Wood Cutting Board Care
Maintaining a wood cutting board is a quick and easy task that will help keep your board sanitary, looking new and extend the life of your board.
Proper Cleaning and Washing:
The best way to clean a wood board is to scrape off all remaining food residue from the surface after each use. Then, simply hand wash with warm water and soap.
After washing the wood cutting board, dry
'immediately'
with a towel and let it air dry standing up or on a raised rack with air flow.
Tips To Keep the Wood Flat:
- Do your best to allow both sides of the wood to breathe.
- Store your wood cutting boards standing up, either in a drying rack or a cabinet, leaning against the wall.
- Adding feet to the bottom of the boards also helps to keep them off of the countertop, allowing the bottom of the board to breathe as well.
- Avoid putting a wet board without feet flat on a countertop. It will dry on the top and stay wet on the bottom, and it will 'cup' for sure.
- Make sure to wash both sides of the cutting board after each use. Some people only wash the top, and that ends up hurting the board. When moisture reacts with grain, it swells, and if the swelling isn’t uniform, it can potentially ‘WARP’
the board.
Wood Cutting Board Maintenance:
While wooden cutting boards are proven to trap less harmful bacteria over time than their plastic counterparts, that doesn’t mean that you should ever skimp on cleaning them.
Remember, many of us use cutting boards to cut up raw meat, which means the boards are exposed to a wide variety of bacteria regularly. If you ever encounter any sour smells coming from your board, apply a cup of baking soda to the cutting board surface and pour a cup of vinegar over it before letting it sit for a few minutes. You could also cut a lemon in half and give your board a citrus rub down. This should 'help' remove any bad smells and give your battle-tested board a bit of a refresh.
If you notice the wood becoming a bit dry — usually every month or two (depending on usage) — give the entire surface a good wipe down with food-grade mineral oil and beeswax (board butter works great for regular maintenance).
** Before adding any Food-Grade Mineral Oil or Board Butter to your board make sure your wood cutting board is thoroughly dry!
Regular maintenance will ensure your wooden cutting board remains splinter, odor, and stain-free.
DO NOT:
- DO NOT put the board in the dishwasher. The heat and water will warp and possibly splinter the wood AND void warranties from most manufacturers.
- DO NOT dunk or let the board in stand in water. The wood will absorb water and potentially WARP.
- DO NOT put a wet board flat to dry. If the board dries on one side, it will cause the wood to WARP.
- DO NOT USE food-based oil, like vegetable oil, olive oil, peanut oil, corn oils, sesame oil, teak oil or walnut oil, as these have a tendency to go rancid.
- DO NOT USE alcohols, cleaning solvents or bleach. This could stain the wood and/or excessively dry the wood.
