New design for low - cost fruit and vegetable washing station

Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety

Are you looking for a low-cost, portable and simple way to wash and spray fruits and vegetables in your washing/packing area? This is a construction guide and materials list to build a mobile wash station for washing fruits and vegetables. The station has both a spray table for roots and a stand for wash tubs for washing things like greens.

These are the materials needed to construct 2 flat topped spray tables and 1 tub station. Pricing changes over time, and likely will continue to go up, but this is the estimate for building 2 spray tables and 1 wash tub station. The current total is approximately $388 in materials. 

 Photo: David van Eeckhout, The Good Acre

Materials List

Item	Qty	Description and Link	Source		Price	Total
Lumber	14	2x6x10'	Menard's		$8.72	$122.08
Screws	2	1 lb boxes 9x2 1/2 exterior screws for structure	Menard's		$7.78	$15.56
Paint	1	Exterior paint for wooden parts	Ramsey County Product Re-use Center		$0.00	$0.00
Bench Tops	6	A/V Plastic Benchtop 18x36	Berry Hill Drip Irrigation		$12.39	$74.34
Screws	1	1 lb box 8x1 1/4 exterior screws for benchtops	Menard's		$7.78	$7.78
Wash tubs	3	2-bushel produce lugs	Nolt's		$20.00	$60.00
Drains for tubs	3	1" bulkhead fittings for draining lugs	Zoro		$6.27	$18.81
Drain Plugs	1	6-pack of Size 6.5 rubber stoppers for lug drains	Amazon		$9.88	$9.88
Freight	1	Shipping	Nolts, Berry Hill and Zoro		$80.00	$80.00

Building Instructions

Step 1: Cut lumber according to the cut list chart below. (For example - Row 1: 2 Boards cut to give you 2 – 68 inch boards and 2 - 36 inch boards.) Step 2: Assemble legs: Screw one 36" piece to one 30.5" piece, repeat 12 times Step 3: Assemble bench frames: Screw one 36.5" piece into the end of one 52" piece, repeat until you have a rectangle. (See the drawing – Mobile Wash Stand) Step 4: Assemble tub support frame: Measure the width of the tubs below the lip and attach the 4 32" cross pieces to the 68" pieces the same width as the tub Step 5: Attach bench tops: Attach the three bench tops to each bench frame using screws. Step 6: Attach legs: Attach 4 legs to each top with 3-4 screws.

Wood parts list

Cut from the 14 2X6X10’ boards       

 

Qty	Length	Description
12	36"	Long part of leg
12	30.5	Short part of leg
4	32	Cross pieces for tub support
2	68	Long piece for tub support
6	52	Long piece for bench top
4	36.5	Short piece for bench top

Cut List 

# of Boards	1st Cut	2nd Cut	3rd Cut
2	68	36
2	36	32	32
4	52	30.5	30.5
2	36	36	36
2	52	36	30.5
2	36.5	36.5	30.5

Once built, this wash stand can be used to wash vegetables to prepare them for sale. Fill the tanks with water to rinse things like greens, or soak broccoli. Use the spray tables to spray off things like carrots or summer squash if needed.

But remember, not all fruits and vegetables should be washed. If they are just a little dusty, a quick dry rub or dusting might be all that is needed. Some things, like berries, tomatoes, storage potatoes and many fresh herbs are not washed at all, or they will break down very quickly in storage. All produce should be washed prior to consumption by the customer, but it might not have to be washed at the farm.

For more information on postharvest handling, removing field heat and food safety when washing, see this UMN Extension webpage, Postharvest Handling of Fruit and Vegetable Crops in Minnesota.

A special thank you to Thomas Austin and the students in the Career and Technical Education program at Humboldt High School in St. Paul, MN for building the wash station prototypes and for the CAD drawing, and to David Van Eeckhout and Good Acre Food Hub for the original design.