Rinse It Fast Next Time
Strongly coloured stuff — beets, turmeric, wine, berries — rinse it off the board before you do anything else. Before you finish cooking. Before you plate the food. Right away. Most pigments don’t become a real problem if you catch them fast. You’re reading this because that didn’t happen. Fine. Keep going.Lemon and Salt
Start here. Always. Half a lemon. Coarse salt on the stain. Use the lemon to scrub. Salt does the scrubbing, lemon acid does the chemistry. Minute or two of scrubbing, few minutes sitting, rinse with warm water, dry upright. Gets out wine. Gets out berries. Gets out most fruit-based pigments. Gentle enough to do regularly without worrying about it.Baking Soda
Lemon didn’t work. Try this. Baking soda and water into a paste. Brush it onto the stain. Ten minutes. Scrub. Rinse. Dry upright. Better than lemon for grease stains and older stuff that’s been sitting a while.Hydrogen Peroxide
Baking soda didn’t work. This will. Probably. Regular 3% hydrogen peroxide on a cloth. On the stain. Five minutes. Not more. It works fast and if you forget about it the wood lightens around the stain not just on it. Rinse thoroughly. Oil the board right after — peroxide dries wood out and it needs oil immediately. Works on things nothing else touches. Be careful with the timing.Sanding
Nothing worked. Sand it. 220 grit. With the grain. You’re taking the stained layer off the surface. Stain goes with it. Oil immediately after because fresh-sanded wood absorbs fast. Reliable. Last resort. Does the job.Which Method for Which Stain
| Stain type | Start with | If that fails | Last resort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine / berries / juice | Lemon + salt | Hydrogen peroxide | Sand it |
| Beets / turmeric | Lemon + salt | Baking soda paste | Hydrogen peroxide |
| Grease / oil | Baking soda paste | Dish soap + scrub | Sand it |
| General discolouration | Lemon + salt | Baking soda paste | Sand it |
| Deep set stains | Hydrogen peroxide | Sand it | — |
What Doesn’t Work
✓ Works
- Lemon and coarse salt
- Baking soda paste
- Hydrogen peroxide (3%, timed)
- 220 grit sanding with the grain
- Rinse immediately after colouring foods
✗ Doesn’t work
- Activated charcoal — useless
- Soaking in water — warps the board
- Bleach for stains — sanitizes, doesn’t remove pigment
- Leaving hydrogen peroxide on too long