Getting Stains Off Wooden Worktops

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.

Published on: May 9, 2012, updated March 21st 2016