General Use Guidelines
Our cutting boards and serving boards are meant for daily hard use, and do not need to be babied, but that does not mean to treat them carelessly. If you treat it well, wash and dry it thoroughly, and keep it regularly oiled, a board can last generations and be passed down. The following simple guidelines can help extend the life of your pieces with proper care and maintenance.
Regular Cleaning
For daily use and cleaning you can simply wash and wipe down your cutting or serving board with a cloth towel or sponge and mild soap. After you have used your board, wash it on all sides and rinse it clean immediately, then wipe it down with a dry cloth towel. We recommend letting the board stand upright on an angle (perhaps resting on a towel on your counter, leaning against the wall). This will allow air to circulate around the board and let it fully dry overnight. Even airflow will allow it to fully dry, which will prevent any warping, and prevent any mildew growth (as opposed to letting it sit on a moist counter with one side down for a period of time).
Please DO NOT submerge or soak your board in water, or put it in the dishwasher. This is the easiest way you can transform something beautiful into a pile of scrapwood. Do not place it in the microwave. Do not place it over an open stove top or exposed fire.
Occasional Deep Cleaning
Over time you may want to perform a more deep or thorough cleaning on your board rather than using just warm water and mild soap. DO NOT use any harsh chemicals, sprays, Magic Eraser, or anything similar to clean the wood surface. The caustic nature or solvents present in many commercially cleaners available can have deleterious effects on a natural finish, and may damage both the function and appearance. White vinegar (avoid other vinegars) is an excellent natural disinfectant, and you can wipe the board down with it, and then rinse it off. If there are persistent stains or odors you wish to remove, another natural but effective way to clean your board is with baking soda (or coarse sea salt) and lemon. You can simply sprinkle your lightly damp board (or just the affected areas) with baking soda (or coarse sea salt), and then scrub it in with lemon wedges. We like to work in a circular fashion to work this into the wood in affected areas, and then rinse thoroughly with warm water, and dry thoroughly.
Regularly Oiling Your Board
Like leather, wood was once a living thing, and the exposed surfaces of it will last longer if it is protected. In the case of cutting and serving boards, this means regularly oiling it when the wood feels or looks dry. This will not only help the wood last, but will also help reduce the growth of germs in the long term. Regularly oiling your board is essential. Whenever the board looks dry, it is time for some maintenance, which only takes a few minutes. Depending on regular usage this can mean weekly or sometimes every few months.
Do not use any type of vegetable, olive, or fatty animal oils, as they will all get sticky and go rancid over time. The best thing to use to preserve the health of your wooden cutting board or serving board is food grade mineral oil. This is available at most grocery stores, hardware stores, online at Amazon, etc.
After your board has been washed and thoroughly dried (we like to let it dry overnight to be sure), simply apply the mineral oil to your board, and rub it in. You can use your hands, a paper towel, blue shop towels, or simply a clean cotton rag. The oil will need to soak in, so we like to liberally apply a coat of oil to all surfaces, and then let the cutting board absorb as much as possible and dry overnight, usually standing upright, sitting on a rag, leaning against on a wall or something similar, so all edges are exposed. This allows air to fully circulate around the board, without resting on one side. Once the excess oil has soaked in (let’s say overnight), you can simply buff off any excess with a rag or paper towel, and your cutting board should once again have that nice satin feel to it.
You may also want to apply a layer of natural beeswax, or something similar to your board, after the mineral oiling process above. Some people use a beeswax paste, or some use a commercially available wax product. We use our house blend called Bespoke Board Butter, which is a mix of food grade mineral oil, organic food grade carnauba wax, and USDA certified organic beeswax. This combination can simply be buffed on and then buffed off, using a paper towel, blue shop towels, or just a clean cotton rag. All new boards we deliver have this applied as the last protective step, and we like to reapply this Bespoke Board Butter to our own heavy daily use boards at home about every few months (quarterly).
Long Term Maintenance and Refinishing Your Cutting Board
If your wooden cutting or serving board has sustained serious damage, misuse, needs spot repairs, or something else that would require it to be refinished, we do offer refinishing services. Please email us at bespokedrip@gmail.com and we would be happy to discuss. But if you wish to attempt to tackle this project on your own, we have created a step by step guide to Refinishing Your Cutting Board.