Prior to fitting, in order to make wooden worktops resistant to stains, they need to be treated with a protective oil.  When choosing an oil for your worktops, if you want to prepare food directly on the worktop surface, it is important that you choose a food-safe oil.

Food-safe oil is easy enough to track down.  With a bit of research, you will be able to track down official guidelines on the suitability of any product you plan to use in conjunction with food preparation.  It is really important that you carry out appropriate toxicity research before applying any oil to your worktop if you plan to prepare food directly on the worktop.  That said, once you have carried out this research, if you are still in any doubt whatsoever about the suitability of the oil, you should consult your worktop supplier who will be able to guide you.

One important thing to bear in mind when oiling your worktop is not to use vegetable oil or olive oil to treat your wooden worktop.  Treating your worktop with these oils is is not a good idea if you’re wanting to use your worktop directly for food preparation.  The reason for this is that these oils effectively “rot” in the wood and cause a build up of bacteria, potentially making your worktop unsafe for food preparation.

When it comes to regular maintenance and cleaning of your worktop to make it safe for food preparation, a regularly oiled (treated with food-safe oil) wood worktop is as easy to clean and maintain as any other worktop.  All you need to do is make sure that you mop up any spills which occur and could result in bacterial build up.  Thereafter, a regular wipe down with a mild detergent will keep your worktop clean and safe.

All of that said, if you are using your wood worktop for direct food preparation, you need to be really careful not to inadvertently damage the surface with knives or other sharp objects.

Fine sandpaper helps remove surface burns

If you have a solid wood worktop, it’s really important to look after it well and to take every precaution you can to prevent damage.  That said, even with the best will in the world, accidents do happen.  There are any number of reasons why you might find yourself with a burn on your worktop, for example, caused by placing a hot pan or serving dish directly on the surface or from a stray spark from a match you’ve used to light your gas.  Either way the first thing you must do is try to establish how deep the burn goes.

In most instances, minor, surface burns are easily dealt with.  The best way to tackle a minor burn is to either sand or scrape the burned surface away using fine sandpaper or a brass bristle brush.  When you’re doing this, you need to be careful to work with the grain of the wood and bear in mind that you may need to sand around the area using a fine sandpaper at the end, to help blend the worked area with the rest of your worktop.  Once you’ve removed all trace of the burn, wipe the worktop clean and leave it to dry thoroughly.  Once dry, simply apply an appropriate food-safe finish, to match the rest of your worktop.  Repeat the oiling process until the patch that has been treated disappears.

If the burn on your worktop is deep, you may find that you need to scrape or cut away the surface to remove the burned wood and then use a filler to repair the resulting damage.  Depending on the extent of the damage, you should find that either a specialist scratch hider or a putty stick will do the job nicely.  If you prepare food directly on your worktop, one thing to bear in mind when filling your worktop is to make sure that any product you is food-safe.

With a bit of research, you should be able to track down official guidelines on the suitability of any product you plan to use to fill repairs in your worktop.  It is really important to carry out toxicity research before applying any product to your worktop. Once you have carried out this research, if you are still in any doubt about a product’s suitability, you should consult your solid worktop supplier who will be able to guide you.  Once you’ve filled your worktop with a suitable filler, you’ll be able to sand down the area, clean it and finish it with your selected oil.

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Fine wire wool drenched in lemon oil often works!

When it comes to stains on wooden worktops, it has to be said that prevention is always better than cure.  That said, even with the very best prevention in place, stains can, and do happen.  Although knowing the cause of the stain may help in some instances, we have assumed for the purpose of this blog post that your goal is to get rid of stains of a general nature.

It may be that the stains on your worktop are concentrated into the high traffic areas (ie.  areas where you work most often) or they may be general and widespread across the whole of your worktop.  If the stains are general and widespread across the whole of your worktop, there is little doubt that a full re-sand and re-finish will work out more effective and more efficient, both time and cost-wise.

That said, if you only have random stains here and there, you should be able to tackle these and remove them effectively without going to the extent of a complete re-sand and re-finish.  Generally speaking stains on worktops fall into two categories: surface and deep.  Most surface and deep stains are caused by trapped moisture.  Generally speaking if the stain is white, it’s only on the surface, if it’s black or dark, it has had a chance to penetrate deeper into the wood.

Surface stains can generally be removed by rubbing with a pad of really fine wire wool drenched in lemon oil to help avoid damage.  Simply rub the stained surface with the wool and the stain should disappear.

Here is a step-by-step guide of what you should do for deeper stains:

1. Lightly sand away the finish on your worktop, always working in the direction of the grain.  This will give you access to the wood itself.
2. Brush or blot bleach onto the stained area.  Although bleach products are not normally recommended on your finished worktop, they work well on stains.  You may need to do this repeatedly to remove the stain.  If needs be, you can leave the bleach soaking into the stain overnight.  If standard domestic bleach doesn’t work then your worktop supplier will be able to provide you with commercial wood bleach which should do the trick (but be sure to follow the instructions to the letter, including neutralization).  Really deep stains may need to be scraped away, but try to avoid this if you can.
3. Once the stain has gone to your satisfaction, it’s a case of cleaning the area thoroughly, allowing it to dry and finishing your worktop with a good quality, food-safe oil.
4. When finishing your worktop, remember to work in layers, so you can build up to the same colour you had before.

Wood is a completely natural product and as such changes with the atmosphere in which it finds itself. Kitchens are particularly challenging places for wood and it’s for this reason that all wooden worktops need to be well prepared and maintained in order to stay looking their best.

The first, basic level of protection you can afford your worktops is to keep a regular eye out for leaks or spills. Leaky plumbing can cause havoc with wooden worktops and is best dealt with as a matter of urgency. Thereafter, high moisture content of a general nature can cause long-term problems which appear gradually over time. If you’re aware of any damp or potentially damp areas in your kitchen, it’s important to make sure you keep a close eye on your worktop and make sure it’s well treated to withstand the moisture it encounters.

Before you fit your worktop you should oil the wood to prevent general warping and bowing, but also to protect against possible water damage. Oiling your worktop well will give it a great water-resistant finish and will help the wood stay in good condition longer.

Here are our Top Tips for oiling your worktop to prevent water damage and keep it looking great:

1. Choose a good quality oil such as Danish Oil, which is a blend of tung and polymerised linseed oil (plus a few added extras to help keep your wood looking good).

2. Oil every surface of your worktop (including all the edges and the underside). Two generous coats of oil should be sufficient on the underside and the non-exposed edges, but on the exposed surfaces, ideally you should aim to add at least three to five light coats of oil to ensure water resistance.

3. To oil the surfaces of your worktop, use a soft, clean, dry cloth and work in the direction of the grain. Simply pour your oil directly on to the worktop and smooth it towards the edges along the grain. Leave the oil to penetrate for a few minutes before re-working each application to make sure the coating is evenly distributed.

IMPORTANT: Although oiling is a great way to protect your worktop from water damage, it’s really important to check regularly for leaks or excessive moisture and to mop up spills as soon as practically possible.

Solid wood worktops are made, as the name suggests, from solid wood and nothing else.  Typically made from woods such as: oak, iroko, walnut, bamboo or limba, solid wood worktops are attractive, hardwearing and completely natural.  Laminate worktops on the other hand are made from synthetic materials which are made to look like either solid wood, stone or granite.  Laminate worktops, although normally significantly cheaper than solid wood, stone or granite options are less likely to stand the test of time than the “real thing”.

Whether you choose laminate or solid wood worktops will depend on a few key things:

1. Your budget
2. Your desire and ability to maintain your worktop
3. How long you’d like your worktop to last

When you fit a solid wood worktop you need to make sure it is well oiled and treated prior to using it.  If you don’t invest the necessary time preparing your worktop, you will come up against problems in the future.  Generally speaking, solid wood worktops are supplied untreated and need to be oiled on each of their sides (including edges and undersides) prior to fitting.  You need to be careful, when oiling, to pay particular attention to any areas which may be exposed to the risk of water damage, such as areas around taps or near draining boards.

Once installed and treated, solid wood worktops should be re-treated, and rubbed down if necessary, every 6 months or so to keep them in top-notch condition.  This ability to sand, re-treat and re-finish your solid wood worktop will keep it looking great for longer.

When you fit a laminate worktop, there is no need for either initial or ongoing treatment, which makes this a particularly attractive option for people looking for a low maintenance worktop solution.  That said, if you choose laminate worktops they will only look brand new once in their life and that’s when they’re brand new!

So, at the end of the day, the decision about what type of worktop you choose will depend on a host of factors, but one thing you can be sure about is that solid wood worktops will give you a long-lasting and stylish kitchen solution.

It is absolutely essential to carry out appropriate toxicity research prior to applying any stain to your worktop.  Even once you have carried out this research, if you are still in any doubt whatsoever about the suitability of any product, you should consult your worktop supplier who will be able to guide you.

Notwithstanding these risks, if you are adamant that you want to change the colour of your solid wood worktop or to breathe new life into a wood worktop, an appropriate, safe stain can be a good way to achieve a result.  Wood stains come in a whole host of colour options, so no matter whether you’re looking for a natural wood tone or a funkier colour option, with a bit of research you should be able to track down a wood stain to suit your needs.

It is important to make sure you do a colour test before you embark on an overall covering of your worktop.  Testing stain colour results is essential because different woods will take on different tones when stains are applied.

The ideal place to test out your stain is on the underside of your worktop in a location where the colour won’t be seen if you don’t like it.  If you find that the colour you’ve chosen is too dark, you can dilute your stain to make it lighter.  A good idea is to work with a mild dilution to start with and dilute the stain more and more until you achieve the result you’re looking for.  Each time you do a test, it’s worth noting (lightly, in pencil) next to the test area the dilution proportions of that patch.  This will help you make sure you are able to reproduce the result of the colour sample you like best.

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Ash Wood

Ash is one of the most widely available wood species in the UK and also one of the most popular. Properties such as strength and durability make Ash a perfect wood for worktops. Ash wood is also used to create baseball bats, tools and other items that require strength; further demonstrating it’s appeal.

Beech Wood

Sourced from a beech tree, Beech Wood is an extremely strong wood which is used in flooring, worktops, chairs and other types of furniture. Beech is also used for brewing beer and smoking certain types of cheese. As a species, it is native to the south of England where it grows in a broad range of soil types.

Iroko Wood

Also known as ‘African Teak’, Iroko is native to Africa and starts its life as a yellow wood, and quickly darkens into a rich brown colour. It is used in a variety of ways from flooring, worktops and decking to boat-building and even musical instrument construction.

Mahogany Wood

Mahogany is used to describe numerous varieties of dark-coloured hardwoods that include names such as ‘West Indian’ and ‘Cuban mahogany’. The reddish-brown colour of this wood is enhanced by a straight grain and is usually free of voids and pockets.   Mahogany Wood is used in a variety of ways from flooring, worktops and other types of furniture to musical instrument construction (most notably drums).

Bamboo Wood

Bamboo is a rapid growing grass and is in fact not wood at all, although when treated for domestic use it takes on the same characteristics as other woods used for flooring, worktops and furniture in terms of its durability, strength and stability. Its use is considered particularly environmentally friendly because the tree grows back quicker than most other trees and requires very limited resources to flourish.

Wenge Wood

Rich and dark in colour, Wenge is a type of wood with a distinctive figure and a strong partridge pattern. Wenge wood is heavy and strong, making it a popular choice for flooring, worktops, staircases and other types of wooden construction. Wenge is native to the Republic of Congo and is also used for the construction of various musical instruments, particularly guitars.

Zebrano Wood

The name Zebrano or Zebrawood originates from the dark stripes on a light background which this wood features. These bear a resemblance to a Zebra, hence its name. Its heavy and strong properties together with its rich colour make it extremely popular for the construction of worktops and counter tops.

Oak Wood

Oak is a type of tree that is extremely popular for the construction of various wooden structures and furniture. Oak wood, which is abundantly available, enjoys attractive grain markings, great strength and hardness. These properties make oak not only popular for wood construction, but also for shipbuilding and timber frame buildings.

Walnut Wood

Walnut wood originates from the walnut tree, a family of over 21 species of trees found from Europe to Japan. Walnut timber is extremely hard, dense and tight-grained.  These properties make it a prized flooring and worktop wood.  It starts life as a dull brown colour wood, but when air-dried it becomes a rich chocolate-brown shade.

This process, known as finger jointing, gives a stable and durable construction to the wood, it reduces the natural defects of the wood and ensures a more consistent colour and grain pattern. That said, there would always be some pattern, colour and grain differences over the timber surfaces because it is a natural product. This is a normal and valued characteristic of the appearance of wooden products.

To keep your solid wood worktops in tip-top condition it is important to maintain it well and from time to time to treat the wood.

How To Maintain Solid Wood Worktops?

1. When fitting and using your worktop take care.  Wooden kitchen worktops are highly durable but you do need to treat them with care and avoid dragging heavy or sharp items across their surface.

2. If possible, fix dents when they happen.  As soon as you notice your wooden kitchen worktop has suffered a dent, spray some water on the dent, place a damp cloth on top and iron the surface.  A good quality wooden kitchen worktop will react well to this process and will rise back removing the dent.

3. Apply an oil coating from time to time.  Good quality wooden worktops will have been well oiled before installation but will require ongoing oil top ups from time to time.  To find the best oil for this purpose, contact your local kitchen supplier and buy timber worktop re-coating oil to apply every three months or so.

4. Mop up stains and spills as quickly as possible.  When it comes to stains, liquid spills and food residue, the quicker you mop them up the less likely they are to cause stains or damage.

5. Use a well-insulated, good quality pan or pot stand.  While good quality wooden worktops won’t normally suffer too much harm from the odd hot article being placed on them, it’s best to make sure that hot plates and pans are placed on a well-insulated, good quality pan or pot stands.