Butcher block countertops are the workhouse in my kitchen. I mix, chop, roll out, knead and spill on them. Over the years I’ve learned a few tricks to maintaining these wood counters.
Butcher block countertops might not be in the homes of everyone, but chances are everyone has a wood cutting board. The way you take care of wood cutting boards is the same as how you take care of butcher block counters. If you have a completely disastrous and disgusting cutting board you should take a look at this post which describes how to get rid of the gross.
“Not very many people have those” was my mother’s reaction when I told her I was writing a post on maintaining butcher block countertops. She said this while watching one of her many reality tv obsessions which includes The Bachelor (a show where people who don’t know each other pretend they’re going to get married one day), Say Yes to the Dress and Breaking Bad. She’s kind of suspicious about the authenticity of Breaking Bad as a reality show but she likes it so she doesn’t question it too much.
When I told her there are more people who have butcher block countertops than people who have successfully used a television producer as a matchmaker she just scoffed and proceeded to tell me about Tristan and Ryan for the billionth time, a lovely couple produced entirely by television who got married and are now presumably spinning off the next generation of reality show stars.
How to Maintain Butcher Block Countertops.
When I redid my kitchen a few years ago the one and only decision that was easy was my countertop choice. I knew I was going to have butcher block counters. Genuine, 100% maple, hard as a rock, countertops.
I also knew I wasn’t going to baby them and I didn’t expect them to look brand new their whole life. Unlike my copper pots which I had just cleaned before this post. I actually never clean my copper pots so this is unusual. The odd time I’ll clean the inside of them if I accidentally leave something that badly stains the tin lining.
For me, butcher block countertops are a tool in my kitchen. I slop, cut, roll, mash and create on them. Wood is naturally antibacterial, self healing and NOTHING makes a better sound while chopping on it than wood. I want my counters to look used and develop a patina, but they still have to be maintained and kept in good condition.
I personally don’t try to get rid of the stains on my countertops but for the purpose of this post, I’ll show you how to do it in case you prefer your counters to have no stains.
2 FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW
There are only 2 ways wood can go bad. Moisture getting in or moisture getting out. Maintaining any wood surface in the kitchen means you have to a) stop moisture from getting into the wood and b) stop moisture from getting out of the wood. This according to Jason Stafford of Talbot Wood, where I got my countertops made. Oiling your butcher block creates a barrier that stops both of these things. It stops moisture from seeping into the wood and stops moisture from escaping.
To stop both of those things you need to use a water barrier – oil. Mineral oil to be precise.
What is Mineral Oil?
Mineral oil is a petroleum (paraffin) product with no colour, odour or flavour. It stops water from absorbing or releasing. For treating counters you specifically need food-grade mineral oil. The easiest place to find it is in your local drugstore. Hardware stores sometimes carry it as well, but if you’re buying your mineral oil at a hardware store make sure what you’re getting is food-grade mineral oil.
HOW TO MAINTAIN BUTCHER BLOCK COUNTERTOPS.
- Remove everything from your countertops.
- Wipe them with a damp cloth.
- Scrape the surface with a dough scraper to remove anything stuck on the surface.
- Scrape light surface stains away with a razor blade.
- Sand deeper stains with 180 then 220 grit sandpaper. (note your sanded area will lighten)
- Wipe counter clean with a cloth.
- Run your hand over the counter to make sure it’s completely free of grit or guck.
- Pour mineral oil directly onto the counter and rub it around the entire surface with a lint free cloth.
- Allow the mineral oil to absorb. This could take as little as an hour or as much as overnight.
- Wipe the counters again to remove any residual oil.
The dough scraper will get off old stuck on flour etc. that you didn’t even know was on your counter.
A razor blade can help remove very light surface stains with a few passes. It’s scraping off the very top surface of the wood.
For deeper stains you’ll have to use sandpaper. But know that when you sand your countertop stain away you’ll also be sanding away any patina the wood has achieved. So the spot you sand will be lighter than the rest of the counter.
You have to decide whether you’d rather have a stain or a slightly lighter section in your counter.
Once you oil the area the lightened wood will become much less noticeable.
You can also sand your entire countertops using coarse, medium and then fine sandpaper to make it look brand new again if that’s what you want.
Make sure the final wipe of your counter before conditioning it with oil is with your hand. Your hand can feel any bits that a cloth leaves behind.
I use mineral oil to help condition the wood but you can also use board butter. A mixture of mineral oil (or hemp oil in some cases) and beeswax. You can read my post on how to easily make your own Board Butter here.
Don’t be skimpy with the mineral oil. You want it to pool on the surface.
When you condition your butcher block countertops for the first time the oil will penetrate into the wood immediately because it’s so dry. Just keep conditioning it for the first month until you get to the point where the mineral oil doesn’t soak in anymore.
Why do you need to condition your wood countertops? Because conditioning the wood keeps it from drying out and prevents stains. Water and moisture will bead up on top of the counter instead of soaking in and staining it or even worse, warping it.
Once you’ve finished conditioning the counters with oil or board butter you can put everything back where it came from. Unless you’re me. If you’re me you’ll see how great your kitchen looked with nothing on the counters and you’ll only put back half of what you had out originally.
Then day by day you’ll allow everything to creep back until it’s just as full as it was originally with the addition of a few new things.
How to maintain your butcher block countertop or cutting board with mineral oil, some sandpaper for stains and a dough scraper.
HOW TO MAINTAIN BUTCHER BLOCK COUNTERS.
Materials
Tools
Instructions
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
How often should I oil my butcher block countertops?
That kind of depends. The age of your counter, how dried out it is, if it’s winter or summer and myriad of other things dictate how often it should be oiled. BUT I would say a good general rule would be to oil your butcher block countertops once every month or two.
They will need more oiling in the winter when the air is drier and less in the summer when the air is more humid.
Can you sand your entire countertop?
Sure! If you’d like to start from scratch so to speak, you can sand the entire countertop to take off all of the top layer stains. Very deep black stains won’t come out but all of them will be made less noticeable. To rejuvenate your entire butcher block countertop sand with coarse, medium and then fine grit sandpaper using an orbital sander.
I don’t use paraffin products. What other kind of oil can I use to maintain my counters?
You can try a refined coconut oil (not the regular stuff you grab in the grocery store) which has been distilled and won’t go rancid. You can also use Tung oil, but it could bring out a gold colour in your wood and because it’s made from nuts shouldn’t be used where anyone with nut allergies come into contact with it.
Do I need to do this more than once?
Yep. You’ll need to maintain the counter regularly. ALSO you’ll need to give several coats of mineral oil the first time you do this or when the counter is realllyyyyy dry. If it soaks up all the oil almost immediately you know you’ll need another coat of oil. Just let it soak in for a few hours and then do it again. When it finally seems to stop soaking into the wood quickly, you can stop.
Which is about how often I hear about those lovebirds Tristan and Ryan by the way.
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Help! I just purchased a beautiful kitchen island from Bassett and it came with no instructions. I wiped it off with a damp cloth and dried and now that area is rough! I’ve reached out to the company but no answer. I have no idea if it’s been oiled, nothing. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Hi Denise! My guess would be that the counter hasn’t been treated at all, but you really shouldn’t do anything until the company gets back to you. If the area is rough where you sanded it that means the grain of the wood is raised because it’s swollen from water, which in turn means it probably doesn’t have anything on it to protect it. But like I said, just keep harassing the company until you find out for sure. ~ karen!
I do not have to scrape mine, and I rarely have to sand them. Once a year I use tung oil and citrus thinner mix from Milk Paint. Hydrogen Peroxide removes stains, I don’t cut on mine, I have a pile of cutting boards for that. The Milk Paint tung oil also comes in a walnut stain you can apply to oil your butcher blocks- I may do that in the future, not really sure yet. Unlike mineral oil, tung oil is not a petroleum product- it is a nut oil and the applications become cumulative, eventually you will have a long lasting finish that rarely needs additional applications. Plus, would you rather roll your dough out on a petroleum product or a nut oil that has been used for centuries to finish wood? Hope this helps someone who is on the fence for butcher block counters, once you have them- nothing else will do.
And another question, if you’re still around on this old post, would be about smells. Pretty much everything I cook has garlic and onion. Often other smelly things are included like cilantro, ginger, etc.
I’m wondering if chopping and mincing these things on a regular basis would lead to a permanent odor being embedded in the counters. I enjoy the smells while I’m cooking and eating those foods, but if I’m say making cinnamon rolls one morning, I don’t necessarily want to be smelling the thai flavored chickpea fritters from the night before (or even worse infusing the rolls with those scents and flavors). Any experience with stinky stuff? Thanks.
Yours is the first butcher block post I’ve come across that *isn’t* about how to keep them in pristine condition. A mentally freeing proposition.
But could you share what you typically use them for, specifically? I cook with a lot of colorful foods – tomatoes, peppers, squash, leaves, etc, and many of my favorite foods are also quite acidic.
I like the idea of a well used, loved and appreciated, non-pristine counter. But not sure about the idea of orange/green/red stain splots in one portion of the counter.
Maybe I’m thinking about it too hard. Maybe I should just go for it and see what happens. I suppose you can always sand.
Hi Marget! The butcher block does indeed get stained, but this is mostly a problem if you don’t keep up with oiling it. When you oil the counter things just wipe right off of them. My counter is definitely mottled from various ingredients but nothing that I’ve ever even noticed. The only real stains are under the coffee maker where coffee drips have accumulated over the years. Red peppers, tomatoes, etc … are all cut right on the butcher block without any noticeable stains for me. Also I’ve never noticed any transference of smells from food to food. Hope that helps. ~ karen!
Yes, that does help. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. We’ll be moving into an old farmhouse soon, and I thought butcher block would be a good aesthetic fit. Until I read your post, now I realize a *well used* butcher block counter – that will be perfect. I love the thought of all the labor and love of a kitchen being infused into the counters to show a visible record of it. The thought of a patina just gives me the warm fuzzies. Plus I use at least two cutting boards, often three, every time I cook. The thought of all that space, all that sweet freedom to cut all over , has me feeling like Chevy Chase running through the parking lot to Chariots of Fire.
Thank you SO MUCH for your post. It is hard to find examples of well used butcher block counters out there. Every post is about how not to use them. The only other example I have found is a single forum thread about one guy’s butcher block island. Much much appreciated, thanks again.
I just put butcherblock in my new house. I’m so excited to be able to use it. My sink is a copper sink. All your instructions were very helpful for me,in how to care for my new counters. Thank you so much. Think we will be ready to put oil on them this weekend.
Look at that sink!! Stunning. You will love your counters. Love, love, love. ~ karen!
This is great! We just had a large maple top island installed and I love it. However, my husband left juicy, bloody meat leftovers on it all night and now it has a large stain in one side. I was not happy. I’ve done all the trips – lemon/salt, baking soda, vinegar, but when I re-oiled it with mineral oil, the stained area just looks darker (see photo). Should I sand? And if so, do I sand the whole thing? Or just the stained section? I love your kitchen, btw! Looks like a happy place. Thanks again for the great blog!
I just made my own butcher block on a shoestring budget. Guy at lowes said to use watco butcher block oil and finish on it. It smells a bit and i cant imagine doing this monthly!! Would i be able to just start using mineral oil or would i have to sand it down first?
Hi Jessica! You’ll actually have to contact the people who make the product for the answer. From what I can tell Watco butcher block finish isn’t an oil, it’s an actual “finish” which means it’s leaving a layer on the wood as opposed to sinking into the wood. I don’t think that mineral oil would be able to penetrate it, but I’m not positive. It might be possible to give the counter a light sanding and then proceed with mineral oil. Good luck! ~ karen
Hi, fellow DIY person here. Love the butcher block. I just took an old 1980s maple table off Craig’s List and a new saw blade and made it fit. Wow, was it hard as a rock and heavy! Saw blade is now dull. It is only 4 feet long, but great for preping food. “Bar Keeps Friend” will get out stains. Let it sit for a while and rinse.
That looks perfect Cindy! And yes, hard wood is *really* hard to cut through, lol. ~ karen!
Thank you so much for the tips! It’s true that not many people have these, and that also makes it a bit harder to find quality post about how to care for this type of countertop..once again: thank you!
I don’t cut or chop on my butcher block counters…I am not that brave I use a cutting board…but yes they certainly do need oiled…and you are right…sometimes it is hard to tell what is stuck on them…love your new kitchen Karen…
I covet your kitchen. “Nuf said.
Me too. ~ karen!
Knowing how to clean (and the benifits), gives me the confidence to put a butcherblock top island in our new home. I’ve always Loved ! the look but was falsely concerned with the “unsanitary myth”. Thanks Karen. A timely article for me. I appreciate.
So Karen, can you stain butcher block counter tops? I have one over my washer and dryer. I think it would look great darker, but is that a bad idea?
Erica,
We stained our countertops with a non-toxic stain (Sorry can’t remember the brand as it was a few years ago) and used a food grade tung oil to finish them off. They have stood up very well and I love them.
Thanks! Karen! Your tutorials are great!
Thanks for the reminder to do this. I follow this method exactly, except I don’t use a soft cloth, as it drives me nuts how much oil gets absorbed into the cloth and I don’t know what to do with the cloth afterwards (wash it? toss it? bag it for next time?) I just spread around the oil with my bare hands now.
Hi LoriD! That’s exactly what I do, I stick the cloth into a baggie and save it for the next time! I’ll go back and add that to the post so people know it’s the best option. You’re right, it gets SO filled with oil I’d never put it in the washing machine and throwing it out would be such a waste. ~ karen!
KAREN!! and everyone else!!!!
In Shop Teacher Training Class, we were taught to put ANY oily rag into an AIRTIGHT METAL CAN. They can spontaneously combust.
All properly equipped shops that apply oily finishes should have a special ‘oily rag can.’
I discovered how very possible it could be to burn a building down 2 years ago, when my Son and Daughter-in-law were using linseed oil on their teepee poles (true story). When done, they just tossed the oily rags into the open garbage bin in the barn/shop (which happens to have a loft above where real people live).
For whatever reason, I went into the shop later that day and smelled something hot. I hunted down the smell of smoke and discovered the rags – which were beginning to blacken and smolder. Another hour and we likely would have had a fire.
So please please please please put a warning about oily rags on your original post, and please don’t just put your oily rag into a plastic bag. Get an airtight container (coffee tin with lid or even a mason jar with lid, although I think metal is considered better than glass in this situation)
Sorry for yelling. Both my training and personal experience have made me very very cautious about oily rags.
Hi Ecoteri. Linseed oil is combustible. Mineral oil isn’t. Not to worry. ~ karen!
Hi Lorid,
I apply the oil with my bare hands. It’s actually quite, it’s like having sex with your butcher block (LOL). I find that I can feel better where there is too much oil and where there is not enough. And, the bonus is that my hands absorb some of that oil as well.
I just love this article and you have convinced me to trade my butcher block-patern laminate for the real thing when I have saved enough to do my countertops. But can we please digress for a minute?
I’m curious about those other two cutting board on your counter top that are dark and kind of well-use looking. They actually look like solid slabs of wood cutting boards, versus joined pieces in a butcher block. I have a couple of solid cutting boards like that. Would you ever do your cleaning process on them, or do cutting boards like that call for a different approach? And do you use the mineral oil on them, too?
Hi Peggy. Those are serving boards I made myself. They’ve very easy, you can see the tutorial here. And yes, you can use mineral oil on any wood chopping block or cutting board. I also have a more in depth tutorial on cleaning reallyyyyy disgusting cutting boards here. ~ karen!
I love how your counter tops look – but what I love more is how you REALLY love cooking. You have to be totally immersed to enjoying listening to the sound a knife makes on butcher block. WOW you really do enjoy the whole experience. Which explains why you made your own pizza oven and actually regularly maintain your counter tops. I don’t know how you do all this but I’m glad you post about it – nice to know someone that does do all this stuff. Explains how you named your blog, also. You really are something! I really mean that – so glad I found you. I can believe you and your cooking when I know you enjoy the sound of cooking as well. A true cook.
How often I oil my counters depends on the part of the kitchen it is. To the right of my sink gets wet from people stacking dishes and glasses there. So this gets done once or twice a week, it’s just a small area. Nine people in this house kitchen gets a lot of abuse.
Love the information on this.. I have had mine for a year and just love them. I have two kinds of oil for them one with wax in it,, came from where I bought the countertop. Mine are a dark walnut and there is NOT that much maintenance to them no more then any other ones… the good thing is if wood gets a stain you can sand it out or a scratch also … regular counter tops you are stuck with the stain and scratch .. I would never go back to any other product them wood for my counter tops.. Thank you again for the GREAT information.
Carol
I cannot wait to get maple countertops. I’m moving into a house with ’90s tile (tile!) counters and they will be gone as quickly as I can manage. I’ve been longing for wood ever since I bought my current house with its ugly, temperamental granite.
Love it! Will be putting in butcher block in my new house, should I ever decide to move. I have granite now and I regret it. Very pretty but way too precious! I always have to be careful not to chip it or let citrus juice or oil get on it, because it dissolves the rock. A ridiculous constitution for one who is meant for work!
Well put. ~ karen!
Hey Karen, I just bought a bag of bees wax beads that I used to make bees wax wraps with. I imagine I could use that to make board butter with instead of buying a chunk of bees wax and shaving off small quantities. Do you agree?
Yup, they’d be perfect, Sabina. ~ karen!
Thank you for this timely post, Karen! Gee, I love your kitchen … the windows, the brick wall, the lovely copper on the shelves, your figurine (cage doll or Santos.), the “skirt”, etc, etc!).
I’ve bought quite a number of cutting boards from a vendor at our Thursday farmers’ market (for gifts and myself) and want to prevent them from cracking. I’ve forgotten what oil he said he put on them but I’d read that food-grade mineral oil was best due to rancidity. I just hope his oil doesn’t conflict with the mineral oil when I apply it next month. Right now, they feel quite oily to touch. Do you think I should lightly sand down the boards a little when I apply that first coat of mineral oil?
My home sweet home came with “fake” butcher block counters, aka laminate, and I would love to replace them. In my remodeling dreams I will admit to being on the granite or quartz bandwagon. I say dreams because I don’t have a remodeling-worthy pocketbook. And, lets be real, if I’m going to replace the counters then I’m going to replace the cabinets and floor. And if I’m going to replace the counters, cabinets and floor, then I”m going to knock down the wall between the kitchen and living room and open that sucker right up…I digress…as a vintage Pyrex collector I’ve learned from others that placing a Pyrex dish hot out of the oven directly onto a granite or quartz counter will cause it to shatter. I covet my vintage Pyrex and therefore when I grow up I want butcher block counters too 🙂
Three years ago, I moved into a condo that has granite counters. Your mentioning of Pyrex shattering really surprised me as I thought granite could pretty much “take anything”. Did it shatter because of the difference between hot (the Pyrex) and the cold (the granite)? If I had my “druthers”, I’d choose butcherblock counters too. My condo is about 9 years old and the previous owner must have danced in stilletos on this granite as it’s badly pitted, scratched and dull beyond belief! The dullness drives me crazy!
All of the Pyrex “experts” have stated yes, it’s the difference between the cold counter and the hot Pyrex. The granite can take the hot but the hot Pyrex can’t withstand the cold granite. Fortunately I haven’t had any pieces shatter because I have crappy laminate counter tops and I would crumble into a ball and cry, not really, but I’d be really disappointed. I don’t collect vintage Pyrex to look at, I collect it to be used as intended AND to look at, because it’s cool. People like granite/quartz because it’s durable and you don’t necessarily need hotplates…but if you like to use Pyrex then you need hotplates. Disclaimer: I put hot out of the oven or off the stove stuff on my crappy laminated counters without hotplates all the time because I’ve forgotten to grab one and then my hands are full with hot pans, and I’ve yet to A. shatter the hot glass or B. melt the laminate.
I use pure tung oil on my butcher block counters. And your post reminds me that a new coat of the oil is overdue.
Well, my personal impression is that maple is not as hard as rock, actually far from it. That was a bit of disappointment to me. I don’t chop directly on the countertop, I use chopping boards (very religiously, for everything). Yet my countertop sports various nicks and dimples, mostly on the edge but it is a total mystery to me how those occurred because at best I could accidentally bang it with a pot or plate or something when taking something from the sink to dry it off.
Otherwise, I love them and the visual warmth they add to the kitchen. Because there is nothing nicer than natural wood.
And speaking of reality TV shows, I love Say Yes To The Dress (only the Kleinfeld edition) even though I don’t watch it very often. I love Randy and my only regret is that I am not a psychologist. You could do your PhD on those conflicts between the bride to be and her mother or the freaking entourage. (Why anybody would schlepp 5+ people to the appointment is beyond me – that’s only asking for trouble; but that’s just me).
I think those “schleppers” are purely for our entertainment pleasure, lol!
I love my wood countertops. I oil mine every couple months in the summer and try to do it once a month in the winter because it is so dry. It is a really satisfying task. A quick coat of oil overnight on a weekend and a wipe down in the morning to get off any extra…..makes the countertops look brand new every time. The beeswax mix smells good too.
We have the same style sink. Any tips on keeping that narrow area behind the sink free from water? I slather on oil back there and try to keep it dry, but its hard to do it all the time.
For some reason I don’t get a lot of water back there but I do make sure to wipe around the sink ALL the time to make sure there isn’t moisture build up. ~ karen!
Her name is Trista not Tristan. Come in Karen, check your facts. Lol!!
And apparently I need to edit my writing before hitting post. Lol
Ha!
Thank the Lord for wood. I watch those house hunting shows and if one more person says “Oh but it doesn’t have granite counters” like it’s the end of the world, I’ll smack someone. I bet if you asked them, the majority wouldn’t know why they want granite and what its properties are. Not as bad as people who say they don’t like the paint colours though and would actually turn a house down because of it. I don’t even see paint colours when I’m looking at propery because I know they won’t be there past the first couple of weeks anyway. People are lazy followers. I hate people.
I’ve got myself all wound up now. Need chocolate to soothe my soul.
I stopped watching those house hunting shows bc of the granite comments. So annoying! I would take butcher block over granite any day. I have an old free standing butcher block but my countertops are granite – looking textured formica. They don’t bother me one iota and I’m fine with them.
Reminding me that I need to do this job!
What type of vegetable oil do you use? Sunflower oil?
I’ve been buying ‘wood oil’ for years, but now think ordinary cooking oil would prob do the job.
Mineral oil, not vegetable oil.
No, no. Use Mineral oil. It’s the only thing that should be used on butcher block. Mineral oil mixed with beeswax would work as well but I’d go pure mineral oil because it can penetrate better. ~ karen!
Funny I hate reality tv but I love my butcher block countertops and people always seem really surprised that they are wood and I chose them over quartz or marble.
They add so much warmth to a kitchen and if you do stain them you can bring them back to new again, much like hardwood floors.
I love your kitchen Karen, it’s the kind that makes someone want to dance around with flour all over them.
LOL. Something I’ve been known to do at least once a week. ~ karen!
Good tutorial! Hope to have butcher block too one day.
Excellent info and particularly timely given that I found a tomato under a pile of stuff… Long story.
that happened to me once, too … they do NOT smell very nice but they hide really really well
Uch. ~ karen!
While I love the look of butcher block counter tops … now I know why I will never have them. Way too much maintenance for me 🙂
Ditto! Give me something super-easy or, even better, a maid!