Place the peanuts in a large bucket and fill it with warm water. Green peanuts from a farmer’s market or road-side stand may still contain debris such as grass, branches, or leaves from the farm. Remove and discard any debris that may float to the surface. You won't need to wash pre-packaged peanuts purchased from a store. Instead, you can open the bag and go straight to soaking them.
You can also remove any broken or damaged peanut shells that you spot.
Depending on how dirty they are, you may consider doing this outside. If you can work outside, consider using a water hose to spray the peanuts inside of the bucket to remove any debris.