You can’t even imagine your work in the kitchen without a good chopping board. You use it to dice onions and garlic, chop greens and slice meat, vegetables and fruit. Because of this reason, a chopping board will turn smelly and variously coloured after a while, and a dishwashing sponge by itself won’t make it clean; you will need other tricks too.
To remove stains, such as those caused by blackberries, red beets, red peppers or a juicy steak, you can use a mixture of salt, baking soda and water. Rub the mixture into the stains and then scrub the board.
To get rid of unpleasant smells caused by onion or garlic, sprinkle the chopping board with a little vinegar. By the time vinegar evaporates, bad smells will be gone too.
For daily cleaning, rinse the board under hot water, but don’t leave it in a sink full of dirty dishes. If you keep a wooden chopping board in water for a prolonged time, it will be damaged. Wipe it with a clean towel as soon as you are done washing it, and allow it to dry completely on a rack rather than in the cupboard.
For occasional cleaning, you will need coarse salt, half a lemon and some oil. Sprinkle salt abundantly onto the entire surface of the chopping board. Then, rub the surface with a lemon cut in half. Finally, spread a few drops of oil onto the entire surface of the board. Allow the oil to act for at least ten minutes, and then wipe off excessive oil.