The Best Cutting Board Cleaners

Cutting boards are a must-have for when you’re prepping veggies, cutting meats, or simply staging multi-step cooking projects. If you have a cutting board, wooden or otherwise, you need to have the right tools to keep that wood in tip-top shape so that your board lasts.

Buying Guide for Cutting Board Cleaners

Why buy a cutting board cleaner?

Buying a cutting board cleaner is a good idea for anyone who uses cutting boards for their home cooking or meal prep. A dedicated cutting board cleaner is specifically formulated to clean and disinfect cutting boards, which is important for maintaining good hygiene in your kitchen. Using a cleaner that’s designed for cutting boards can help to remove any food particles, stains, and odors that may have accumulated on the board. Some cutting board cleaners also have moisturizing properties that help to keep your wooden cutting board in good condition, preventing it from drying out and cracking over time. This is especially crucial if you own wooden cutting boards, as they will require additional maintenance to ensure that the surface remains intact and is safe to use.

What should you consider when shopping for cutting board cleaners?

• Ingredients: Cutting boards should be cleaned with effective yet gentle ingredients, especially if they’re made from wood. This means you may find that you’ll need to treat your board with oils periodically to preserve the surface. And you’ll want to avoid cleaners with harsh ingredients that strip the surface. Look for safe ingredients like mineral oil, coconut oil, or even wax to treat the wood and low-detergent cleansers like Castile soap. Cleaners that are designed specifically for wood will also be more effective than general cleaners, at least for wooden cutting boards.
• Quantity: If you use cutting boards frequently, you want to ensure that the quantity-to-price ratio makes sense for you. There’s no point in buying a tiny bottle of cleaner if you’re going to be cleaning multiple boards every week, after all. Whereas if you only use a cutting board a few times a month, you may not want to shell out the money for a huge bulk bottle of cleaner. Consider what makes the most sense for your cooking and meal prep habits.
• Application Method: Even though you’re committed to taking care of your kitchen accessories, that doesn’t mean you want complicated maintenance solutions that take extensive amounts of time to complete. Some products will just need to be sprayed onto the cutting board and rubbed in, others will require a more in-depth application process. Be sure to read the instructions to ensure the application method is easy to follow before you buy a cleaner.

How often should you use a specialty cleaner on your cutting board?

This will depend on how often you use your cutting board. In general, it’s always a good idea to clean a cutting board with a specialty cleaner after each use, especially if you have been cutting raw meat or other foods that can harbor harmful bacteria. If you use your cutting board less frequently, you may not need to clean it after every use.

Additionally, it’s important to keep your cutting board dry and well-maintained to prevent it from cracking or warping over time, especially if it’s made from wood. Regularly oiling your cutting board can help to keep it in good condition and prolong its lifespan, usually with food-grade mineral oil.

Our Picks for the Best Cutting Board Cleaners

Pros: This product is great for cleaning wooden cutting boards and other kitchen items effectively, helping to remove stains, smells, and food particles. It’s made with real coconut soap and lemon oil, which gives it a pleasant scent and helps to freshen up wood surfaces. Additionally, the product is safe to use on any wood surface that comes into contact with food, providing peace of mind for anyone concerned about the safety of the products they use in their kitchen. Thus this cleaner will help maintain pretty much wooden kitchen item, not just cutting boards, keeping them in good condition and extending their lifespan. Finally, the product can be used to prepare wood surfaces before applying a cutting board oil or conditioner, helping to ensure that the surface is clean and well-maintained.

Cons: Note that even with the addition of lemon oil, this product can strip moisture from the wood so you’ll want to pair it with some sort of (sold separately) moisturizing oil or conditioner if you use it on a wooden cutting board. And bear in mind that while this product is designed to help maintain wooden cutting boards and keep them looking great, it will not be nearly as effective at restoring severely damaged or neglected wood surfaces.

Bottom Line: No matter what you’re cutting or chopping on your wooden boards, you need to keep them clean between uses, and you can both sanitize and freshen your boards with this straightforward cleaner with a great scent. Overall, the cutting board cleaner is a convenient and effective solution for cleaning and maintaining wooden kitchen items– just make sure to pair it with a moisturizing oil when you use it to clean a wooden surface.

 

Pros: If you’re familiar with Castile soap, you know it’s quite multifunctional. And here, we have it in a cutting board soap, paired with natural orange and lemon extracts, for a pleasant citrusy aroma that will make your whole kitchen smell cleaner and more appealing. This pick is not only organic but free from harsh additives. In addition to cleansing your cutting board, it can be used as a prep step before applying mineral oil or wood wax.

Cons: While the cleaner’s strength is a huge benefit for deep cleaning, it may be a bit too strong for certain cutting boards. People who used this product on thinner wood boards found that the soap was strong enough to potentially cause cracking and splitting.

Bottom Line: If you have thicker wooden pieces that need to be cleaned, this product is a solid choice that will leave them fresh and well-scented. However, you’ll want to find a more gentle cleaner for cutting boards made from thinner and/or more delicate woods.

 

Pros: Most people use either an old rag or a paper towel to apply cleanser, oil, and wax to their cutting boards. These fleece microfiber applicator pads offer a handy alternative to both. They’re reusable and thus more eco-friendly, much like an old rag or cloth, but they’re also thicker and easier and more ergonomic to grasp. Their thickness also allows them to soak up more cleaner oil than a thin paper towel, so they’re much less messy and less likely to drip liquid everywhere. You can also use them to clean other surfaces, from butchers’ blocks to kitchen countertops.

Cons: The main drawback to these pads is that they alone don’t actually clean your cutting boards; you have to use them in tandem with some sort of cleanser. And since they aren’t sold with any oil, conditioner, or any other sort of cleaner, you’ll have to provide your own separately.

Bottom Line: If you’re looking for an easy, less messy, less wasteful way to apply cleaners to your cutting board, you can’t go wrong with these specialty buffing pads. They have all the reusable convenience of a rag while being easier to grip. Just be prepared to invest in some cleanser and/or oil to pair with them.

 

Pros: If the idea of using harsh ingredients to clean your products is unappealing, you’ll like this earth-friendly alternative from Better Life. It’s an all-purpose cleaner that’s ideal for spot cleaning but is also free from SLS and SLES. Many reviewers use it on almost every surface in their homes —wooden cutting boards included—for quick and easy cleaning. And due to its multipurpose functionality, it may save you money since you won’t have to buy separate cleaners for difference surfaces in your home. The spray bottle not only makes application easier but reduces the risk of spilling and accidentally wasting the cleaner.

Cons: Officially, this isn’t intended specifically for wood, though it can be safely used to clean wood. Thus it’s not the best option for wooden cutting boards, as it won’t have the handy hydration or moisturizing properties that such products usually contain.

Bottom Line: If you need to quickly clean up your board, this is a great solution that you can use to clean the entire kitchen, not just your cutting board. That said, it isn’t the best deep-cleansing option or the optimal choice for wooden cutting boards.

 

Pros: Save money and protect your investment with this four-piece kit that comes complete with soap, conditioner, and oil, plus a complementary microfiber applicator. The trio of oil, conditioner, and cleaner deeply penetrates into the wood pores, bringing out the rich natural wood color of your cutting board and helping to prevent drying and cracking in the process. All three products are easy to use, with a smooth and non-sticky application, and leave little to no scent. Many users noted the improvement in the appearance of their wooden kitchen items after using the product, with some even saying that it has brought their cutting boards back to life. The product is versatile, working well on different types of wood such as bamboo, cherry, walnut, and oak, and has even been used to clean other items such as wooden spoons and bowls.

Cons: Although this product is highly recommended for its effectiveness in conditioning and maintaining wooden kitchen items, some customers did not receive the applicator cloth, which was advertised as part of the kit, and they had to purchase one separately. You still get good value for your money, but you may not receive the cloth with your purchase.

Bottom Line: Getting a complete set to protect your wooden kitchen tools is important. But that doesn’t always mean you want to spend an arm and a leg on them. Thankfully, this four-piece set from Howard comes with everything you need at a reasonable price, even if your applicator cloth is missing.

Final Thoughts

If you’re going to upgrade your kitchen routine to include wooden accessories, then you need to go the extra mile and invest in the right tools to care for them. This means you’ll need a specialty cleaner and the oil to effectively clean and protect the wood from premature damage. With one of our selections, your cutting board will be in good hands.