While many kitchen utensils were built to last forever, you need to replace cutting-boards occasionally. This brings us to the question, “How Often Should You Replace Your Wood cutting-boards?”
Of all the materials used in making cutting boards, wood is the most varied.
Wooden cutting boards are made from either hardwood or softwood.
The differences in density and texture play a crucial role in their utility and duration.
Over time, your wood cutting boards and cutting boards of other materials lose their quality and become less suitable for food preparation.
Moreover, It is common knowledge that cutting boards are a haven for bacterial growth, so it is only ideal to replace them occasionally.
In this blog post, we will consider the various cutting board materials and highlight how to know when to change your wooden cutting boards.
When to Replace cutting-boards
We use cutting boards for meal prepping because they meet a standard that makes them ideal and safe.
When your cutting board begins to depreciate from daily use, it tends to lose these qualities, and then replacing it with a new one becomes necessary.
Here are some of the ways to know that it is time to get rid of your cutting board and invest in a new one:
Warps
Nothing compares to the disappointment felt when you pull out your cutting board and suddenly find it warped.
The fact that it is entirely impossible to cut properly with a warped board makes it even more frustrating.
If your cutting board expands and contracts unevenly, warps are bound to occur.
In other words, your wood board soaks up and releases more water from one side of the board than from the other.
This frequently happens because, most times, we pat dry one side of our board, forgetting the other, usually the underside facing the wet countertop.
You can resolve this by wetting the board and leaving it turned over until it flattens again.
If the board is badly warped, then your best option is to toss it and buy a new one.
Grooved and Cracked
As you use your wood cutting board daily, it will someday weaken and develop some cracks. This means that you should change your cutting board.
Cracks make cleaning hard. They open up more space for grooming bacteria and germs.
If the crack is not too deep, you can fix it with sanding or food-safe wood glue. Otherwise, you will have to buy a new one.
Two old cutting-boards with spices on top
Develops a Rancid Smell
It is not uncommon for your board to suddenly develop a nasty smell of dampness on the underside. This smell is not easily treated.
You can use all the DIY solutions online, and this rotten smell won’t disappear. This shows that your cutting board needs a new replacement.
Covered With Stain
If you’ve spent hours trying to get the stains out of your cutting board, then you should better be spending that time pricing a new one.
The quality of your board will reduce with old age; wear and tear will cause your board to retain more stain than when it was new.
After deep cleaning and you don’t see any improvements, it’s time to replace your wood-cutting board.
Too Soft or Too Slippery
Cutting surfaces are meant to be hard to support the weight of the duties carried out on them.
Your board can become too soft because it is always exposed to moisture. Replacing it with a new board is the only solution to this.
An old cutting board with vegetables and a knife
How Do Long Cutting Boards Last?
For starters, your cutting boards can last longer depending on the level of care they receive.
If you properly handle your board by washing it after every use and the monthly oiling and deep cleaning, you can increase your board’s lifespan.
Additionally, the duration of a cutting board will depend on the type and quality of the material it was made from.
Let’s see the average lifespan of different cutting-board materials:
Wood cutting-boards
Your first-class wooden cutting boards can last five to ten years. That means quality boards that were built with strong wood.
The low-quality boards last about a year or two, depending on how much care you give them.
However, whether it lasts as long as you expected or not, you must replace them once they develop any of the abovementioned faults.
Plastic cutting-boards
Plastic boards are cheaper than wood cutting boards but also get worn out sooner, which explains why.
Knives easily scrape Plastic cutting boards, and these knife marks become a haven for bacteria.
For this reason, changing your plastic cutting boards at least every two years is advisable.
Bamboo cutting-boards
Now, let’s go onto the one cutting-board material that resists moisture as well as knife scarring.
Bamboo cutting boards are quality materials that can last for as long as five to ten years with appropriate care.
Their firm texture and density make them more moisture-resistant than other materials.
The only downside, however, is that bamboo cutting boards are rough on the knives. If you choose a bamboo board, you must sharpen your knife edge frequently.
Other Types Of cutting-boards
We have other choices like composite and glass cutting boards; they have good qualities and are quite durable, too.
However, The glass boards will wear your knife edges sooner than you can handle, which is one of the many reasons chefs don’t prefer a glass cutting board.
A cracked cutting-board
Conclusion
At this point, you would have found the answer to your question, “How often to replace a wood cutting board.”
I can never overemphasize the impact of carefulness on the duration of cutting boards.
If you handle your wood cutting board with the best maintenance practices, cleaning, oiling, and keeping it dry whenever not in use, you will undoubtedly maximize its use before throwing it out for a new one.
No matter how much we care for our cutting board, it will eventually wear out.
Therefore, once you notice the faults mentioned in your cutting board, know that it is no longer safe for food preparation, so it is time for you to replace it with a new one.