Try This Trick To Fix Your Stained Wood Cutting Board

Cutting boards go through a lot of wear and tear during the course of their life, particularly those made of wood. Your cutting board is subjected to a lot of activity: knife cuts from dicing onions, greasy stains from cooked meat, and even vegetables and fruits bleeding their colors onto its surface. Hello strawberries, blueberries, and beets. But don't be discouraged. Those stains are a sign that you are actually using your cutting board for more than a decorative object. 

Per Bon Appetit, if you take care of your wooden cutting boards, they can last a long time. That care includes maintaining, cleaning, and sanitizing it properly on a regular basis, and, of course, tending to those unsightly stains. Though wood cutting boards don't look as gross as plastic boards when they do suffer the occasional blemish, it's still important to maintain them. We've found a trick that uses a household staple to fix these marks, leaving your wood cutting board in tip top shape.

According to Chowhound, white vinegar is really the most all-purpose ingredient we keep in our cabinets. It's great for both cooking and cleaning, and can also be used to scrub away some of those not-so pleasing stains on our cutting boards. 

To make the cleaning solution, Chowhound recommends mixing one part vinegar with four parts water and then soaking the stained surface in the mixture for just a few minutes. They caution that you really only want to soak it for a very brief amount of time, as soaking it for too long risks ruining your wood cutting board. They also note that if you don't have white vinegar on hand, you can use hydrogen peroxide instead. 

If you've exhausted these cleaning methods and they do not remove the stain, then break out the baking soda and give it a gentle rub where the stain persists. However, if your stain is a little more persistent, Chowhound notes you may need a more aggressive cleanser: bleach. Don't be intimidated. You are going to heavily dilute a tablespoon of this chemical cleaner with a gallon of water and soak the surface for just a couple of minutes. Once you rinse off the bleach solution, either air or towel dry it. This should take care of those pesky stains and leave your cutting board ready for the next use.