OK, so I know vinegar is great as a natural disinfectant, but my question is: can I use it on a wooden cutting board that I regularly cut meat on? I worry about it ruining the wood or the smell lingering. I obviously don't want to use commercial cleaners on this since I cut food for my family on this surface! Any advice or tips you use would be much appreciated!
Thanks for all the responses; the general consensus seems to be not to use wooden cutting boards for meat. Since I have already done that, and always use hot water and soap to clean them after, I will continue to do that but will use some of the other organic ideas in addition. Salt, vinegar, lemons are all things that I keep handy; I am glad to find out all the things they can be used to clean! As soon as I get a chance ($ in other words!) I will look at getting a nice Pampered Chef or similar type cutting board specifically for meat. Thanks as always for your help, moms!
dilute bleach with water and use that.. it is safe, non-toxic and rinses clean. then you can oil it if you want to or if it needs it.
I do have a dedicated cutting board for meat & fish, a plastic one that fits in my dishwasher....
i don't know but what i do is scub it down with soap and water then use lemon juice to deodorize
I do not use a wooden cutting board for meat...I have one that I can put in the dishwasher, is made specifically for cutting meat, and is non-absorbent. Somewhere along the way, I heard that because the wood is absorbent, it can retain the bacteria from meat, so I never use wood for that. I use my wood cutting board for everything else. I do use Vinegar for getting rid of lots of germs and smells...even in laundry.
Hope that helps in some small way.
I use vinegar on my wood cutting board all the time. It disinfects and the smell disappears once it dries. I would recommend using a plastic board for meat though. I use my wood one for vegetables only.
in good olden times where there were no chemicals for cleaning yet invented,
we took a sharp knife, placed it flatly under 90 degrees to the wooden cutting board and scraped it clean (there'n'back, it goes pretty fast) from the dark worn part, it comes out smooth, and yellowish fresh woodlayer surfaces again.
(also the plain wooden table, and floor were cleaned the same way, followed by wiping with a regular soap water fabric). In olden times, the procedure was repeated thrice a year: before Christmas, before Easter, and before the winter start, at the end of Fall: the whole kitchen started shining yellowish happy sunny color in loghouses again :) !
Wishin' you a happy day!
Kim,
Hi, I use Shaklee non-toxic cleaning products in my home on everything except my wood cutting board. Many non-toxic cleaners are not made for wood cutting boards. The reason is, is because you have to wipe off the board, and with something so absorbent as wood it won't come clean. So I use vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. I keep a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide by my sink (Keep it in a dark bottle so NO light get through, it affects the percentage). So I spray the cutting board with the vinegar and then follow it with the peroxide. It comes very very clean. I also use the same mixture on my sink, and on my sponges and on my babies high chair and in our cloth diaper pail. I have no problems with smell. Hope this helps.
If it's not an expensive cutting board, sanitize it in the dishwasher. Wood is also slightly antibacterial because of the pH or something. But I use cutting sheets for meats and a lot of other things. They're 2/$1 at the dollar store, or you can pay a lot more for them at other stores. They slide right in the dishwasher on the bottom rack.
The one thing that no one mentioned is conditioning your wooden cutting board. They need to be oiled often. Just use a good mineral oil. This also keeps them from absorbing a lot of other things because the oil repels it. Use on wooden knife handles and on wooden spoons used in the kitchen also.
I'm not sure. I would check into getting something that you can clean more easily. I grew up with a wooden cutting board, but now I use the Pampered Chef boards and so does my mom. We love them. We get non-skid stuff at Wal-Mart rather than paying the Pampered Chef price for replacements.
I just watched a video on YouTube about this. Rachael Ray says to use rubber cutting boards for cutting meat. However to disinfect and clean a wooden cutting board, she uses coarse salt, warm/hot water and a sponge. The salt kills the germs and lifts any color left by food. Just google "how does Rachael Ray clean and disinfect a wooden cutting board" and you will find it. I am somewhat computer dumb. I don't exactly know how to paste the link for you like some of the other moms do.
You really shouldn't cut your meat on a wooden cutting board. The bacteria can get into the microscopic crevices in the wood. I have polyethelyne (sp?) cutting boards that I use for all of my meat. They can be placed in the dishwasher to be sterilized. I own a Pampered Chef business and we have some great cutting boards in 3 different sizes that are dishwasher safe. You can look at them at www.pamperedchef.biz/melissashenton.
I only cut fruits and vegies on my wood board, but only after they are washed. Wood boards can still cross contaminate if your food isn't washed properly. My hubby made my wood board for me and it is so big that I can't even get it in the sink. I wipe it every time that I use it but try to "clean" it every one or two weeks. To clean it I let some lemon juice soak on it for a few minutes. Then I wipe off the lemon juice and let it dry. Once it is dry I rub mineral oil onto the surface. If you do this make sure that the mineral oil that you get is food grade (the pharmacy and your local grocery store should have some.) Buff in the oil and then wipe off any excess. This will help form a barier against moisture to protect your wood and prolong the life of your board. Hope this helps!
