We seem to have been given a reprieve from the winter weather today.  And, with the warmer weather and sunshine, albeit limited sunshine, I normally look for an outside chore to do.  Although this may not be an outside chore on the surface, I’m going to turn it into one.

I have an area on the porch which gets direct sunshine.  This is where I typically set things to dry; things like wet shoes, boots, or freshly scrubbed litter boxes.  The area is protected from the elements and the sun beats right in nice and warm.

Today I’ve decided to give my cutting boards and other wooden kitchen items a thorough scrubbing and disinfecting.  Of course, I wash my cutting boards with soap and hot water after every use, but disinfecting them and drying them in the sun is something that I like to do routinely, as well.  It’s probably not necessary to dry them in the sun, but it is more efficient and I know everything is good and bone-dry when the job is finished.

One thing I’ve learned through the years, partly from research and partly from experience, is that bleach simply is not a wise choice for wooden cutting boards and other wooden utensils.  There are several reasons that I prefer not to use bleach.

• Bleach is not environmentally friendly.
• Bleach is harmful to plants and animals, including people.
• Bleach strips wood of any color.
• Bleach opens up the fibers of the wood, changing the texture.

I learned the hard way about what bleach does to wood.  We had an area of raw cedar siding that had turned black with mold.  Someone suggested we use chlorine bleach, diluted somewhat, and scrub the siding.  The bleach destroyed the mold but it also destroyed the cedar siding, both discoloring it and opening the grain up so much that it changed the texture and shape of the wood.

So, yes, chlorine bleach is not something that I am fond of using around my nice wooden kitchen utensils.

There are alternatives, of course, and one is to use hydrogen peroxide.  This inexpensive powerhouse of a disinfectant is safe for wooden ware, isn’t terribly harmful to man nor beast, and doesn’t leave behind a nauseating odor of any kind.  Of course, you want to use with caution as direct contact with even 3% hydrogen peroxide for any extended time can cause irritation to your skin, nose, and eyes.

Cleaning your wooden cutting boards and other utensils is easy if you follow these simple steps:

Step 1) Take a clean sponge or scrub brush and soak it for about 10 minutes in a solution of standard 3% hydrogen peroxide (the kind you find in a drug store) and warm water, about a 50/50 mix.  After you’ve disinfected your sponge or scrub brush, discard the hydrogen peroxide and water solution.  You may safely pour this down the drain as hydrogen peroxide is considered safe for septic systems.

Step 2) Run a sink full of hot water and dish soap (use dish soap WITHOUT bleach) and drop in your wooden items.  Scrub each item with your disinfected sponge or scrub brush and rinse wooden items thoroughly with hot, running water.  Set the items on a towel-covered counter top until everything is washed.

Step 3) Mix up a fresh batch of hydrogen peroxide and warm water in a bucket or pitcher, about a ratio of 50/50 is fine.  If you have a sunny spot to work in, take the cutting boards, wood handled knives, and wooden spoons outside.  Prop each piece up against a towel-covered surface and gently pour a generous portion of the hydrogen peroxide and water mixture over all the wooden surfaces.  Let the pieces sit out in the sun until they are dry, turning once or twice so all the surfaces get disinfected and sun-dried.

Step 4) Once dry, take each piece inside again and rinse them under hot, running water.  Then return the wooden pieces to dry in the sun, without additional disinfecting.

Step 5) Before the sun goes down, retrieve all the wooden kitchen utensils and bring them inside.  Now, they are clean, disinfected, freshly rinsed, dried, and ready to be lightly oiled and returned to their rightful place.

If you don’t have a sunny spot, you can do the same thing by setting your wooden ware up where there is plenty of light and air, even in front of a window.

There are plenty of good disinfecting guides that people like to follow, but this is the one that has worked well for me… without damaging my wooden kitchen utensils in the process.  I hope you’ll give this a try when you’re ready to get your cutting boards and other wooded ware in shape.

p.s.  If you’re ready to shake off the winter dust, check out all the Spring Cleaning Tips For Mom.  Get ahead of schedule and be ready for fun when those sunny days come knocking at your door.

Tags: disinfect cutting board, disinfect kitchen utensils, disinfect safely, disinfect with hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen peroxide uses

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 5:32 am and is filed under Tidy Tuesday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.