Cleaning

When you clean your cutting board, it’s recommended that you wash it with dish soap and hot water. But it’s also a good idea to run your boards through the dishwasher, or if you don’t have a dishwasher, to soak your boards in the sink filled with water and a quarter of a cup of bleach. This will remove any stains and bacteria that might be lurking on your board. When you do this, make sure your kitchen is well ventilated.

Poly boards stand up to this kind of cleaning very well. Wooden boards, over time, will not hold up to soaking, bleaching, and visits to the dishwasher. Eventually, they’ll crack and warp. However, wood does have natural bacteria-fighting properties, according to a 1993 study at the University of Wisconsin— Madison. Although these bacteria-fighting properties are not naturally found in polyethylene, bacteria can be destroyed through regular cleaning and bleaching. Also, wood cutting boards do need oiling on occasion, to keep them from becoming dry and brittle. Poly boards need no maintenance.