Charcuterie board care
To ensure a long life for your charcuterie or serving board, please consider the following tips:
Do not wash in hot soapy water unless absolutely necessary. This will strip off any finish. Please wipe clean immediately with a warm cloth and gentle cleanser. Your finish will wear off eventually so use coconut oil or mineral oil to re-season your board. This helps to protect it from food stains and allows the board to be more easily wiped down.
To clean your boards
For a deeper clean: Give it a good scrub with some lemon and baking soda. Sprinkle your board with baking soda, cut a lemon in half and use the half to scrub the baking soda around. This can help deodorize your board when the onions and garlic take over.
Always give your boards a wipe with a warm water cloth after using. Do not put in the dishwasher or allow to soak in water. Ensure there is sufficient air circulation around your boards after you clean them to properly dry. Wet charcuterie boards can become warpy charcuterie boards.
How to refinish your charcuterie board
All charcuterie boards are built of solid wood so they can be sanded to remove knife marks and then refinished. You can easily pick up some sandpaper at your local hardware store to carry out the task yourself. Give it a good clean with lemon and baking soda and then a wash in some hot soapy water. Let air dry standing up. Then work your way through the various grits of sandpaper. The lower the grit, the more coarse or rough it is meaning it takes off more material. Start with an 80 grit and sand WITH the woodgrain. Going across the grain will cause more scratches that are hard to sand out. Try not to gouge pits or grooves into your board by keeping an even pressure across the entire board. Once you have gotten out the knife marks and stains to the best of your ability, you can move on to 100 or 120 grit. Then 150 grit sandpaper and 180 grit sandpaper. For an extra professional smooth finish, here’s the secret we use: once you have sanded with 180 grit, wet the board all over and let it air dry. This is called water popping and it causes the wood grains to stand up. You will feel your board become much rougher again. Once it is dry, sand it 180 again and then onto your 220 grit. There’s no point in going for smoother grits than this as this is very smooth already. Now finish with your preferred charcuterie board finish, let the oil soak in (overnight if possible), and then buff away the excess with a rag or paper towel.
Our fave charcuterie board finishes:
Walrus oil cutting board oil - available at Lee Valley
Mineral oil
Coconut oil
Never use cooking oils such as canola or olive. This will go rancid and your board will be gross and only good for firewood after that.
Furniture Care
For most furniture projects, we use Osmo Polyx Hardwax Oil. This is a vegan and ecofriendly wood finish with a nice, natural touch. This is a child friendly finish if you have some littles gumming on your tables. This water resistant finish will not flake, crack or peel and is easily applied by hand.
If you want to purchase some yourself for another project:
Available at Lee Valley - we usually use the Satin finish
Available at Wood Essence - along with a bunch of other Osmo products
Care Instructions
Please do not use any cleaners with this wood finish. Since it is made of plant-based oils, most cleaners including ecofriendly ones will strip the finish right off since they contain degreasers. The best way to clean this is to use a cloth and warm water to wipe off sticky messes and dust. Please be advised to not allow standing water or other liquids on your furniture.
Eventually, your project may start to look a little dry in our homes. Lack of humidity, dust and uv exposure can hurry this process along. Osmo sells a specific cleaner and maintenance oil spray that makes your furniture look brand new while cleaning the surface. It does this by applying a thin layer of oil. All you have to do is shake the can and spray on, buffing it in with a paper towel or microfiber cloth or rag. We can order a can for you from our supplier or you can purchase yourself here
If you don’t want to use the Osmo spray, we would suggest another oil for maintenance such as linseed, mineral or coconut. Get it to a liquid state and a little goes a long way. You want a very thin coat and to buff it in well.
Exterior Wood Products Care
For most of our deck projects, we use brown pressure treated lumber. As this has been pre-treated, it is highly advised to leave this as is until the following year. After 1 year, your maintenance schedule starts. Most outdoor wood products need yearly maintenance in Saskatchewan. We have such extremes of weather: rain, snow, -35 C/ +35 C, UV exposure, wind, etc. All take a toll on your wood. In order for it to maintain nice colouring and not turn grey and start the decay process, it is important you treat your wood. For all outdoor products we recommend oil based finishes. Water based finishes do not penetrate the way oil does and just sit on the surface. Then they flake off. Oil keeps your wood “moisturized” slowing splitting, checking and colour changes. We usually recommend clear based finishes unless you want to add a little colour. For brown pressure treated wood products, you can use an oil based stain with brown in it to keep that colour. See below for some recommended products.
Osmo Decking Oil: Available at Lee Valley - we usually use the clear finish, but there are some options. Great for furniture, but too costly for decks or fences in our opinion.
Osmo Decking Oil: Available at Wood Essence - along with a bunch of other Osmo products
For brown pressure treated wood: Available at Home Depot - we used chocolate for our deck to keep the same colour
Linseed oil: Detwiller linseed oil is made right in Saskatchewan from Sask grown flax. This stuff is amazing, eco friendly and economical. #supportlocal. This clear finish is great for all wood. They is also developing a line of linseed oil paints, which stand the test of time and are commonly used in the Scandinavian countries as a long lasting exterior house finish.
