291568 Tue Jan 14 12:57:12 -0800 2003 30 41 Cookware 0 1587519 I have a Boos Block cutting board (see link below - I have one of the chop-n-slice reversible numbers) that has - on one side - developed a nasty dark stain on the surface and a noticeable food stink. Mostly, it smells of onions and garlic with some rot thrown in. This odor will transfer to anything that is cut on the board. I'm not really sure how this started, but I think that some moisture got stuck between the board and the counter and went unnoticed for a few weeks. I noticed the dark spot when I flipped it over. I assume the stink is somehow associated. I've tried cleaning this in very hot water with soap to no avail; the dark stain remains as does the stink. I've also tried some gentle household cleaner on it (Ecover) but don't think I should try anything that is much harsher for fear of further damage. Does anyone have any suggestions to how I can restore my once beautiful cutting board to its former stink-free glory? Thanks in advance! Link: http://www.johnboos.com/boosblock/ Tue Jan 14 12:57:12 -0800 2003 0 iain 1 1587525 Try sprinkling on a good amount of salt, then rubbing it with the cut side of a lemon. If this doesn't work, try sanding out the dark, smelly spot. If either of these succeed, proceed to treat it with mineral oil, which will help seal the board to prevent future similar occurrences Tue Jan 14 13:13:32 -0800 2003 1587519 0 kjhart 2 1587533 Thanks, I'll give that a try. I have been applying mineral oil pretty reguarly...but not regularly enough, obviously! Tue Jan 14 13:39:49 -0800 2003 1587525 0 iain 1 1587526 Sanding, then re-oiling is likely to be your best bet. Bleaching may help, but will lighten the color of the wood. Tue Jan 14 13:16:22 -0800 2003 1587519 0 AlanH 2 1587527 You can, however, wash the board with bleach diluted with water, or water, with bleach added, to disinfect and de-smell..It probably won't help the stain, but we used to do our wood counters on a boat once a week..No color-change... Tue Jan 14 13:20:16 -0800 2003 1587526 0 galleygirl 3 1587534 Thanks much - I'm going to give them all a shot. I'll start with salt and lemon (see post below) and move onto diluted bleach and then, if needed, sanding. Do you think the stain runs very deep? Tue Jan 14 13:42:17 -0800 2003 1587527 0 iain 4 1587541 no way to tell without seeing it, but it could be a deep stain. hopefully not. good luck. Tue Jan 14 14:22:38 -0800 2003 1587534 0 AlanH 5 1587551 This is why cutting boards have two sides. Tue Jan 14 14:53:43 -0800 2003 1587541 0 Paul H 6 1587605 This is why you should stand your cutting board on end when not in use. Tue Jan 14 19:26:09 -0800 2003 1587551 0 ironmom 4 1587545 My experience with cutting board stains is that they run deeper than you can sand out, unless you plan on using a high-powered belt sander and taking off something like an eighth of an inch. Also, it's a good idea to bleach the hell out of a wooden cutting board every once in a while -- there's all manner of nasty shit that can be living in there. When I worked in a restaurant kitchen, it was standard practice to wash down every surface with a dilute (but not too) bleach solution and use it straight on wood surfaces that had been used for butchering. Every night. Yeah, it lightens the wood, but I prefer to sacrifice aesthetics for cleanliness. And the health department demands it. Tue Jan 14 14:49:38 -0800 2003 1587534 0 GG Mora 5 1587556 And to add to that, since most of us don't do restaurant levels of butchering on a nightly basis, a washdown with a warm water damp towel and white vinegar works to eliminate a good deal of odor, bacteria and *stuff*...as for the stain, in my opinion stains are the well earned battle scars of good kitchen workin.... THM Tue Jan 14 15:09:48 -0800 2003 1587545 0 THM 6 1587570 Actually, now that you mention it, I did try white vinegar to get rid of the odor, but it didn't really work. I actually care little, though, about the stain. I think (if anyone really cares what I'm going to do) that I'm going to pass on sanding, assuming that I can deal with the odor in some other way. Tonight, I'm going to try a three-pronged approach of lemon juice, vinegar, and bleach. That should take care of the stinky shi...er...stuff. Tue Jan 14 16:15:23 -0800 2003 1587556 0 iain 7 1587572 Don't mix the vinegar with the bleach! Tue Jan 14 16:25:05 -0800 2003 1587570 0 AlanH 8 1587594 Acetic Acid plus Chlorine == ?? Tue Jan 14 17:55:42 -0800 2003 1587572 0 Paul H 9 1587603 A variety of toxic gases are possible. I recall chlorine gas and nitrogen trichloride being mentioned. One year a while back in my state, an elderly woman apparently decided that it would be a good idea to clean her toilet by mixing bleach and ammonia in the toilet tank. I recall three people died. Tue Jan 14 19:23:15 -0800 2003 1587594 0 ironmom 10 1587613 Bleach and Ammonia are bad news. However, I am not certain that bleach and vinegar will cause any problems whatsoever. In fact, I think that vinegar is sometimes used with bleach (and water) to make a pH-neutral disinfectant solution. I have seen suggestions that the bleach should be diluted (1 to 2) first with water before adding the vinegar, but I think this is mainly to avoid spattering. However, I am not a chemist and I am not suggesting that anyone do anything whatsoever. Tue Jan 14 21:00:37 -0800 2003 1587603 0 Paul H 11 1587616 I have no idea if either of you is correct, (except that bleach and ammonia is BAAADDDDDD), but it sounds like that cutting board is way past vinegar, and bleach in water would be a good solution, once a week for an at-home cutting board used for meat and chicken...And mineral oil after, as everyone says, to seal... Tue Jan 14 21:16:45 -0800 2003 1587613 0 galleygirl 12 1587626 And store it dry, not sitting in a puddle of liquid on the counter. Tue Jan 14 22:09:06 -0800 2003 1587616 0 ironmom 13 1587629 Gosh, this discussion makes me want to run and bleach my cutting board! Any suggestion on the ratio of bleach to water? Tue Jan 14 22:39:28 -0800 2003 1587626 0 L 14 1587635 This will sound VERY scientific, but I just fill a small bowl of water, and add two "glugs" of bleach...More can't hurt you.... Tue Jan 14 23:26:12 -0800 2003 1587629 0 galleygirl 15 1587649 Now where can I find a measuring cup marked in glugs? Anyone have any suggestions on how often to oil? I've never even done that. Wed Jan 15 01:17:15 -0800 2003 1587635 0 squid-kun 16 1587670 I got a new cutting board for Xmas that came with a bottle of mineral oil. The instructions were to oil every day for a week and then once a month. Wed Jan 15 09:24:30 -0800 2003 1587649 0 Pat Goldberg 13 1587637 Better yet.....dry it off with paper towels right after washing. Tue Jan 14 23:40:43 -0800 2003 1587626 0 JoCreek 13 1587895 Also another tip that you may already know about, Even though it's a pain, I always store all my cutting boards, wood, plastic, and glass, on-end rather than on the countertop. Yes, this means I don't always have an available spot to cut, but I store them on-end, stacked in a corner of the counter, with one of those tension rods between the top cabinet and the countertop to keep them in place. They have air flowing all around them and they are always put away spotlessly clean and dry (as they are dried on-end too, before putting away), and they never develop spots or smells. This way I can keep my bleaching to a minimum on my wood boards, and I don't bleach my plastic and glass ones (used for poultry and meats) because I run them through the dishwasher. Since you have such a nice Boos board, consider storing it on it's end. You'll always have a clean, dry board to work with. Thu Jan 16 15:58:54 -0800 2003 1587626 0 Mrs. Smith 14 1587955 Me, too. All the sanitizing in the would isn't going to help if the board is stored on a wet counter. Thu Jan 16 22:55:35 -0800 2003 1587895 0 ironmom 1 1587611 Remember, moisture is the enemy of your wooden cutting board. Once you get the board clean (I recommend bleach water too) let it dry completely. Then seal the wood with paraffin wax melted in mineral oil. Maybe a couple or three coatings, depending on how much the wood soaks up the oil. Scrape off the excess wax and you should have a good lookin', much more sanitary work surface. I do this to my own board appx. every 6 months. Tue Jan 14 20:46:46 -0800 2003 1587519 0 The Loaf 1 1587644 You can also use Hydrogen Peroxide that you get in the first aid section of your store. Wed Jan 15 00:32:23 -0800 2003 1587519 0 kc girl 1 1587894 "SANITIZE YOUR BOARD: After washing it, sanitize your board in the dishwasher or by rinsing it in a dilute chlorine bleach solution of 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 gallon water. You can keep such a solution handy in a spray bottle near the sink." Link: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-fdb27.html Thu Jan 16 15:52:04 -0800 2003 1587519 0 James 1 2166111 Boos makes boards out of maple and unfortunately some with synthetic layers of resin. These resin boards retain bacteria longer than natural maple. Therefore toss the resin for maple. Maple is the best overall for kitchen cutting boards. However there are varying grades of maple. The common name for what you want is "Hard Maple" which is harder and tougher than some maples. Also it is harder than oaks, and has the very tight smooth grain. (There are no other woods, foreign or domestic with better kitchen cutting qualities). Mon Jan 08 20:15:06 -0800 2007 1587519 64886 hudel 1 2171401 Scrub your wooden board with Salt and lemon juice / white vingear. Rinse with water . let dry . If smell is still there try again. Let it soak for awhile . Rinse with warm water. Let dry . Coat with mineral oil let dry. If this doen't work a few passes with fine sand paper and then oil the board again. Wed Jan 10 01:09:48 -0800 2007 1587519 11512 FAL 1 2171856 You might try an enzyme cleaner, the kind they sell for pet stains. I heard that recommended once when someone had spilled milk inside a cabinet and it got down in the cracks and went bad. Sometime after that, I had some milk spilled in the trunk of my car and didn't realize it had gone clear down into the spare tire compartment, and it went bad and got really stinky. I poured some of this cleaner (the kind I use is called Nature's Miracle) down into that compartment and the smell disappeared almost immediately. You can get this stuff at pet stores like Petco or PetSmart. It comes in bottles of all shapes & sizes, including a spray bottle. I'd recommend spraying your stinky spot well with the stuff and leaving it to soak until it dries. If the smell isn't gone when it's fully dry, spray it again. That might work--it's supposed to work on any organic stain. If your spot is mildew, it'll have to be bleach. But if it's something else, this enzyme stuff may well work. If you have pets, it's sort of a nice thing to keep on hand; if you don't, see if one of your pet-owning friends has some they'd share. Wed Jan 10 03:38:46 -0800 2007 1587519 32586 revsharkie