be safe though I only drink water out of a bottle and to be really sure that it is safe, I make sure it has a Beer Singha label on the front

CB

[Goldenbead]

There are products as mentioned above that you can use to wash vegetables but is it really necessary? I use tap water to wash all food and to cook rice, pasta, etc in. I even make coffee in my coffee maker with tap water. Having said that, we have our own well and have never had any problems doing this. I do drink only bottled water though.

[ignis]

err.. why ??

Buy 'Vegetable & Fruit Washing Liquid' by St Andrews, That is what it says on the lable... you can buy it anywhere.......... 250 size clear plastic bottle [looking like washing up liquid + is by them in Tesco] pale geen.. Shows Veg and fruit on the picture..... All Thai on the back

[BlackArtemis]

I;m with Crowboy, I was paranoid when i first got here. I only used bottle water to brush my teeth etc, then I woke up. Now it's tap water for everything but drinking. Haha my travel doctor even was afraid when i mentioned I would be swimming in lakes and rivers here and to only enter the water with waders on! You would think they would hire more knowledgeable people to inform the massess eh?

[JuniorExPat]

I;m with Crowboy, I was paranoid when i first got here. I only used bottle water to brush my teeth etc, then I woke up. Now it's tap water for everything but drinking. Haha my travel doctor even was afraid when i mentioned I would be swimming in lakes and rivers here and to only enter the water with waders on! You would think they would hire more knowledgeable people to inform the massess eh?

Agree entirely but I think there may be an argument that over time one builds up a tolerance - I have friends who visit once a year and without fail one of them will get the trots and we usually pretty much drink and eat the same stuff during their visit.

Dettol + food = yuk! Please don't do that, it will more than likely do some mischief with your insides - if you want peace of mind go with iodine or the veggie washing liquid.

JxP

[Pink Mist]

I assume you are gonna cook the veges after washing them, so where's the problem?

[JuniorExPat]

I assume you are gonna cook the veges after washing them, so where's the problem?

I didn't make that assumption Using Dettol prior to boiling water seemed like overkill . . . but maybe that is the point!

JxP

[p1p]

I purchase strong hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by the five gallon drum from a chemical supplier. Add about 1/4 cup to a bucket of cold water and use that to wash and sterilise your vegetables and/or most other things that need cleaning.

Soak for 15 minutes or so to kill bacteria, oxidise and remove chemical residue and to crispen up your veggies. Helps bring limp veg back to life too.

(You might find it difficult to buy the strong solution in quantity because it is a base ingredient in several particularly antisocial end products. Start by asking for litre bottles and give a good explanation why you require it. They should be willing to sell them.)

Wear gloves and do not allow this stuff to touch your skin and particularly do not put it undiluted on cuts or abrasions, it will cause nasty chemical burns. For first aid use it must be diluted at least 1:20-25 with sterile water.

Use as an alternative to bleach in your laundry.

[cmsally]

I think it depends on whether you want to clean them from bacteria or pesticides.

Personally I am not worried about the bacteria especially as most things apart from salad gets cooked.

My concern would be pesticides, in which case soak them in water for about 15mins, even better a mixture of vinegar and water or lemon juice and water , the acidity should interact with the skin of the vegetable enough for a lot of the pesticides to leech out.

I think you will find that the veggie washing liquid is mostly citrus/acid for this reason, so just make your own.

Personally I wouldn't want to resort to ingesting household chemicals!

[rrose070]

just to clean them, for salad particularly. I buy them from a neighborhood stand, so they still have some dirt on them. And then you know you hear that you should only eat things you can peel, but my mother always said all the vitamins are in the skin (not to mention fiber.) I'm going to try the iodine thing, once I get to the store. Thanks all!

[SwaziBird]

HOLD YOUR HORSES !

Wow, Dettol !!!!!

Wow, Bleaches !!!!

Got just the thing you need. Go to your pharmacist. Ask for permanganate of potash ( potassium permanganate ). It will come in a small plastic "bottle" for only a few baht. Take a pinch of the crystals. Throw them into a basin of water and watch it turn a magenta colour. It is tasteless and gets rid of all the nasties clinging to the veges etc. after a good shake up and rinse.

Old fashioned, but as good today as ever - no drastic bad tastes. Yuk !!!!!!

Google for more information. They never had that resource way back then, but it worked !

Cheers

[p1p]

You should note that Hydrogen Peroxide is just water with an additional oxygen ion, which splits off to do it's magic. If used in reasonable dilution, it is perfectly safe and will have no flavour or harmful residue, indeed it has the result of making vegetables appear fresher.

Most other chemicals recommended above are considerably less efficacious or, for that matter safe.

[SwaziBird]

You should note that Hydrogen Peroxide is just water with an additional oxygen ion, which splits off to do it's magic. If used in reasonable dilution, it is perfectly safe and will have no flavour or harmful residue, indeed it has the result of making vegetables appear fresher.

Most other chemicals recommended above are considerably less efficacious or, for that matter safe.

p1p

Dont want to challenge what you said - you've given a perfectly good and understandable explanation - but will it turn my hair blonde ?? ( the little I have left, that is )

Cheers

[ArtfulD]

I cant believe people are looking at using dettol and bleach to wash away harmful pesticides and dirt in their food, even in small amounts...do you think you are actually improving the situation? That label that says "Do not ingest" on the bottle means, "Do not eat" you know! Its HARMFUL to you....if your really worried about washing your food, use boiled tap water or bottled water. In addition salt added to water is a great disinfectant and all natural (and wont kill you).

Edited November 10, 2007 by ArtfulD

[Samuian]

There are hydroponical grown Veggies as Salads and Herbs, just need a rinse.

If "mechanical" cleaning, brush and water, doesn't satisfy use the before mentioned "Veggie Wash" it contains Tenside an other saponine agents (found in many detergent, shampoos...).

Vinegar and water - equal parts...let soak for 5-10 Minutes.

or Baking Soda...

Amway sells an organic Veggie Cleaner.

NOTE: Mushrooms (most of them) are ONLY to be cleaned mechanical! They will absorb too much water and get mushy when cooked!

But then these commercial cleaners are quite expensive, it just takes some common sense to clean oyr veggies and food stuffs... basically the whole process of producing food and the area has to be kept clean.

Use a PVC cutting bord for meats and fish let dry in the sun!

Use different cutting bords for meats and non-meat products!

Never use the knife u did cut meats with to cut the ingredients for a salad - unless you washed it well!

Never store meat above Veggies in the fridge - blood my by dripping on to them!

[rrose070]

Yes, my food handler's permit is expired, but I have very safe handling practices (tempeted to be TOO safe, you'll notice) OK! Ok! I promise not to use household or industrial cleansers! I just thought I remembered that apinch of bleach made water safe. But I wound up just wiping the veggies off with their condensation; will get either iodine, vinegar, veggie wash or the strange-named one I have to write down. Unless my wipe-off results in no sad tummy, in which case I'll leave well enough alon. I'll update in the morning, either from my commode or my living room

[rrose070]

I cant believe people are looking at using dettol and bleach to wash away harmful pesticides and dirt in their food, even in small amounts...do you think you are actually improving the situation? That label that says "Do not ingest" on the bottle means, "Do not eat" you know! Its HARMFUL to you....if your really worried about washing your food, use boiled tap water or bottled water. In addition salt added to water is a great disinfectant and all natural (and wont kill you).

I couldn't read the label, it's in Thai. I'm studying speaking Thai, but not writing yet. Using alcohol occurred to me, but that would be a waste!

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

You should note that Hydrogen Peroxide is just water with an additional oxygen ion, which splits off to do it's magic. If used in reasonable dilution, it is perfectly safe and will have no flavour or harmful residue, indeed it has the result of making vegetables appear fresher.

Most other chemicals recommended above are considerably less efficacious or, for that matter safe.

If that H202 is not Food Grade then your going to be introducing all sorts of industrial contaminants into your food. Do you have an ISO # for it? As far as I can tell Food Grade H202 is not available in Thailand. You can achieve the same end result as FG H202 by buying a Ozone generator and using a aeration stone to essentially make your own clean H202 water.

[SwaziBird]

Yes, my food handler's permit is expired, but I have very safe handling practices (tempeted to be TOO safe, you'll notice) OK! Ok! I promise not to use household or industrial cleansers! I just thought I remembered that apinch of bleach made water safe. But I wound up just wiping the veggies off with their condensation; will get either iodine, vinegar, veggie wash or the strange-named one I have to write down. Unless my wipe-off results in no sad tummy, in which case I'll leave well enough alon. I'll update in the morning, either from my commode or my living room

HOLD YOUR HORSES ! Ive got just what you need. Go to the pharmacy and ask for.........

Cheers

[kash]

I am sure would understand the mind of the OP if they had seen the inside of a randomly selected water pipe in chiang mai, not to talk about the inside of the walls of the water reservoir....

[Maejo Man]

Use a PVC cutting bord for meats and fish let dry in the sun!

Why on earth would you advocate the use of a PVC cutting board? For a start it's toxic, and secondly because of the abrasive addatives, will take the edge off a knife in nothing flat. Drying in the sun will only make PVC brittle, and likely to chip and contaminate your food.

HDPE is a world standard in the food process industry, and even UHMWPE which a more dense polyethelene, and will not turn the edge of a knife.

[rrose070]

I am, sadly, starting out with lousy loaner knives off the bat

Don't worry; it's been hours and hours sincde my salad, and so far no cramps or any such trouble I think I may be ok with no chems! (Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton just sat up in their graves)

[Donnyboy]

I would recommend baking soda and not peroxide due to its hazardous nature. Peroxide will bleach your skin if not handled with care. I understand thou hydrogen peroxide is used as a vege sanitizer in some commercial applications, but they are dosed via dispensing systems and the like, to prevent wrong dillutions that could cause chemical contamination which would be worse than not adding anything at all. And the solution tested for active ppm. So in a home situation, baking soda would suffice.

try this site here for instructions for veges wash

but personally, water is fine, definately not dettol.

[rrose070]

And I am writing to update you all from...DRUMROLL, PLEASE...the LIVING ROOM!! All is well and methinks I was worrying too much. But what a lively topic, no? Thanks all, now I'll try and dream up another topic to stir everyone's interests and passions!