Wooden Cutting Board Care: What to Do (and What to Avoid)
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Wood cutting boards are durable, beautiful, and naturally antibacterial—but only if you treat them right. You may already know how to clean them day-to-day (and if not, check out our full cleaning guide here), but good care goes beyond soap and water.
This article covers the dos and don’ts of wooden cutting board care, so your board stays safe, functional, and long-lasting.
Table of Contents
- Don’t: Let It Soak or Sit in Water
- Do: Dry It Right Away
- Don’t: Let Your Cutting Board Get Extremely Dry
- Do: Oil Your Board Regularly
- Don’t: Use the Dishwasher (Ever)
- Do: Clean Immediately After Cutting Meat
- Don’t: Modify the Cutting Board Without Treating Surfaces
- Do: Sand and Refresh When Needed
- Don’t: Use Harsh Chemicals or Bleach
- Do: Keep One Side “Pretty” for Serving (or Not)
- Don’t: Skip Maintenance If You Want It to Last
- Bonus Tips
- Wooden Cutting Board Care in a Nutshell
Don’t: Let It Soak or Sit in Water
Wood is porous. If you leave your cutting board in the sink or let liquids pool on the surface, it’ll soak them up like a sponge. Extreme humidity can cause the wood to swell, weakening the structure of the board. Instead, scrape off food, rinse the board with warm, soapy water.
Do: Dry It Right Away
After cleaning, dry your board thoroughly with a clean towel. Then stand it up on its edge to finish air drying. This helps both sides dry evenly and prevents warping.
Leaving your board flat on the counter with one wet side trapped underneath is asking for trouble—warping, mildew, or worse.
Don’t: Let Your Cutting Board Get Extremely Dry
Never let your cutting board get extremely dry, or place on or near excessive heat (such as a stove). They are wood, and can burn. Even if they don’t catch fire, excessive dryness can cause cracking or breakage.
Do: Oil Your Board Regularly
Oiling your board keeps it from drying out, cracking, or absorbing too much moisture. Once a month is a good rule of thumb—or more often in dry climates or during winter when indoor heat sucks the moisture out of everything.
Use a high quality, food-safe mineral oil or a beeswax board cream made for cutting boards.
How to oil:
- Start with a clean, dry board.
- Rub in a generous amount of oil with a soft cloth or paper towel.
- Let it soak in overnight, or until the oil fully absorbs.
- Wipe off the excess the next day.
Avoid cooking oils like olive or vegetable oil—they can go rancid and smell bad.
Don’t: Use the Dishwasher (Ever)
Dishwashers are a wooden board’s worst nightmare. The hot water and steam dry it out, the detergent is too harsh, and the prolonged soaking causes warping or cracking. Even just once can damage a board beyond repair.
Do: Clean Immediately After Cutting Meat
Never leave your cutting board sitting dirty after cutting meat. Always wash the block thoroughly with dish soap and warm water after cutting fish, red meat or fowl. Wipe dry and allow to air dry completely before storage.
Don’t: Modify the Cutting Board Without Treating Surfaces
Never cut off ends, drill holes, make cutouts, or otherwise deface surfaces without refinishing the exposed unfinished wood. If your wooden cutting board has a warranty, you’ll void the warranty. Plus, you could damage the structure of the board. Be careful if you want to make major changes to your cutting board.
Do: Sand and Refresh When Needed
If your board starts to feel rough or shows deep knife grooves, give it a light sanding with fine-grit sandpaper (220 is a good choice). Always sand with the grain, then wipe clean and reapply oil. This quick refresh can make your board feel new again.
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To avoid damaging your board, keep your knives sharp, so you don’t need to apply extra pressure to cut. Skip razor edge cleavers, which can chip or splinter the wood and create soft spots. Your cleaver should have a duel sharpened edge for best results.
Don’t: Use Harsh Chemicals or Bleach
Bleach may seem like a good idea if you’re worried about germs, but it’s too harsh for wood. It can dry out the surface and break down the wood fibers over time.
Instead, use natural sanitizers like:
- White vinegar – Kills most bacteria without damaging the wood.
- Salt and lemon – Scrub with coarse salt and a cut lemon to remove odors and grime.
Do: Keep One Side “Pretty” for Serving (or Not)
If you use your board for both prep and presentation, consider dedicating one side for chopping and the other for serving. That way, your charcuterie doesn’t have to share space with onion scars or knife marks.
If you need or want to use both sides of the board, distribute your cutting over the entire work surface so that it will wear evenly. We have some boards with drain channels around the outside edge, so we use that side for cutting wet items, like watermelon. We use the flat side for serving, and cutting drier foods.
Regular oiling is extra important if you want to keep your boards looking good.
Don’t: Skip Maintenance If You Want It to Last
A neglected board will warp, split, or stink. A cared-for board can last for decades—and even improve with age. (I personally appreciate the patina of a well-loved board.)
Bonus Tips
- Watch for smells – If your board starts smelling funky, it may be time for a deeper clean or deodorizing (salt and lemon to the rescue).
- No nonstick spray – It leaves a residue that’s hard to remove and doesn’t belong on wood.
- Cut evenly – Avoid chopping in the same spot over and over. It helps your board wear more evenly.
Wooden Cutting Board Care in a Nutshell
Wooden cutting boards are tough, but they’re not indestructible. Think of your board like a good cast iron pan—it’ll take care of you if you take care of it. Clean it promptly, dry it thoroughly, oil it regularly, and skip the abuse.
Looking for tips on how to clean your board after use? Don’t miss our companion article:
How to Clean a Wooden Cutting Board.
Do you have plastic cutting boards? Find out Are Plastic Cutting Boards Safe?
Laurie Neverman has her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s in mechanical engineering. She paid part of her way through college working at the family catering business, Irene’s Custom Cakes & Catering. Now she and her family grow and preserve most of their food on their Wisconsin homestead.
Originally published in 2014, last updated in 2025.
I love these butcher blocks. Hard to decide which one to choose. I use them for cutting wild game and other meats, cutting veggies. Presentation boards for cheese tray or other appetizers. I could own all of them and still use everyone tons of times. They are simply beautiful in addition to being extremely useful.
I would use one for meat and another for produce.
7 nevers was good information. In reviewing the information on tips on the Teak website it was very helpful to know to clean the cutting board with vinegar and baking soda, salt and lemon or hydrogen peroxide. I never knew that. I believe I have one of their larger cutting boards that I was lucky enough to find at a yard sale for a really good price. I like the idea of purchasing their soaps and oils for keeping all cutting boards in great condition. Good luck to all that entered to win, as I did not.
Number five is an oximoron. “Dull sharpened” are you saying I should purposefully dull my knifes???
Yep, it probably makes more sense now that I changed the “l” to an “e” like it should have been in the first place.
Would love the Gourmet Chopping board or even the Rectangle Edge Grain Cutting Board with Corner Hole and Juice Groove. I love using a wooden cutting board. There is a rare meal that I do not use a cutting board.
I received my cutting board today! It is beautiful. Now I just have to convince myself to actually *use* it, and not just show it off as art, lol!
Yeah!
My favorite is RECTANGLE EDGE GRAIN WITH CORNER HOLE & JUICE GROOVE – I have recently turned to eating fruits and veggies and living alone. Have to have goodies cut in a “quick grab” form or I find junk easier to eat. It would be used for cutting portions of fruits and veggies and preparing for canning. I thing the groove would be great to catch the watermelon (melons juice) for drinking and the fruit for canning or just eating. same with veggies. Thank you for the entry and “great chopping” every one!!
I’ve never heard of Proteak before, but that board is beautiful! Thanks for sharing this!
I would use this board to cut up the vegies from my garden and the fruits too!
It’d be great to replace my plastic cutting board with one of these. I’d even clean fish on it.
This would be a welcome addition to my kitchen. I could renovate the entire thing all around this board. 🙂
I am impressed with the look, quality and price of the boards they have!
Both my husband and I use cutting boards daily: he when he makes his breakfast, and I when I am making dinner, so I guess my best answer would be that I would use it for chopping whenever I cook!
I make absolutely everything from scratch. Love to cook, garden. Love everything about food and the kitchen and garden. I think if I won this one, I might dedicate it strictly to meat.
There are SO many ways to use this.
Chopping peppers for ‘Cowboy Caviar’
I would use the cutting board for all the nice fruits and veggies I get from my garden.
I never have enough cutting boards.
Great product! ready to buy one
Beautiful cutting boards! Would have to display this between uses. Would love to win!
I’ve never own your product and would love to. It is what it is, I have bought so many “cheap” cutting boards, it would be nice to have a good quality one! I only use my cutting boards for cooking/baking. Cutting veggies, prepping meats, making bread dough and pie crust, etc. Thank you for this opportunity!
The one pictured in this post is gorgeous!!! From their website I love the “RECTANGLE EDGE GRAIN CUTTING BOARD WITH CORNER HOLE AND JUICE GROOVE”.
I would use this cutting board for everything! It’s gorgeous. I currently have a plastic one that the works well enough but I’ve been wishing for a quality wooden one for quite a while now.
I love the RECTANGLE EDGE GRAIN CUTTING BOARD WITH CORNER HOLE AND JUICE GROOVE 18 X 14 X .75 especially because of the grooves for juices dripping and the hole for hanging, plus it’s a nice, large size.
I cut a lot of meats and have destroyed many a cutting board, but after reading your rules I see what I’ve done horribly wrong all these years. And yes, I even caught one on fire.
I hope to redeem myself with a new cutting board, possibly as a winner in your contest!
My mom scorched a cutting board I made in junior high school. It was shaped like a pig, and she gave it a brand on its backside with the stove burner.
Such an attractive cutting board…I would leave on the counter for all to see!
Can you tell me if this brand of cutting board is nontoxic? I was reading about how wood boards are held together with toxic glues and sometimes have a oil finish that isnt healthy. Ive been looking for one that is as nontoxic as possible. These boards are beautiful, but i have a very sick child and have to be very diligent with all things when it comes to toxins. Thanks!
I can double check with the manufacturers, but I can’t imagine they would go through such care to produce the wood only to bind it together with toxic glues. The surest way you could guarantee what your getting would be to buy a solid piece of wood from someone you trust and cut it to the size you need. I still have the cutting board I made in junior high school.
I like gourmet or rectangular edge grain. I would use it for making dinner.
i always coat my wood utensils and boards with walnut oil, brings out the beauty and protects them.
Would love this cutting board. I use a plastic one 🙁
I’d cut a lot of vegetables on it
I would use this board to cut up the fruits and veggies that I’m trying to eat more of 🙂
Love the gourmet board!
Karen U
I like the Gourmet Chopping Board with the handle so I could transfer the chopped food easily. I would use this in my kitchen for making soups and lots of other food. 🙂
GOURMET BOARD
I have been wanting one of these!
like it, goodto no
I would use it for my fruits and veggies to make delicious vegan meals.
such a gorgeous cutting board!!
My favorite is the Rectangle Edge Grain Cutting Board with Corner Hole and Juice Groove
It’s so pretty, I would serve fruit, crackers, and cheeses on it!
This board would get lots of love in my kitchen! It would be perfect for cutting up fruits and veggies. Love wood! I like the chop and slide board in the Marine collection.
I would use this beautiful board as a cheese platter.
Wow. Thanks for the tips!
I would give one of these to my husband. He is the hottest cook!
What a beautiful cutting board! And great tips! I think #3 is the hardest for me!
I would use it to encourage my daughters to help more in the kitchen and learn more about cooking.
I love my Proteak cutting boards.
Bought two to give one away and they love it as well.