Sort through mushrooms and get rid of any that may be rotting or wormy.

Cut off ends of mushroom stems if they are stuck with dirt.

Keep a bowl to receive the stems, or other pieces you may cut off if they are undesirable.

Brush quickly if they are excessively covered in debris. You can skip this step if you think the water will do the trick quickly.

Place whole mushrooms in a bowl filled with water and quickly wash each mushroom, shake off excess water and place on paper or tea towel. If mushrooms are very dirty, add water to bowl and clean each one individually, shake and then put on towel. If water gets very dirty with lots of grit, change water and proceed.

Alternatively, if you don't have many mushrooms, you could wash individual mushrooms under running water.

Chop mushrooms shortly after and cook. Washing mushrooms will speed the decaying regardless of how firm they are.

Sort through mushrooms and get rid of any that may be rotting or wormy. Sometimes you can save a portion of a mushroom if only part of it is off.

Cut off ends of mushroom stems if they are stuck with dirt.

Keep a bowl to receive the stems, or other pieces you may cut off if they are undesirable.

Lay mushrooms out on paper or tea towels. You can do this overnight if you wish as the mushrooms can benefit from the towels absorbing some of the moisture.

Take each mushroom in hand individually and use soft brush if dirt/debris is loosely clinging. Sometimes you will also need to use the firm brush.

Don’t be afraid to pick at needles and other debris with your deft fingers if brush isn't doing the trick!

With the firm brush firmly in hand, you “scratch” at the mushroom gently to get the more stubborn dirt freed from the fungi.

Place on towels until you’ve gone through your whole batch. At this point you can decide whether to let them dry out more on the towels, refrigerate, cook with, dehydrate or store away. You’ve worked hard for your bounty so be sure to handle your treasure with care!