Clean and Deodorize Your Wood Cutting Board

Wood cutting boards tend to be better than plastic cutting boards because they are less likely to have bacterial buildup. Even though they are better than their plastic cousins, they still face some of the same problems and need to be cleaned regularly. The best way to clean a wooden board is to use lemon juice. Lemon juice is a natural bleach. It will clean, deodorize, and bleach away stains on your wooden cutting boards. It will also work on any wooden utensil in the kitchen. As an extra benefit, it leaves a fresh lemon scent, one that is much better than any chemical's attempt to imitate.

If you want to try something just a little bit stronger, add some salt to your lemon juice. The amount you put in your mixture is up to you, but with some experimenting, you may find a particular combination that you prefer. Lemon juice and salt together make a perfect cleaning team. The salt provides an abrasive effect to the amazing lemon juice functions mentioned above. Just apply the mixture to the board and scrub it around with a clean cloth. If the stain is particularly stubborn, consider letting the mixture sit for a few minutes. Then you can scrub the stain out much more easily than before. Just be careful while doing this. Although neither of these items will hurt most skin, if either of them get into a wound, you will be in a world of hurt. Since the two are mixed together, it will only make the pain worse.

After you have finished scrubbing with either the lemon juice alone or the salt and lemon mix, try wiping a small amount of oil onto the now clean wood surface. I would recommend extra virgin olive oil, although it is not necessary. The oil will leave the surface looking sleeker, and will help coat it to protect it from stains in the future.