Home Worktop Care Guide Care guide

Wooden worktop care guide

How to clean, oil and look after a solid wood worktop so it lasts a lifetime, and what to do about marks, roughness and cupping.

In this guide IntroductionConstruction & appearanceMoisture & movementEveryday useSurface careHow to oil your worktopRe-smoothing the surfaceRepairsCupping

Introduction

A wooden worktop is a natural, quality product, made to a high standard from renewable, responsibly sourced timber. Much of its appeal is the warmth of the wood and the natural variety of colour and grain. To bring out that appearance and protect the surface from wear and tear, it needs regular care and oiling.

This guide explains how to use and look after your wooden worktop, and why it needs the care it does. The effort you put in now will be more than repaid over the life of the worktop.

Construction & appearance

Wooden worktops are made from strips (staves) of solid wood that are cut, selected, graded and kiln dried to the right moisture level for use indoors, then glued together into one panel. This lamination makes the worktop durable and stable, reduces natural defects in the wood and gives a more even grain and colour.

Some variation in pattern, grain and colour across the surface is a normal and valued feature of real wood. A new timber surface will also mellow over time with exposure to light and to things left standing on it, so move items around the worktop regularly to stop shadows forming.

Moisture & movement

Timber responds to the humidity around it throughout its life, taking in or giving up moisture as conditions change. As it takes in moisture it expands, and as it dries it shrinks. This movement happens across the grain, so a worktop becomes very slightly wider or narrower.

Because this is normal, worktops are installed with slotted fixings and expansion gaps to allow for it. Wood needs time to adjust, so avoid sudden changes in heat and humidity, which put stress on the timber. For example:

• When you switch the heating on for the season, bring the room up to temperature gradually over a few days so the worktop can acclimatise.
• Wipe the worktop down with a little water only (not lots of soapy water), and never leave water standing on the surface.

Everyday use

Follow these simple rules and your wooden worktop will give you a lifetime of good service:

• Mop up spills straight away. Don’t let water or other liquids stand on the wood. The oil finish is water resistant, not waterproof.
• Use pan stands and trivets for hot, wet or dirty pots and pans. Direct contact with iron, steel or copper can also stain the wood.
• Use a chopping board. Never cut directly on the worktop.
• Clean with a little warm water , a drop of washing-up liquid and a well wrung-out cloth.
• Re-oil regularly. How often depends on how much the worktop is used: possibly once a week when it’s first installed, working towards once a month, and at the very least every three months.

Surface care

Our wooden worktops are finished with a specially formulated oil: three coats on the faces and five on the end grain. The oil is food safe, brings out the colour and grain of the wood, and gives a durable, protective surface that is easy to look after and restore when it becomes worn.

When the oil finish is in good condition the worktop has a sheen, and splashes of water sit up as clear, rounded droplets. When the finish starts to wear, the surface looks dull and water spreads out and soaks in rather than forming droplets. Ideally, re-oil before you reach that point. Some areas of a kitchen (around the sink and hob) wear faster than others and will need more attention.

We recommend re-oiling your worktop at least every three months.

How to oil your worktop

Re-oil at the end of the day, so the worktop can be left undisturbed overnight.

1. Make sure the worktop is clean and dry.
2. Fold a lint-free cloth into a pad and pour a little oil into a bowl or saucer.
3. Apply the oil generously at first, so it sits on the surface and soaks in. Work it well into the areas that get wet most: edges and ends, around the sink cut-out, drainer grooves, the water stop and around the taps.
4. After 30 minutes, wipe off any surplus oil with a clean cloth and leave it to soak in and dry naturally overnight.
5. Repeat on any dry or parched areas until the finish and sheen come back. Several thin coats applied this way are far better than one heavy coat.
6. If the surface feels rough after oiling, smooth it lightly with a de-nibbing pad, working only along the grain, then wipe clean before the next coat.

Re-smoothing the surface

Over time, oil can build up and feel rough in areas that aren’t used much. Remove the build-up with a fine nylon abrasive pad and a little worktop oil, working lightly along the grain until the surface is smooth. Wipe clean with a dry cloth and apply a fresh coat of oil as above. You can buy more worktop oil from us.

Repairs

Even with careful use, a wooden worktop will pick up the odd cut, chip, stain or scratch. Minor marks blend in under the coats of oil you apply during normal care.

Deeper marks can be sanded out and refinished. Make sure the worktop is completely clean and dry, then sand with 100 grit and then 150 grit abrasive paper, using long, firm strokes along the grain only. Sanding removes the weathered top layer and leaves a lighter area, so don’t sand deeper or wider than you need to. Re-oil the area (three coats on faces and edges, five on end grain); its colour will start to come back straight away and will blend in with the rest of the worktop over the following months.

Damage too deep to sand out can be repaired by an experienced joiner or cabinetmaker, for example by cutting out the damaged part and letting in a new piece of timber. We can supply matching timber as a worktop sample.

Cupping

The top surface of a worktop is more exposed than the underside, so it reacts to changes in moisture first. In extreme cases the two faces get out of balance and the worktop “cups”: it rises in the middle if the top is kept wetter than the underside, or dishes if the top is drier. It will flatten again as the two faces come back into balance.

If cupping persists, something is wrong and needs putting right. Possible causes are:

• the top surface is being kept too wet
• the worktop has been fitted over a heat source
• water is leaking from a pipe or a built-under appliance
• the slotted fixing brackets and screws weren’t fitted, or have failed

Once the cause is fixed, the worktop should recover gradually, provided it was specified, handled and installed correctly and has been cared for as in this guide. If not, ask a joiner or cabinetmaker to help put it right.

Questions about your worktop?

Call us on 01242 226912 or visit our Cheltenham showroom. We also sell worktop oil and matching timber for repairs.

Browse worktopsDoor care guide