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LOL when you phrase it like that, it makes me feel a bit silly. Yes, I do wash all of my vegetables and fruits with soap and water; kiwis, mangoes, melons, etc. even though I always cut up melons off the rind, as well as other non-appetizing skin, and put the fruits in containers for consumption.

Yeah, I don't get it -- why would washing a melon ever be necessary? The rind is completely non-edible (or have I been living my entire life under a misconception?).

of course... because if you do not wash them, when you put the knife through to cut it, anything nasty that might be laying on the surface will go with the knife and contaminate the inside...

People were getting sick from germs on the surface of melons when they cut the fruit so I clean my melons AND am very careful when I peel the fruit.

Absolutely. As MadelynRodriguez and ocarol expressed, cutting through the unwashed rind will contaminate the melon. I also wash bananas before peeling them. And no, I don't have OCD. I just would rather not ingest E coli or any of its cousins. From what I understand, soap doesn't do a better job than plain water, but a rinse of water and white vinegar is best of all. I keep white vinegar in a spray bottle next to my kitchen sink. I spritz fruit and vegetables thoroughly with vinegar, then rinse well.

I agree with always thoroughly washing the outside of melons before cutting & I, too, will never buy pre-cut melons at the market.

Always wash with water only

Yes I do; better safe than sorry.

I've never gotten sick, but I do always wash them, for the reasons set out above. If I'm going to get food poisoning, I'll be damned if I get it from fruit when there are so many 'riskier' foods out there.

I wash everything now...even lemons and limes.

Yes. I wash all produce before eating, even organic "washed" greens.

This is a no-brainer to me.

I wash all my produce--I know how many grubby hands probably touched it before mine came along to buy it up. ;)

Definitely, cantaloupes are notorious for being one of the dirtiest fruits out there and they are very difficult to clean because of their rough outer rind.

unless they are obviously dirty (as in, i can see some dirt on 'em), I don't wash melons (or bananas, or kiwis, or oranges, or anything where i'm not going to eat the outside). why wash the rind, i'm not going to eat it.

foodborne illnesses, gunk on the rind getting onto my knife and then onto the melon, blah blah blah.

immune system. exposing it to itty bitty little melonny bits only makes it stronger. let it be known though, that i was also one of those kids who ate worms, dirt, orange rinds, acorns off the ground, and crabapples off the tree.

Yes, I wash them, the knife is going through the outer rind that have been sitting in a bin at the market, where it's potentially been handled (not to mention the trip to market, passing through who knows what?). Takes a minute, insures my health.

Of course I wash melons before I eat them. The knife goes through the skin and carries whatever was on the skin onto the flesh.

@FastFoodCritic: I wash bananas before peeling because whatever is on the banana skin would be transferred from my hands to the fruit. Next time you slice one into your cereal, consider how the banana travels from Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras, the Philippines, Panama, or Guatemala (see http://www.banana.com/farming.html) to your market, and what dreck the fruit has collected on its way. Blech!

Another reason not to use pre-cut melons: when you put the leftover pieces (if any) in a container for later use, the rind from one slice will invariably touch the slice next to it.
It may sound weird to those of you who insist on NOT washing, but it absolutely isn't weird. Check out any of the YouTube videos re lemons and bacteria and you will immediately be washing every piece of fruit or vegetable in your fridge.
I agree, soap is probably not necessary, but that veggie wash or the water/vinegar combo will work well.