Butcher block counter tops.

[Scarlett]

They are purchased and will be installed tomorrow by Dh.  Does anyone have these? How do you care for them? I don’t want a shiny finish….dss tells me I can coat it in coconut oil.  I apparently can’t be spilling red wine on it.  

[bibiche]

https://www.rubiomonocoatusa.com/pages/food-contact-compliance?_pos=1&_sid=0be290163&_ss=r
 

I’ve never heard of treating with coconut oil. Tung oil, yes.

[Farrar]

We have them on one side of the kitchen and I really like them. We've had them for ages - well over a decade now, so they have gotten slowly marked up, but they still look good, IMHO. I originally put oil on them that came from Ikea, because we have an Ikea kitchen. But I haven't oiled them regularly in a long time and they've held up fine. Now, I do not have them on the side of the kitchen with the sink. So if they were constantly getting wet, it might be a different story.

[Annie G]

We had Boos Block countertop in our old house and brought a piece of it to the new house. We’ve had it about 15 years. we use Boos Mystery oil on it, though usually only once or twice a year, as needed. It’s a food safe oil and beeswax and probably some carnuba. We’ve also used their wood conditioner, which is probably essentially the same.  It’s not shiny at all. We put it on, let it sit a few minutes, then rub off any excess. Hope you love your new butcher block countertops!

[Scarlett]

I never intentionally put food directly on my counter tops……..but I want to make it look good without a shiny look. 

[Scarlett]

2 minutes ago, Annie G said:

We had Boos Block countertop in our old house and brought a piece of it to the new house. We’ve had it about 15 years. we use Boos Mystery oil on it, though usually only once or twice a year, as needed. It’s a food safe oil and beeswax and probably some carnuba. We’ve also used their wood conditioner, which is probably essentially the same.  It’s not shiny at all. We put it on, let it sit a few minutes, then rub off any excess. Hope you love your new butcher block countertops!

Oh thank you.  I assume I can find that on line…..off to look now. 

[Annie G]

8 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

I never intentionally put food directly on my counter tops……..but I want to make it look good without a shiny look. 

Oh that’s what we loved- being able to use the countertop to cut fruits and veggies or to roll out dumplings and such.  Used a regular cutting board for meat, though. 
They’ll stay really nice looking if you’re not putting food right on them. 

[Eos]

You can spill wine on it!  We've sanded out Easter egg dyes, wine spills, knife marks, and various odd stains from ours over the years.  

Edited October 4, 2021 by Harpymom
grammar glitch

[plansrme]

I wouldn't use coconut oil. I vaguely remember reading that  you don't want an oil that will get rancid. It will be in your wood forever.

I have a walnut island top that I love more than my children. Well, almost. So I am a big fan of wood countertops.  

[HomeAgain]

I have a butcher block island.  It has been in the house 20 years, but one of the first things I did was sand it and redo it with coats of mineral oil.  It holds up to so much abuse!  I love it.  And yeah, red wine, ink, and powdered gatorade have been sanded out of the top and just resealed each year.  Most things don't stain, though.

BTW, this is the absolute most appreciated tool in our home: Wine bottle ring.  It stops me from making a mess.

[gstharr]

10 hours ago, Annie G said:

 we use Boos Mystery oil on it, though usually only once or twice a year, as needed. It’s a food safe oil and beeswax and probably some carnuba. We’ve also used their wood conditioner, which is probably essentially the same.  It’s not shiny at all. We put it on, let it sit a few minutes, then rub off any excess. Hope you love your new butcher block countertops!

Sounds like the Mahoney's Finishes Oil Wax Finish that I use.  It is a food grade blend of carnauba wax, beeswax, and alnut oil.  Nice satin finsih. I use it to condition all wood and leather. 

[YaelAldrich]

We have a butcher block countertop in our condo and honestly it is the first thing that drew me to this place (because other than that and a couple of other things about the place I hate it with the passion of 1000 suns).  It can stain (hello fish ick remedy!) but yes you can live with it or sand it out and re oil/wax the countertop.  You do need to take care with standing water.  We aren't always good at that but it is still holding up!

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, HomeAgain said:

I have a butcher block island.  It has been in the house 20 years, but one of the first things I did was sand it and redo it with coats of mineral oil.  It holds up to so much abuse!  I love it.  And yeah, red wine, ink, and powdered gatorade have been sanded out of the top and just resealed each year.  Most things don't stain, though.

BTW, this is the absolute most appreciated tool in our home: Wine bottle ring.  It stops me from making a mess.

Thank you!  I ordered it.  🙂

 

[Scarlett]

Thanks all!  I ordered the food grade mineral oil.  I am pretty excited.  

[Spryte]

Hope you love it! 

[Kanin]

So jealous. I would love that. Our house has granite countertops and I can't stand them. 

[Scarlett]

18 minutes ago, Kanin said:

So jealous. I would love that. Our house has granite countertops and I can't stand them. 

Really?  What do you dislike about them? 

[Kanin]

19 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Really?  What do you dislike about them? 

Everything! They're too hard, so things break if I put them down too hard. Water stains, soap stains, all the stains... and I walked into a corner while holding a ceramic pot and it busted off a corner.

So.... I need more klutz-proof countertops 😄 

[Scarlett]

6 minutes ago, Kanin said:

Everything! They're too hard, so things break if I put them down too hard. Water stains, soap stains, all the stains... and I walked into a corner while holding a ceramic pot and it busted off a corner.

So.... I need more klutz-proof countertops 😄 

Ha, well I get that.  I am pretty klutzy too.  Do you have a light color? When we first moved in we had to rearrange the kitchen a bit and it required a new base cabinet....dh got a piece of black granite to cover that temporarily until we redid everything....and I don't mind it at all.  But we are painting the cabinets dark blue thus why we are going lighter.

[Clarita]

FWIW I have granite countertops and I love them. I have rounded corners on all my kitchen counters, maybe that helps the collisions? Also I haven't had a huge problem with staining either, and we all know I'm not the best when it comes to cleaning. Mine is light colored. The only "con" is that I do have to put trivets under hot glass dishes because I don't want the dishes to shatter. I was very much against marble in the kitchen. 

[Pawz4me]

3 hours ago, Kanin said:

Everything! They're too hard, so things break if I put them down too hard. Water stains, soap stains, all the stains... and I walked into a corner while holding a ceramic pot and it busted off a corner.

So.... I need more klutz-proof countertops 😄 

It sounds as if it was either never properly sealed or hasn't been done in too long a time. It's a very easy DIY task. Pretty much wipe on/wipe off. Similar to waxing a car but a lot easier. I try to do mine a couple of times a year, but I don't always remember. This is what I use. If yours stains that easily (mine never stains at all) I'd go over it two or three times the first time, then do one coat every few months.

[QueenCat]

5 hours ago, Kanin said:

Everything! They're too hard, so things break if I put them down too hard. Water stains, soap stains, all the stains... and I walked into a corner while holding a ceramic pot and it busted off a corner.

So.... I need more klutz-proof countertops 😄 

Stains? I've never had stains on mine. Hubby reseals about once a year. I don't think we' had anything break either. Be careful with the corners!

[Kanin]

9 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Ha, well I get that.  I am pretty klutzy too.  Do you have a light color? When we first moved in we had to rearrange the kitchen a bit and it required a new base cabinet....dh got a piece of black granite to cover that temporarily until we redid everything....and I don't mind it at all.  But we are painting the cabinets dark blue thus why we are going lighter.

They’re light gray with specks, so at least some of the damage is disguised!

[Kanin]

6 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

It sounds as if it was either never properly sealed or hasn't been done in too long a time. It's a very easy DIY task. Pretty much wipe on/wipe off. Similar to waxing a car but a lot easier. I try to do mine a couple of times a year, but I don't always remember. This is what I use. If yours stains that easily (mine never stains at all) I'd go over it two or three times the first time, then do one coat every few months.

Thanks! I’m sure it wasn’t done properly. I’ll check out the link, thanks!

[ktgrok]

5 hours ago, QueenCat said:

Stains? I've never had stains on mine. Hubby reseals about once a year. I don't think we' had anything break either. Be careful with the corners!

Yeah, ours was sealed when installed years ago, we resealed it like...twice, lol. Not every year like advised. And still ,no stains at all. It is a mottled type. 

[Pam in CT]

I... have never heard about resealing granite countertops.  I've had mine for 22 years, and it wasn't new when I moved in.  No stains.  Very dark, almost black, with the usual flecks and bits.

 

To the OP re butcherblock -- I have a small bit of butcher block that I use mostly for kneading bread dough and rolling out pastry.  In 22 years I've re-oiled it with mineral oil maybe 2-3 times?  not because it really needed it but just because I *have* heard about that, LOL. It's held up fine and definitely isn't oily.

[Frances]

I’m going to have to check with the place we bought our granite countertops about resealing, as it was not mentioned in the care guide they brought with the countertops. We have it in three places in the house with the kitchen being the most recent and so far haven’t had any issues. Ours is leathered black, so not shiny at all, as I personally don’t like that look. I don’t know if that makes a difference.

[kiwik]

I have something similar to US butcher block.  I got it because it was cheap and I could cut it myself.  If I were doing it again I wouldn't use it on the sink bench (as I have some ugly marks from water damage) but I like it everywhere else.

[ktgrok]

Darker granite is more dense, so less issues with staining/sealing.