[Sca-cooks] Cleaning plastic and wooden cutting boards

ranvaig at columbus.rr.com ranvaig at columbus.rr.com
Thu Mar 20 10:01:13 PDT 2008


> I have some plastic cutting boards
>that over time had become stained and I soaked them in bleach/water/white
>vinegar in the sink,

Vinegar and bleach can create toxic clorine gas, I wouldn't advise mixing them.  At least be sure its well ventilated.  Vinegar plus bleach is a potent bactericide, but its not a SAFE one.
http://chemistry.about.com/b/2003/07/08/mixing-bleach-and-vinegar-always-a-bad-idea.htm
http://www.vinegarbook.net/Never_mix_bleach_and_vinegar.shtml
http://www.greenfootsteps.com/vinegar-and-bleach.html

> then I am running them through the dishwasher.   Is this
>going to be enough to sterilize them so I can keep using them, or should I
>just replace them?

They should be sterilized, even if it doesn't remove all the stains.
>
>Also, what should I do to refurbish my fairly dried out wooden cutting boards,
>and what do you allrecommend that you use plastic vs. wooden cutting
>boards for?  I had always heard to use the plastic for meat because it could
>be cleaned easier.

I scrub my wooden cutting boards with salt, rinse well, then rub with oil.  Some people use mineral oil, but I usually use olive oil. With either, its the nicks and cuts that trap the germs.

They keep flipping back between saying plastic or wood is better.  I think either is fine, if you clean them well.  If you have any worries, keep one board for raw meat, and use a different one for anything ready to serve.

Ranvaig


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