Cutting Board Refurb & Upgrade (part 2)

Mrs. Maker pointed out to me that she HATES mold, and that the cutting board that I had DE-MOLDED for her still bore the scars of having once had mold, which disgusted her. Obviously, the mottled appearance of the cutting board was really bothering her, so I took it upon myself to make the "mold scars" go away - and also take the opportunity to upgrade the cutting board a little bit while I was at it! First, I identified where the cutting board needed to be refurbished, which was mostly on the sides, where the open grain of the bamboo was being exposed. This is (understandably) where water can most easily penetrate into the bamboo - after all, it's where the plant moves water around within itself when it is alive! It's basically a bunch of straws! But now that the bamboo is no longer a plant and now a cutting board in Mrs. Maker's kitchen, water entering the bamboo open grain ends is NO GOOD. So, I whipped out some 100 GRIT and 220 GRIT sandpaper and sanded away any and all signs of mold. Mold, mold go away! Don't come back another day! Bamboo is a very soft material, so the sanding didn't take very long at all. Once the sanded surfaces were nice and clean by wiping them with a slightly damp rag, I took out some 3M sticky feet that I had purchased and stuck one to each of the corners of the bottom of the cutting board, about 1/4 inch from the corner edges. My theory here is that the air gap produced by the feet will help to dry the cutting board much faster, therefore reducing the conditions in which mold might be able to grow. Time will tell on that one. I'll keep you posted. Finally, I sealed the cutting board surface with CASTOR OIL, which I am using more and more these days when I want to use a non-petroleum based oil, like with a cutting board where food will definitely come into contact with it. All in all, this was a fun little project. It wasn't that complicated or challenging, but it did come with a unique reward - Mrs. Maker is right pleased with the result, which is all Mr. Maker could ever hope for!

#MMTM #HouseholdChanel