Wooden cutting boards are naturally antibacterial. Scientists doing experiments to determine the best way to clean wooden cutting boards discovered that 99.9% of bacteria on the surface disappeared within 3 minutes, even without cleaning. They think the wood sucks the bacteria down inside it, where antimicrobial chemicals naturally present in wood then kill it. Plastic cutting boards, OTOH, were uncleanable. They were still heavily contaminated even after being run through a dishwasher. Bacteria hides in all the little scratches where it can't be killed. I'm getting a new kitchen next week; after reading this I went with wooden countertops. Here is a link that might be useful: Food Safety: Comparing Plastic and Wood Cutting Boards

Definitely oil your wooden cutting board as soon as you buy it. Impregnating the board with mineral oil helps to prevent water & various juices from soaking into the board. This not only extends the life of the board, but also helps to prevent staining, and makes cleanup easier. You should oil it several days in a row when it is new, and then occasionally ( several times a year, if used often ). For cleaning, it's good to scrape it with a metal spatula, then scrub it. It will last longer if you don't soak it in water. I would never put a good wooden board in the dishwasher. You will find that a good wooden cutting board is easier on your knife blades, and is easier to use, as the blade will sink in a bit, facilitating a clean cut through the food. Also, if it's a nice heavy one, it will be more stable than a light plastic board. I personally prefer wood because of the health concerns surrounding plastic, in addition to these advantages. jefd

I remember you posting a picture of yours on the "show me thread". I also have wooden cutting boards, 3 of them! All are large! This one is my favorite. I took the woodworkers design and asked to have a double black pinstripe put on either side. Had to wait 2 months to get it tho. The exotic woods are left over from the furniture he makes. I LOVE MINE!!!! All I ever do is put "food grade" mineral oil on it. (Purchased the oil @ Tuesday Morning). This one is 8 years old....I use it daily....cut anything and everything on it.....it retains no odor. After cutting pork or chicken on it I wash it with bleach & let it sit. It still looks FANTASTIC.....altho the little tiny red squiggly line that weaves down the middle isn't very red any more. It looks white in the picture. :0) ENJOY! This post was edited by nicole__ on Sat, Feb 22, 14 at 11:43

I'm a wax and oil fan. I have Waterlox on my floors -- a miscommunication. I don't like it. It definitely flakes up. It is not a repairable finish. Some people love it, but I think it looks and feels plasticky, just like polyurethane, and the only thing they say you can do when it gets damaged is to paint on another layer of the stuff, which it sounds like you would need to do fairly regularly. I have a lot of wood furniture, much of it antique. Oil and wax are not rocket science. Don't overintellectualize it. You can use oil, wax or a mix, or use them in sequence. Oil, like mineral oil, is the easiest. I'd put a little of that on first. (But I'd definitely talk to your countertop person before doing anything I learned about on the Internet! They may have finished them with something, or they might be able to do something for you just for the asking.) A 50/50 mix of beeswax/mineral oil, sometimes sold as Beesoil, buffed on at room temperature is next easiest and lasts longer. Gives a nice silky feeling. Buffing on pure beeswax is harder, but it can be done. You need to build enough speed (remember physics class?) that you create heat, melt the wax and distribute it evenly. Don't do something like melt the wax on the stove and pour it out on the counter! You'll just have a big candle sitting there you'll need to scrape off and rub in. We're talking a microscopic layer of wax. But if you don't have time to wax, you can throw on a little oil in between. The counter shouldn't be sticky with any of these. If if is, you need to take the excess off. You can wipe up excess oil, and with the wax, you buff the wax off (the wax melts and cools down to a sleek solid layer), and when you do the floors, you can slide down the halls in your socks. They're literally sqeaky clean. However, once you try this, if you decide you want to Waterlox after all, you'd have to do a serious sanding to get up ALL the oil and wax. But in my personal opinion, the difference is like the difference between painted clapboards and vinyl siding. You're obviously accepting a lot of permanent damage due to chopping. A few water spots aren't going to bother you. That is a beautiful counter. But hey, have you ever thought of using a cutting board?