Wooden worktops are a popular choice for modern and contemporary kitchen designs. This popularity is due to their abundance of character, warmth, charm, and hardwearing qualities, as well as their beautifully unique grain lines and varying tones, which can only come from natural timber.
However, as wooden worktops are a natural material, many with light and golden colouring can be susceptible to staining, which will ruin their overall beauty. This blog will show you how to stop your wooden worktop from staining with a little TLC.
Whether you choose the light-coloured ash, almost black wenge or the golden oak wood worktop, oiling is essential. To protect your worktop from spillages, by creating a barrier to help prevent liquid from seeping into the wood, creating staining. As well as protecting the wood, oil also beautifully brings out the wood grain’s colouring and gives the worktop a slight sheen.
It is essential to oil your worktop fully before installation; this ensures even the areas that will not be visible after installation are adequately protected. An oiling service may be available with your worktop supplier, enabling you to fit the worktop from delivery.
Danish oil and linseed oil are arguably the best oils to use as they are easy to apply, quick to dry and give excellent results.
Oil regularly
After your worktop has been oiled and fitted, it is advisable to oil it at least every 3-6 months to keep it in good order or when it starts to lose its sheen. You can also use the water test. Drip a few drops of water onto the work surface; if the water forms beads, the worktop is well protected. However, if the water lies flat on the worksurface, this indicates an inadequate level of protection, and the worktop requires oiling.
Mop up spills
Even when your worktop is fully protected, cleaning up any spills as soon as they happen is still advisable. While the wood worktop has been oiled, it is water resistant, not waterproof, and spills left for some time can seep in and stain.
Protect from heat
Heat mats will prevent stains caused by hot pans and trays. Always keep a trivet or heat pad close to hand to ensure they can be found quickly. Alternatively, you can have hotrods fitted to the worktop, which sit slightly proud from the work surface and prevent pans from directly contacting the wood.
Always chop with a board
While finding a chopping board can seem like a chore, using one will prevent cut marks in the worktop, which are heavily prone to staining, as they cut through the protective oiled layer of the worktop. Keeping chopping boards easily accessible or having a butcher’s block within the worktop, which can be used for chopping and doesn’t need protection, is advisable.
Wood worktops add a certain elegance to a kitchen and grow in character as the years pass by, and with just a little TLC, they can be kept stain free and will look their best for many years to come.
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