Summary

Vortex Fruit Washer (Size L)

Whoever came up with this type of device was clearly someone with an engineer’s spark. I don’t know the name of the original creator, but one thing’s for sure — it’s a brilliant idea. You can find dozens, maybe even hundreds, of similar fruit and berry washers online. I reviewed quite a few 3D models and was just about ready to print one, but as often happens, I noticed some design choices that, in my opinion, didn’t seem fully thought through. So, as usual, I decided to make my own.

And I’m really happy with how it turned out. You can see exactly how the washer works in a short video I made specifically for this.

A few notes on printing

At first, I planned to print it in PETG, but at that moment, white and yellow-green PLA were already loaded in the AMS — so I went with those. The combo worked out well, at least in my opinion. I actually have a soft spot for white and green, so the choice felt natural.

Printing went smoothly. Tree supports held the bottom structure well — but fair warning: they’re pretty dense in my 3MF file . If that’s not your thing, feel free to adjust them. In the video, you’ll notice I lightly sanded the surface — not to perfection, but for something this functional, that’s more than enough.

Design details

The water inlet channel has a fairly steep slope — from an engineering standpoint. That sharp drop ensures a strong flow, even with medium faucet pressure. Despite the bowl’s decent size (19 cm in diameter), the vortex is powerful and spins fruits and berries efficiently for a thorough rinse.

One key detail: the center tube. Many models I saw have it sealed at the top — and I think that’s a design flaw. Mine is intentionally left open and sits slightly lower than the outer slots in the bowl. This lets the flow carry small debris and particles toward the center, where it drains straight into the sink. Excess water escapes through the side slots, which stay unclogged. The center works as a natural drain — clean and efficient.

Summer’s here, and fall isn’t far behind — prime time for berries, fruit, compotes, and multivitamin preserves. When everything’s juicy and ripe, a tool like this washer comes in really handy. I’m sure many of you will appreciate it as much as I do. Personally, I love making jam — and a good rinse is where it all begins.

See the video for details:

If you liked this thing - let me know by putting like!

Upgrade: Cap for the Vortex Fruit Washer

When I designed these bowls — both the large and the small versions — everything was calculated so that the central opening would carry away fine debris: dirt particles, skins, sand. And that’s exactly how it worked.

But then a subscriber sent me a video showing an unexpected issue: light berries — like blueberries — don’t sink. They swirl beautifully in the vortex, but instead of staying in the bowl, they get sucked straight into the central drain. Perfect, right? Everything according to plan… except this.

So I created the green cap. It snaps onto the top of the drain tube and keeps the berries in place. Fine debris still flows out the bottom. Excess water exits through the side vents. But the berries? They stay where they belong. Not a single one escapes.

Does it work? Oh, it works. And while the haters wheeze like an overheated kettle — choke on your bile, folks — everything spins, washes, and filters exactly as intended :) . A tiny part, solving a big problem.

You can either download the STL file or use the pre-configured 3MF print-ready version .