The effective removal of pesticide residue by washing fresh produce with an ordinary surfactant vs. washing with just plain water has been documented for a long time. This data has been available since 1965 !!

Chart analysis:
Note the larger surface area of the green leafy vegetable holds more pesticide residue, it also has the greatest potential for reduction in pesticide residue when washed with surfactant.

Comparison of Washing with and without Surfactants
on Removal of Parathion from Vegetables

These charts were excerpted from a report entitled Fate and Persistence of Pesticides by C.H. Van Middelem published in the 1965 symposium "Pesticides in the Environment", co-sponsored by the division of Water, Air, and Waste Chemistry and the Pesticide Subdivision of the Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The results show a reduction in the two pesticides tested of over 90% for some vegetables when washed with surfactant.. The tests also show that polyether alcohol is sometimes effective, however Mom’s Veggiewash does not advocate the use of alcohol in cleaning produce. Mom’s Veggiewash uses a 5% nonionic surfactant solution, specially formulated to reduce pesticide residues even further.  Click here to see Mom's Veggiewash test results