在发达国家，食用蔬菜前彻底清洗是一个相对现代的问题，主要原因是病原微生物的扩散。究竟这些微生物的致病性更强，还是发达国家的微生物缺乏适当的接触污垢中常见微生物的机会，医疗和卫生当局之间存在争议。不管怎样，把生蔬菜浸泡在水里是相对有效的消毒方法，尽管有些营养成分有被滤掉的危险。
消毒的重要性
美国农业部(U.S. Department of Agriculture)建议，食用所有水果和蔬菜之前，用干净的水彻底清洗，以减少病原微生物(尤其是细菌)感染的风险。一些菌株会污染菠菜和其他叶菜等农产品，导致人们通过食物传播疾病，尤其是那些免疫系统薄弱的人。例如，大肠杆菌通常存在于粪便中，如果与蔬菜和其他食物一起食用，会导致腹泻和呕吐等胃肠道症状。对于表皮较硬或有很多裂缝的水果和蔬菜，美国农业部建议用刷子刷洗它们，用水冲洗。
醋和其他抗菌剂
根据《公共卫生营养:从原则到实践》，大多数蔬菜可以在干净的自来水下有效消毒，但这取决于蔬菜的类型和蔬菜表面的污垢和杀虫剂的数量。For especially dirty vegetables or those with many folds and crevices, such as broccoli and cauliflower, soaking them in water may be more effective. Rinsing or soaking vegetables with diluted white vinegar -- one part vinegar to three parts water -- is more effective than using tap water. Researchers have discovered that thoroughly rinsing or soaking vegetables in diluted vinegar kills about 98 percent of bacteria, whereas using tap water and scrubbing with a brush eliminates about 85 percent. Other compounds that are effective antimicrobials and appropriate to use on vegetables include fresh lemon juice, colloidal silver and iodine solution.
浸出的营养
根据《人类健康营养科学》，浸泡蔬菜可以有效地清洗它们，但它也会过滤掉水溶性营养素，比如某些维生素、矿物质和具有抗氧化特性的植物化学物质。Vitamin C, for example, is susceptible to being leached out. Chopping vegetables into small pieces and then soaking them is even worse because more surface area is exposed to the water and the air, which also oxidizes some nutrients.
建议
浸泡那些特别脏或沾有杀虫剂的蔬菜是一种消毒的有效方法，特别是如果加了醋的话。浸泡蔬菜前不要切成小块，浸泡时间不要超过两分钟，以免营养流失过多。像花椰菜或花椰菜这样有很多裂缝的蔬菜可能需要更多的时间。