Experts Tell Why You Should Clean Your Cutting Board With Lemon

The combination of salt and lemon is great for removing stains. Regularly washing your cutting board with a mild dishwashing detergent and water will help keep it clean, despite the fact that wood absorbs moisture and stains easily.

To keep it looking great for years to come, you should clean your cutting board regularly with lemon and salt.

The process is simple: pour coarse salt on a wooden cutting board and rub it with half a lemon, allowing the juice to flow out while you wipe off the salt. Using lemon in everyday cleaning helps to preserve the natural beauty of wood.

How to clean a wooden cutting board with lemon

Always wash it with hot water and soap

The combination of salt and lemon is great for removing stains but lacks the antibacterial properties of soap. To clean your cutting board after each use, wash it thoroughly using a cleaning brush, hot water, and a mild, unscented dishwashing detergent.

Never put it in the dishwasher

To ensure the longevity of your wooden cutting board, keep it out of the dishwasher. Water and heat can cause the wooden cutting board to split and/or warp. And the last thing you want to do is use a sharp knife on an uneven cutting surface.

Clean regularly with salt and lemon

Consider the juice that comes out of a medium-rare steak or beetroot. These liquids can seep through the surface of the cutting board and leave a stain that only soap can remove. Lemon and salt together remove tough stains.

“Lemons are a kind of natural detergent,” says nutrition educator and sustainability strategist Lauren Nixon. “They have citric acid, which is really good for water stains, and D-limonene, which is really great for degreasing. In addition, lemon oil is a really powerful natural flavor and antibacterial effect.” Salt acts as an abrasive.

Dry immediately after washing

Remember those warps and cracks that the dishwasher can cause? The same problem can occur, albeit to a lesser extent, when you leave a wooden cutting board to air dry. This gives the water time to seep into the wood and cause it to expand.