Caring for Your Board
A board that's been used and looked after is more beautiful than a new one. You can help your board age gracefully and increase its longevity by decade with proper after care and maintaining.
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The care doesn't need to be complicated or done with perfect technique it just needs to be consistent, and it needs to be understood by everyone in your household who might pick it up,or the highest cause of damaged boards the dreaded... put it in the dishwasher.
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This is a longer read, if your wanting a quick overview read the 'no' and 'yes' lists at the top of this guide. However it is advised to read through the full page to ensure a long life for your board.
Allergen information
​Walnut wood and tree nut allergy
Walnut allergy is triggered by storage proteins concentrated in the edible kernel. These proteins are present in walnut timber in significantly lower concentrations, if at all. A specialist allergist at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (published via Food Allergy Canada) describes the risk from a finished, oiled walnut board as "likely extremely low."
The higher risk scenario is fresh dust during sanding: if you have a severe walnut allergy and need to sand your board, consider whether someone else (like myself) should do that work instead, or take appropriate precautions/PPE.
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If someone in your household has a severe walnut, treenut or latex allergy and you'd like to discuss species alternatives and suitability before ordering, please get in touch at contact@spectrumwoodwright.co.uk
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Exotic species
All documented sensitisation reactions to exotic hardwood species (eg. ziricote, padauk, wenge, purpleheart, bubinga, zebrano) occur in occupational contexts: sustained exposure to raw dust over prolonged periods.
There are no published cases of reactions from a sealed finished, oiled and waxed chopping board in kitchen use. If you want to sand your board at home, be aware of the species you're working with and get in touch if you aren't sure before undertaking.
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My Aftercare Balm / Oil
The "Ain't No Planed Jane" range contains no nut-derived oils or beeswax. It is vegan and is safe for nut-allergy households. The ingredients are: food-grade mineral oil, MCT oil (fractionated coconut), carnauba wax, candelilla wax, vitamin E (tocopherol), and vitamin C (ascorbic acid).
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For clinical allergy advice, consult your GP or allergy specialist.
I can share what the research says and discuss species choices with you,
but I'm a woodwright, not a medical professional.
The hard 'no's
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Never use Dishwasher. Not even once, hot steam will cause your board to bend or crack.
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No soaking or submerging boards, this can cause warping.
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No bleach, or kitchen cleaning sprays ever.
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No hydrogen peroxide, or rubbing alcohol / solvents.
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No natural dye foods (eg. beetroot, turmeric) on pale boards
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No metal scrubbing pads, the iron can cause rust or reactions in the wood.
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No hot pans directly on the board, the sugar/sap in burns/darkens easily in high heat.
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No drying in direct sunlight, the uneven trying can cause warping / the UV can harm colour.
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No serrated knives on end grain, they act like a hand saw cutting into the board.
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No cooking or vegetable oils (they go rancid).
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Never store flat when wet/damp as it can cause warping or mould if left a long time.
The 'yes' list
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Display on your included stand or vertically, this helps ventilation and prevents warping
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Condition with oil or balm consistently, the more often the more the waterproofing builds up
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Limit exposure to direct sunlight, the UV from intense sunlight can fade colours quicker
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Use salt and lemon for stubborn marks, this is a natural way that is 100% food safe
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If sanitising use diluted white vinegar, ideal after raw meat or fish for peace of mind
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Remember to wipe dry after washing this prevents sitting water roughing the surface
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Show off your well cared for board with pride, its over to you to maintain
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Brief your dog sitter
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Talk to me if something goes wrong, I will work my best to help you
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Let it age gracefully, a used board is a beautiful record of its life don't be too perfectionist, I've given it the perfectionism already.
Before anything else
A note on moisture
The single greatest enemy of a solid hardwood board is moisture: specifically hot moisture, steam, and prolonged soaking. Wood expands when wet and contracts when dry. Do that repeatedly and unevenly as a dishwasher does on every cycle and the result is warping, cracking, and stress on the glue lines that eventually causes the board to break.
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Every board leaves my workshop with a free display stand. That stand isn't just for showing the board off. Storing your board upright on its stand allows air to circulate on all sides and both faces, so it dries evenly after use. A board left flat on a wet surface dries unevenly and if left a long time can introduce mould on the underside.
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A note for your household
If someone else in your home does the washing up, please share this page with them. The most common cause of a damaged board isn't neglect, it's a well-meaning partner, housemate, or dog sitter who didn't know to not dishwash it. Consider printing this page and keeping it somewhere visible when you first get your board. It only needs to be read once.
How to clean
For everyday use, hot soapy water and a cloth is everything you need. Wipe the board down after use, rinse briefly, and dry it immediately with a towel. Then stand it upright on the stand.
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Never leave sitting water on the board's surface . Never submerge it. Never put it in the dishwasher.
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For stubborn residue or odours: coarse salt and half a lemon. Rub the cut lemon face across the surface with the salt, leave it for a few minutes, rinse, dry immediately, and re-oil. This works well for lingering smells and light staining.
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For sanitising: white vinegar diluted 1:1 with water. Apply, leave briefly, rinse, dry, re-oil. Worth doing after raw meat or fish.
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What to avoid entirely:
Bleach strips colour from exotic species permanently, purpleheart and padauk are particularly vulnerable. Hydrogen peroxide causes discolouration and damages wood fibres. Steel brushes and scouring pads scratch the surface and lift the finish. None of these can be undone.
When to condition
Your board will tell you when it needs attention.
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The water test: sprinkle a few drops of water on the surface. If they bead up and sit on top, the board is protected. If they absorb quickly and darken the wood, it's time to condition.
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Visual signs: a lighter, slightly dull, or greying surface means the wood is drying out. Don't wait for cracking, conditioning prevents it. Once a board has cracked, oil can slow the damage but it cannot undo it.
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How often: weekly for the first month while the wood is getting established, then monthly or whenever the water test tells you it's time, if in doubt give it some care you can never condition a board too much. Boards kept in a dry kitchen or used heavily or scrubbed heavily may need it more often.
How to condition
Start with a clean, dry surface. Apply your chosen oil or balm generously to all surfaces: the top, the underside, and all four sides. The underside is as important as the top, ignoring it causes uneven moisture content between faces, which causes warping over time.
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Work it in with a cloth. Fingers work even better: the warmth helps the oils absorb more effectively. Leave it for a minimum of two hours, ideally overnight. During that time the oils are soaking into the wood fibres, rehydrating them and keeping the board from drying out and cracking.
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When you come back to it, the remaining material on the surface will be the wax component. At this stage, buff it off with a clean dry cloth. If you applied too thick a layer, the oil may not have fully absorbed and the wax won't buff cleanly, it will just move around on the surface. If this happens, give it more time rather than applying more product.
A generous but not excessive application followed by a long soak-in time before its buffed is always better than a thick layer wiped off too quickly in a rush.
What to use:
The all vegan food safe natural plant based waxes & oil mix "Ain't No Planed Jane" Hardwood Longevity Balm. Is what I use when making all my pieces with a special formulation of my own however... it is currently out of stock but it will be coming back soon with new additions to my aftercare range, including online availability.
In the meantime I'd recommend food-grade mineral oil, which is widely available, doesn't go rancid, and is the industry standard for a reason. Danish oil and commercial oil and wax mixes specifically labelled for chopping boards are also good options. Whatever you use, check it's food-safe and specifically intended for cutting board use.
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Oils to avoid entirely: cooking oils and vegetable oils (olive, rapeseed, sunflower, coconut) go rancid inside the wood. The smell doesn't go away. Nut-based oils (walnut oil, almond oil) carry a trace allergen risk for nut-allergy households some commercial treatments contain these oils and may not be vegan, consider your household/guests requirements when picking a treatment.
Colour, finish, and keeping it looking fresh
UV and light exposure
All natural hardwoods respond to UV light over time. Some shift dramatically over the decades, purpleheart moves from vivid violet toward warm brown, padauk fades from red-orange toward amber. This is chemistry, not damage, and it's part of what makes these species interesting. Regular conditioning helps retain vibrancy and slow the shift, but it can't stop it entirely.
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If the colour matters to you: store the board away from direct sunlight, or with the face you most care about facing away from the light source. This is particularly relevant for serving boards kept on display.
Drying after washing
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Dry your board with a towel immediately after cleaning, then stand it upright on the stand. Do not dry it in a sunny window or on a warm surface. One side will dry significantly faster than the other, and the resulting moisture differential is one of the most common causes of warping.
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Natural dye foods
Beetroot, turmeric, and red wine are natural dyes, they are used commercially to colour wool and textiles, and they will do the same to light-coloured hardwoods. If your board is predominantly pale (maple, beech, eucalyptus), be conscious of these ingredients and wipe spills immediately. Regular conditioning gives meaningful protection, but not immunity.
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Steam from hot food
Placing actively steaming food directly onto a board, a freshly carved joint, a pan fresh from the hob, exposes the surface to the same kind of hot moisture a dishwasher. The wood fibres expand rapidly and unevenly, which can roughen the surface, lift the wax finish, it doesn't risk the food safety of the board but if you are letting hot meats rest on a board using parchment paper or the underside of the board is advised, let things cool before they go on the board, or use a plate for the hottest items.
Food hygiene
Wood is not only safe to prepare food on but for most kitchen use it is safer than plastic.
Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Cliver et al., 1994, Journal of Food Protection) found that bacteria applied to wood surfaces became unrecoverable within minutes, drawn into the wood fibres by capillary action where they die from lack of moisture and nutrients. Bacteria applied to plastic surfaces were easily recovered. Critically, knife-scarred plastic boards were found to be impossible to fully sanitise by hand, bacteria survive permanently in the grooves. Knife-scarred wood boards retained their bacteria-reducing properties regardless of use history.
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More recent research (Luo et al., Environmental Science and Technology, 2023) found that polyethylene plastic cutting boards shed an estimated 7.4 to 50.7 grams of microplastic particles per person per year during normal food preparation. Wood boards shed cellulose fibres, biodegradable, not synthetic polymer fragments.
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That said - food hygiene still matters.
Wood's natural properties are an additional layer of safety, not a replacement for cleaning. Wash the board thoroughly after every use, especially after raw meat, fish, or poultry.
I would recommend keeping a dedicated board for raw meat and fish, separate from the one you use for serving or preparing ready-to-eat food. This is standard food hygiene practice regardless of the board material, and it's the simplest way to eliminate cross-contamination risk entirely.
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A note on odours
Strong-smelling ingredients, raw fish, garlic, certain spices, can be absorbed deeper into the wood if the board is under-oiled and the grain is open. A well-conditioned board with a good wax surface is significantly more resistant to this. If odour does become an issue, the salt and lemon method described in the cleaning section is the first thing to try. If that doesn't fully resolve it, the board may need a light sand to open and refresh the surface.
Giving your board a facelift
If your board has picked up deep grooves, uneven wear, or staining that cleaning won't shift, a light sand can bring it back... however please note some of the rarer exotic hardwood species I use create sawdust that can be sensitisers including respiratory or contact dermatitis if the correct PPE is not worn. If you want to undergo this process get in touch support@spectrumwoodwright.co.uk for more info on the woods in your board.
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Use 220 grit sandpaper. Nothing coarser than 180 grit. A random orbital sander is the best tool for this - it's faster and gives a more even result - but the job can be done by hand and will just take longer.
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Edge grain boards: sand with the grain in long even strokes.
End grain boards: work in a circular motion evenly across the surface.
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Do this outdoors, or somewhere with good ventilation. Wood dust from any species warrants care, and exotic species dust in particular.
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Immediately after sanding: wipe off dust with a cloth and then apply a generous coat of oil to soak into the board repeat until oil is left on the surface and wipe off excess. Then apply a conditioning wax balm to all surfaces. The surface is fully open after sanding and will absorb oil rapidly and more than you think.
Do not skip this step, a freshly sanded board left without the initial oil soak will dry out faster than the original finish.
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If you'd like advice on whether your board needs a facelift or something more involved, come and find me at a market stall. I'm happy to take a look and tell you honestly what it needs or what it may take for me to repair it.
Something's gone wrong
If your board has been through the dishwasher, had something heavy dropped on it, or developed a crack or structural issue you're not sure how to approach: get in touch at support@spectrumwoodwright.co.uk and tell me what's happened.
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I'll always have an honest conversation about what the options are. If the board can be saved with a resurface and re-oil, we'll talk through how to do that. If it needs professional attention, I can discuss what that involves. And if it's genuinely beyond saving, I'd rather it came back to me than went in a bin: uncontaminated timber from returned boards is reused in future non food contact projects, eg. smaller homewear pieces, and artwork. Nothing goes to waste if I can help it.
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Where any of my boards sold are damaged beyond repair I will try to help with an offer toward its successor.