Viral videos often show people scrubbing eggs with soap, making many wonder if they’ve been storing eggs wrong. While washing them seems cleaner, food safety experts warn that washing store-bought eggs at home is unnecessary and can actually increase the risk of bacteria entering the egg.

Eggshells contain thousands of microscopic pores protected by a thin natural layer called the bloom. In the US and Canada, producers wash eggs to sanitize them, which removes this bloom and requires the eggs to be refrigerated. European countries leave the bloom intact, allowing eggs to be kept safely at room temperature.

Washing store-bought eggs again at home works against you. Cold water causes the egg’s contents to contract, creating a vacuum that pulls surface bacteria deep inside through the open pores.

For farm-fresh, visibly dirty eggs, gently wash them using water warmer than the egg, skip the soap, dry them immediately, and refrigerate. For store-bought eggs, simply keep them in their original carton on a fridge shelf and skip the extra step entirely.