Solid wood kitchen worktop maintenance
Real solid wood kitchen worktops require some maintenance in order to keep them in good quality tip top condition. One advantage of having real wooden worktops in your kitchen is that they look beautiful, but they also age beautifully too. With the right kind of care, your wooden kitchen work surfaces will outlast other types of worktop, gaining character with each little scratch or scorch, although another benefit of having a solid wooden top is that imperfections can be lightly sanded away. Here you will find a few tips on caring for your real wood kitchen tops.
Firstly, for the best looking surfaces, do not allow water or liquid to pool on it. Wipe up any spills straight away, and likewise do not put hot pans and cups down without a stand or mat to protect your surface. When wiping down the work surfaces, make sure that you dry them down too so as not to create unwanted water damage. Do not use harsh chemical cleaners on the wood, and do not scrub with anything too abrasive as this will scratch. Of course if having marks on your worktops is not something that you worry too much about then you can be less careful.
When cutting and chopping food, always use a chopping board or the worktop will become the chopping board and very quickly be full of cuts and dents.
To maintain the wood, the most common method is to oil it. This involves applying a coat of your chosen oil with a cloth and leaving it on for about 10 minutes. The same cloth can then be used to rub the remaining oil into the wooden worktop (do not add more oil from the bottle). Depending on the age and condition of the worktop, more coats should be applied. The finish you are looking to create is so that if any water is spilt on the worktop, it shows in little blobs and does not sink into the wood.
Popular choices of oils to use for oiling the worktop are Linseed oil (this comes from flax seeds and is a common and effective oil for this job), Tung oil (from a tree in South America) or Danish oil (a mix of Linseed and Tung). These are easy to find for purchase either in a DIY shop or online. A soft cloth should be used, nothing hard or rough that will likely scratch the worktop surfaces.
