Recently I invested in a nice wooden cutting board. I thought that the bigger the cutting board, the better my food would turn out. I am telling you–it’s not necessarily true.
But when I bought this beautiful wooden cutting board I realized something very important. Even the best kitchen tools don’t come with instructions on how to clean it. I knew there were special soaps or cleaners that I could buy but I wanted the safest method possible since a lot of my food would be on this cutting board. So I went in search of a good solution and boy, was it easier and cheaper than I could have ever imagined!
All you need are two ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen–lemon and coarse salt.
Here is a natural way to clean and refresh your wooden cutting boards.
- Wipe or rinse off your cutting board with water.
- Shake out a dollop of salt on to the stains or in the middle of the board. Then put a little more just for good measure. The salt acts as a scrub to remove stains that normal cleaning won’t get out.
- Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice on to the salt. The lemon juice disinfects and gets rid of any lingering odors.
- Use the lemon as a sponge and scrub those stains away. When the salt dissolves, you can let it sit for a couple minutes to sanitize your cutting board.
- Give it a final rinse and set it upright to dry.
Do you have any tips for keeping your wooden cutting boards looking like new?
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Ann Norton says
I didn’t know about this cleaning tips! It seems so easy to clean my cutting boards. I have tried so many different cleaners, but nothing didn’t help and didn’t remove the stains. Thanks for sharing!
Happy.MoneySaver says
You are so welcome! Glad it could help!
Dorinda says
Do you think you could use line in place of the lemon? And what about wooden utensils, think this cleaning tip would work on them? Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Dorinda says
That’s supposed to read “lime.” Lol
Happy.MoneySaver says
I haven’t tried to clean with limes but it might be worth a try. The great part about lemons is the natural stain removing properties they have. If you try it let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Vivian says
I have only plastic cutting boards, but have previously tried the salt & lemon cleaning suggestion with no luck. Do you have any ideas on how to take care of plastic boards?
Happy.MoneySaver says
Most plastic cutting boards can go in the dishwasher which is a great way to sanitize and disinfect. Dish soap and vinegar (used separately!) can also help get the stains out. For those hard to remove stains you could soak the board in a mixture of bleach and water. Hopefully one of those options will help!
dawn says
So, why do you need to keep the board “standing” while drying…drainage perhaps? I’m guilty of not doing this.
Happy.MoneySaver says
Yes, drying the board upright prevents moisture from staying on the board and eventually warping the wood. It was a new tip for me also!
Deborah says
Love this cleaning answer. I’ve also found that if your wooden board starts drying out or getting lighter in some spots to wash and dry it and then oil it. I usually use olive oil because it’s right there in the kitchen and it’s what I cook with. Or I’ll use coconut oil – just any oil you don’t mind being on your food. It will bring your aging board back to life. I just wipe it down, then wipe off any excess.
Mary Caswell says
I just use bleach diluted with water and lemon ~ bleach will definitely kill anything. And twice a year (Jan and July) I put a very very light coat of mineral oil on it to refresh the moisture content (about 3 drops on a cotton ball – swipe 3 drops on each side, and let air dry). 🙂 You may need more drops if your board is bigger ~