Receiving your board

Before I ship your board, I soak it in mineral oil for 24 hours. Then I apply a few coats of my homemade board paste and let it acclimate to my own home for a week to ensure that it’s stable. When you first receive your Owl Woodworks board, you should apply the supplied board paste every couple days. This will help it stay stable as it acclimates to your home and where you live.

Maintenance

Maintaining your board is done with mineral oil and beeswax. I have provided you with my own homemade board paste with your Owl Woodworks board. This paste can be applied by hand, cloth, paper towel etc. At a minimum, I recommend applying the paste anytime the board feels dry or loses a lot of it’s luster and water repellency. You can let the paste sit for as long as you want and then buff it off before you use it again. I usually apply it and let it soak in for anywhere from 5 minutes to a couple hours. It is impossible to oil it too much and the more often you oil it, the better protected it is from moisture and heat. You may find yourself oiling it every couple days if you use it a lot, or sometimes letting it go for a few weeks to a month.

Washing

Do not put your board in the dishwasher. After each use, hand wash your board with a quality dishwashing detergent and warm or hot water. Rinse or scrub as necessary with a cloth, sponge, scrubby brush etc. Don’t soak the board or run water over it for an extended period of time. Just rinse the board and then scrub as necessary. I suggest washing both sides of the board to ensure that the whole board is exposed to the same amount of moisture. Regularly washing and oiling only one side of the board can sometimes lead to warping.

Sanitizing

To sanitize your board, I recommend lemon and salt. Sprinkle some coarse salt all over your board, then cut a lemon in half and use the open side to scrub the salt into the board. You can also use a 2:1 water and white vinegar solution to sanitize your board. Apply the solution with a spray bottle or cloth and scrub for a minute or two, then wash as normal.

Storage

Keep your board in a place where it gets air on all sides and won’t be exposed to drastic temperature or moisture changes (not next to boiling pots on the stove). If your board has feet, you can leave it flat on the counter as air can flow around the board evenly. If your board does not have feet, I recommend storing it on edge.

Summary

Don’t:

Put it in the dishwasher

Soak it in the sink

Do:

Oil your board regularly

Treat all sides of the board evenly