How To Repair Cracks In Cutting Board

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What You lot Need:

Food-safety wood mucilage (similar this) rated for cooking surfaces
Plastic wrap
Mineral oil (like this) to seal and protect your board
Sandpaper

Fourth dimension Needed

24 hours

Difficulty

Easy

Step-by-Footstep:

Make clean your board and line the crack with plastic
Apply food-grade woods glue straight to fill up the cleft and allow to dry out
Remove plastic and sand away backlog glue
Make clean and treat lath with mineral oil

A cracking cutting board (or two) is an absolute must in whatever home kitchen. But if you don't properly care for your cutting board, it tin develop a split that can trap food particles or wet—and that's a recipe for disaster. Non but will expanding wet continue to warp and split your cutting lath, the bacteria can brand you lot sick if it gets in your food.

Fixing a cutting board that's totally split in 2 will require a more serious intervention, but if you lot act quickly even a sizable crack can be fixed in but a 24-hour interval or two. Hither'due south how to do it yourself.

Lining your cutting board with plastic or tape can keep the glue from getting everywhere. — Credit: Reviewed.com / Mike Roorda

1. Clean and prep your cutting lath

The first matter you lot should practice is clean your cutting board so you have a good surface to work with. If the crack is wide enough, you may also take nutrient particles or something like flour stuck within. Make clean as much of this out as you can without making the fissure worse.

While the glue we are using is rated condom for indirect food contact and is non-toxic, you however don't want a bunch of glue all over your cutting board. You can use plastic wrap to line both sides of the cleft (just weigh it down with some butter knives or something).

With your cutting board lined with plastic, apply the glue directly to the crack and let it dry. — Credit: Reviewed.com / Mike Roorda

2. Apply the wood glue to fill the crack

For this step it's essential that you use glue that has been rated for use on surfaces like cutting boards. We used Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue which can be establish online and is widely recommended. The manufacturer claims it is fifty-fifty FDA approved for utilise on cutting boards.

This step tin can exist a fleck catchy (and messy). If you have a small plastic syringe (similar the kind that comes with children's liquid ibuprofen) then y'all can utilize information technology to become the glue right into the crack.

In my example, the crack in my cutting board was a few inches deep and the glue tended to pool at the top. Gravity volition draw most of the glue down into the crack so merely give it some fourth dimension to work so wipe away the backlog with a damp textile. You lot may need to echo until the crack is filled.

Once the glue has dried, remove the plastic and sand it down so that you have a smooth surface again. — Credit: Reviewed.com / Mike Roorda

3. Pull abroad plastic and sand away the excess glue

Once the glue is adept and dried (up to 24 hours is recommended) you lot can remove the plastic and clean off the excess glue. Use sandpaper to smoothen the surface. You lot want the crack to be properly filled and covered, or else h2o will only become back in and could re-scissure the board.

Applying a nice coat of mineral oil regularly will keep a cutting board performing at its best. — Credit: Reviewed.com / Mike Roorda

4. Use mineral oil to seal and protect your cutting board'due south surface

With your board (almost) good as new, protect it with some mineral oil. I used Howard BBB012 Cutting Board Oil, which I also purchased from Amazon. It works keen, though you may want to follow the instructions for a beginning-fourth dimension treatment to make sure information technology'south properly protected.

Side notation: information technology'southward recommended you stick to mineral oil for protecting a cutting board. Other oils you lot may have in your kitchen (like olive oil) can get trapped in the cracks and spoil, leaving a rancid season on your food and potentially causing fifty-fifty more problems.

A splitting cutting board will only get worse, but once glued it should hold up for a long time to come. — Credit: Reviewed.com / Mike Roorda

Once you're finished, you should be left with a cutting board that performs as good equally new. Be sure to regularly re-apply mineral oil according to the directions on the bottle to keep your board looking and performing smashing. To forestall time to come cracks, always make clean your board later on utilise and make sure you lot don't leave any standing water on or under the board.