Olly Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Having read the thread about kitchens - anyone out there got a wooden worktop, and can advise me about cleaning it? I moved last year to this house, and the kitchen has solid beech worktops. I know, they cost a fortune, half of you would give your back teeth to have them, they look beautiful etc. ... they are a %$***!@! nuisance to look after though! Tins, red wine, cabbage, beetroot all leave stains, and they need re-oiling regularly. Now I've discovered that I spilt some coffee grounds and didn't clean them up quickly enough, and that's left a stain. I have tried sandpaper, but it doesn't get rid of it. The lovely people who sold me the house left me instructions for just about everything - but not the worktops! Is there any way to get rid of stains, bottle marks etc? Is there anyone out there who loves their wooden worksurfaces? Help please, before I give up cooking altogether! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starboyhull Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Hi Olly, we have wooden worktops and they are a pain...... Our are treated with Danish oil, but you need to sand them really well to remove any marks and then repeat the oil process at least 5 times, will take you a good few days to do it, but once you have done it they will be as protected as laminted worktops (for a few months anyway) You have to have the itchen VERY well ventilated though as its very flamable and the fumes are really strong...... We had a party and one side of the kitchen had only been coated 3 times, it needs to be all done again now.........Also be careful around the sink as if its not treated properly and water sits there it makes the wood look really bad....... Hope thats helped a little......THey will look lovely once you have done them though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 We inherited some new but already stained wooden worktops - give me cheap laminate ones any day I found a magic block thing in Lakeland which removes stains. It was really good, and no chemicals. I'll see if I can find a link to it. (you'll still need to oil them after) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 We've got wooden worktops in the utility and they look dreadful at the moment. Stains and watermarks all over them so this summer (ha!) we're going to sand them down and treat them again. I put several coats of Danish Oil on them when we put them in but as Karl says, it needs repeating to seal the wood properly. I didn't do enough. When we replaced the kitchen worktops, I chose laminate . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkleeeeee Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 ohh i love my beach worktops!! if i have been out and hubbie has made loads of coffee for the workmen he makes loads of mess i just use the scourer to get the coffee grains off (coffee and sugar does get cemented on but it was the same on the laminate worktops). if its just crumbs, i usually wipe them down with babywipes and they look fine (there is oil in the baby wipes i think). if red wine is spilt on them (which happens loads) i find it fairly easy to scrub off with a scourer. i havent yet oiled them myself. they are all secondhand habitat freestanding beech units with lovely thick worktops i have been collecting them over the last 6 months from auctions. they must have been oiled in the past. mine have probably been treated with someting good as i dont find them a real problem, habitat supply the units new with something to treat it with, i will find out what it is. also i will ask hubbie what they best way to seal them when he gets back, as he is a trained carpenter and usually knows all the tricks of the trade. i would never go back to laminate again i hated it we still have some around the old sink unit (as i am trying to get a habitat sink to finish the kitchen) i just really hate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starboyhull Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Hi Sparkleeeeee You might find that yours have a build up of oil on them, if they are not new ones, they do clean very easily if theres enough oil on them........Go out and buy some oil I totally regret not keeping on top of it as it does make the kitchen look a mess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 17, 2007 Author Share Posted July 17, 2007 phew, I am relieved to know that it's not just my inept housekeeping standards! They do indeed look lovely, but I'd choose laminate any time. As Karl and Andy say, the oil smells horrible - and it means clearing EVERYTHING off the worktops to do it; and then I've found the oil soaks into paper or cloth if you put anything back too soon. Thanks for the tip about the magic block, Lesley - I might have known that Lakeland would have a product for it (probably my favourite company after Omlet!) I think part of the problem is that I don't do it as regularly as I should. Someone told me once a month but that isn't going to happen. I'm lucky if clean the Eglu that regularly! Thank you for all the replies, it's helpful to know I'm not alone in this. I wish you joy of them sparkleee - hope you don't join us in moaning about them soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 we have solid oak worktops and I love them! We do ours in Danish oil too, and to avoid rings/stains/etc the carpenter did loads of offcuts and made them into boards/pan rests for me - so I dont actually touch the worktops at all when im cooking/in the kitchen. my dream top would be granite....mmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 I've got Red Cherry doors on my cupboards. which cost a fortune.....they looked lively for about a week. Every drip or run has left its mark and no amount of scrubbing will shift them. Very disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoid Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 maybe covering them in some plastic stuff would help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 maybe covering them in some plastic stuff would help Fablon! That sticky back plastic stuff! When I bought my house all the original Victorian doors were covered in hardboard to make them look plain, then in wood effect sticky back plastic, the skirting suffered the same fate too I think the previous owners were the chavs of the 50's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 - did you keep it Claire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 - did you keep it Claire? Of course! It looked fab(lon) ...............not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 We dithered about having wooden worktops when we had our kitchen done a few years ago.We have an Oak kitchen & wood would have looked lovely, but a friend of mine had them & go so fed up with them that she ripped them out after 6 months We have solid granite now - a big investment but so worth it both for looks & keeping clean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I will need a new kitchen in the next 12 months or whenever I get fed up of my broken drawer runners, or funds allow so this is a useful thread I think I will be sticking with laminate worktops though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I would just love a new kitchen.... I will have to wait 4 1/2 years though for one until the mortgage is paid off, can't afford it till then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I would just love a new kitchen.... I will have to wait 4 1/2 years though for one until the mortgage is paid off, can't afford it till then I am doing mine bit by bit Jules, just had the kitchen and laundry floors tiled. Now have to save up for the next bit, A+ rated larder fridge and freezer, not sure when I can have these though I would certainly like a swish showroom kitchen though! I may have to just replace the drawer runners somehow. To put in another really cheap kitchen would be a false economy methinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 We tarted my kitchen up a few years ago for £250 which was all we had available. We couldn't afford to replace the worktops so we tiled on top of them and painted the wooden cupboard doors cream and it felt like a brand new kitchen for a while . We've got to replace the units now though as they look very shabby and dated but it made such a difference and felt really nice and fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 We tarted my kitchen up a few years ago for £250 which was all we had available. We couldn't afford to replace the worktops so we tiled on top of them and painted the wooden cupboard doors cream and it felt like a brand new kitchen for a while . We've got to replace the units now though as they look very shabby and dated but it made such a difference and felt really nice and fresh. It is amazing what you can do with so little money when you just need to freshen a room up! Tiling over the work surface was a good idea too! Maybe we should have a 'thrifty' thread Although my kitchen cost less than £200 brand new, it has lasted 12 years, so I shouldn't complain now the carcasses are going . I redecorated my living room for £30 a few years ago. £25 worth of fabric made some lovely 102" drop curtains and matching cushion covers, and some match pots from Woollies spruced up the walls beneath the dado rail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 when we first bought our house in '94 we tiled our worktops too. It looked really good - I did them in dark navy blue with a wooden "edge" so it looked all Farmhousey. They lasted for years until 2005 when we re-did our kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannie Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Sorry to hear about your wooden worktop problems - we've had wooden worksurfaces here and our last home, and love them! In our last place we used whitening oil, which was lovely. Just an ordinary oil here though. Our dining table is soaped beech. This is an old fashioned finish: we just use soap flakes dissolved in water to wipe it with, and they form a sort of water-resistant layer on the surface of the wood. I think that with all wooden surfaces you run the risk of damage though, and we have had to sand them down and start from scratch periodically. Its worth it though: they're so beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bracken Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 We had a new kitchen fitted last year when we moved house. I wish I'd never picked the beech block worktops. You can put as much danish oil on as you want and it will still stain. We have a ring on ours where someone let hot water spill from the kettle and did'nt wipe it up straight away and now have a kettle sized watermark in the wood and no amount of sanding will get rid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 20, 2007 Author Share Posted July 20, 2007 I sympathise ... might help if I oiled mine more often, but I've got marks that just won't sand out. I wondered if it was possible to bleach them, but then there's a risk of having a bleach stain instead! I am sort of resigned to the fact that they will never look great. I have mine covered with worktop-savers and mats, which sort of spoils the whole point of having beech worktops! Thanks for all the advice and replies on here, was hoping someone woudl come up with a miracle answer but I guess there isn't one. Maybe we should have a sticky about what NOT to buy when you're planning a new kitchen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starboyhull Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 I have used allsorts of cleaning products (including bleach) on my worktops and non seem to make it worse, so you could try it............Just dont blame me if it makes them worse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 22, 2007 Author Share Posted July 22, 2007 I have used allsorts of cleaning products (including bleach) on my worktops and non seem to make it worse, so you could try it............Just dont blame me if it makes them worse yes, but you don't say if they worked or not! I might try a bit of bleach somewhere where it won't show. The marks are not too bad at the moment but over time I can see they are going to get worse. I'm going to try and do it more regularly, maybe every month. *sigh* The funny thing is, I fell in love with the kitchen when I saw the house, but it wasn't till my third visit that my friend pointed out the worktops; I simply hadn't noticed them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...