How To Clean A Boos Board With Baking Soad

How to Make clean a Woods Cutting Board: Definite No-Nos

A cut board is a kitchen necessity. Whether it'due south plastic, glass, stone, or forest — cutting boards add functionality and aesthetic appeal to your kitchen.

The jury is nonetheless out on which type is the all-time cutting board for everyday use. Even so, the option usually comes down to wood or plastic. Of the two, wood is often a safer pick.

That's because wooden cutting boards pose a lower risk of property on to pathogens than plastic when properly maintained.

And then how do you lot safely utilise and maintain your wooden cutting boards? What's the best way of cleaning them? Is there anything you shouldn't do? Permit's dig deeper into forest cutting board cleaning dos and don'ts.

Cleaning Wooden Cutting Boards: The No-Nos

clean and maintain a wooden cutting board
17 x eleven Walnut Cutting Board with Juice Groove

To keep your wood cutting boards clean and well maintained, here's what you should never do:

Don't Put It in the Dishwasher

A dishwasher typically runs at 150–160 °F. At these temperatures, the glue and bonding agents holding the wood particles start to atomize, causing the wood to warp or scissure.

Information technology will not only be harder to use a warped board, merely the cracks arrive dangerous too. That'due south because cracks tin can become a convenance ground for bacteria.

So How Do Yous Clean the Cutting Board?

Hand wash your cut board soon after use with dish soap and water and rinse the board thoroughly when you're done. Utilise a scourer or scraper to remove any hardened residue.

If the board smells off or has a lingering strong scent like a garlicky smell, you tin can accept care of the smell with:

Baking soda
Lemon
Vinegar

Deodorizer	How to use it
Blistering Soda	Rub a baking soda paste over the wooden cut board and leave it for about v minutes. Then rinse it off and let it dry.
Lemon	Cover the board with a generous layer of evidently or kosher salt and use the lemon to scrub.
Vinegar	Launder the lath with equal parts vinegar and h2o.

Don't Leave It to Dry out on the Counter

When you wash your wood cutting board, it absorbs water and expands. When it dries, it will start to contract until it returns to its original position.

If y'all put it on the counter before it dries, one side retains moisture while the other side dries up. This uneven contraction and expansion put stress on the board, causing it to warp or crack.

Equally mentioned earlier, a cracked lath is a health time bomb.

What you need to practise instead is make sure the cutting board dries upwardly evenly. Dry the board upright or leave information technology on the rack whenever you're done washing it so information technology can bounce back.

Don't Cantankerous-Contaminate Food On the Board

Cantankerous-contamination is when bacteria passes from one object to some other. Information technology'southward especially dangerous if the germs are transferred to ready-to-eat foods.

For instance, bacteria from the juices of uncooked meat tin transfer to your salad, causing food poisoning.

Each fourth dimension you cut food on the board, you shouldn't immediately apply the same board to chop something else (to avert cross-contamination). This is particularly true after you cut raw meat.

Hither's what you lot can do to avoid cross-contagion:

Wash Your Cut Board Subsequently Each Employ

Scrub your cutting board with a kitchen scourer under running hot or warm h2o with soap after every utilize. Scrub harder on places where the board has cut marks and etchings. You tin use whatsoever regular dishwashing detergent or antibacterial soap.

Tip: Since y'all'll be washing it a lot, use a natural soap that won't be harsh on your hands.

clean a wooden cutting board using soap and a sponge or cloth
Chef's Antibacterial Soap

Once you're done scrubbing, rinse the cutting board thoroughly with hot water. Plow the water upward all the fashion to get the maximum water pressure.

Why non use cold water?

While hot water doesn't kill any bacteria, information technology dislodges grime ameliorate than cold h2o. The more grime you can become out, the college the chances of getting most bacteria out.

Think to wash both sides of the board, even if you lot only used one side. Once you're washed, dry it with a cloth or paper towel and hang it in an upright position.

Disinfect the Board

The USDA Food Safe and Inspection Service recommends sanitizing your cut board to brand absolutely certain you got all the germs out.

To practise this, you need to soak the cutting board in a chlorine bleach solution, vinegar, or another strong disinfectant for a few minutes. Rinse information technology with h2o when you're washed and let it dry.

Disinfectant	How to utilize information technology
Bleach	Put ane tablespoon of bleach in a gallon of water and soak for five minutes.
Vinegar	Mix white vinegar and water in a 1:4 ratio and soak for 5–10 minutes.
Hydrogen Peroxide	Add together 1 function hydrogen peroxide to 4 parts water and soak for 5–x minutes.
Colloidal Silver	Spray on the surface of the lath and let information technology dry.

Pro Tip: Use a natural nontoxic hydrogen peroxide or colloidal silver sanitizing spray– it's faster and easier.

Meet Also: Clean Your Cut Board the Correct Way

disinfect to get rid of germs to clean a wooden cutting board
Chefs Spray

Don't Leave the Board Dry and Flaky

You should never leave your cutting board feeling extremely dry or flaky. That'southward considering if the wood becomes dry and brittle, it gets easily damaged past knives or meat pounders.

To finish it from drying out, periodically oil the cutting board once or twice a month. Oiling helps to flavour and preserve the grains of woods in their natural state, making the cutting board concluding longer.

That said, you should never use nutrient oil on your cutting lath. Nutrient oils like olive, peanut, or vegetable oil go bad really chop-chop and make the board smell horrible. Opt for mineral oil instead.

Spread some nutrient-grade mineral oil on the board and exit information technology for a minimum of 2 hours. Then only wipe off the oil and hang it to dry.

Rub with oil and wipe off paper towel
Seasoning Your Woods Cutting Board: 4 Steps to Have it Last You Years

Cheque out this fantabulous quality Grandpa's garden mineral oil for woods seasoning. You simply demand a few drops to terminal you a few months in between treatments.

Run across Also: Mineral Oil vs. Coconut Oil for Your Forest Cut Lath, Which One Is Better?

stains and conditions wood cutting boards
All Natural Wood Seasoning Oil

Once you lot're done oiling, it's a proficient idea to condition the board with wax to proceed it from absorbing backlog moisture and stains. Virginia Boys Kitchen has the perfect range of natural waxes you can use.

See Too: Seasoning Your Wood Cutting Board

Basic Care Kit - Oil and Wax Combo
Bones Care Kit - Oil and Wax Combo

Don't Soak It in the Sink

Soaking your wooden cutting board in the sink is an absolute no-no. Why?

Forest is a water-absorbent material. When you lot leave information technology to soak upwards the h2o, the forest will warp and somewhen break.

If y'all need to remove caked-on balance, try scraping it off with an abrasive scrub instead.

Taking Care of Your Wood Cutting Board

properly clean wooden cutting boards
Cheese and Breadstuff Parcel

Wood cutting boards need a flake of care to keep them in tip-top shape. Simply that shouldn't stop y'all from getting beautiful, functional wood cut boards for your kitchen.

Plow to Virginia Boys Kitchen for your cutting board cleaning and maintenance accessories.

Hurry and purchase your cutting board care kitcomplete with soap, mineral oils, and deep cleaning spray.

Complete Care Kit for Wood Cutting Board
Complete Intendance Kit for Wood Cutting Board

While you're at that place, why not add together a new forest cut lath to your kitchen tools? One for fruits, one for breadstuff, and a split up 1 for raw meat — it's safer that style.

Here's the best part — Virginia Boys Kitchen will found a tree for every board you buy. Protect the environment and get a luxurious walnut cut board in one fell swoop!

Related Article Links:

Seasoning Your Wood Cutting Board

Clean Your Cutting Board the Right Way

Mineral Oil vs. Coconut Oil for Your Wood Cutting Board, Which I Is Better?