A Guide To Maintaining Your Wood Countertop

Wood is a beautiful, sustainable kitchen countertop option. But whether you have solid wood or butcher-block countertops, they’ll require some maintenance to keep them looking their best. To avoid stains and scratches, we’re sharing some professional tips you can do to maintain your wood countertops for years to come.

• Apply oil regularly: The best way to protect your new wooden countertops is by regularly applying mineral or tung oil. This creates a barrier against wear and tear, and it’s easy to do: simply pour liberal amounts of oil onto the wood surface and let it soak in for about half an hour. Then, use a soft cloth to remove any excess oil, this will also help make the surface more durable and resistant to stains. We recommend you do this at least once a year.
• Wipe up any spills quickly: When liquids such as wine, vinegar, or others spill on your countertop, act quickly and wipe them up to avoid seeping. If these acidic or colored liquids are left too long, they’ll sink into the wood cells and cause staining.
• Scrub away spills and scratches: If you have trouble with spills quickly becoming stains, try natural stain removers and sanding as a method of solution. Light sanding sometimes does the trick for small scratches and stains- sand them out before oiling the area surrounding it. If the stain is too deep to be solved by sandpaper alone, cut a lemon in half and use that dashboard of salt along with it to scrub at the affected region.
• Avoid putting any hot items directly on the countertop: Wood countertops are more delicate than natural stone, and can be easily stained or damaged by hot pans and pots. To protect your investment, keep trivets and potholders nearby to avoid any accidents. The more you use them, the easier it becomes until it eventually becomes second nature.
• Always use a cutting board: Reach for a cutting board instead of chopping directly on your countertops to prevent any damage. Even though they may look similar, it’s not worth the risk of scratching your beautiful counters.
• Don’t do polyurethane: It may be tempting to polyurethane your wood countertop for a shiny, smooth finish that requires little maintenance. However, this will cause more work in the long run because it will be difficult to sand out any stains or scratches that eventually appear. Oiling has the benefit of allowing for spot fixes, while a coating requires entire refinishing.