Chef Update on Butcherblock Countertops
Two years ago I posted about our kitchen reno and our decision to install butcherblock countertops. I thought people might be interested in how they held up after a couple of years in a busy home kitchen.
My husband and I still really love the warm, inviting look of the counters. At first, the mineral oil treatment we gave the counters did the trick of water and stain repelling. We reapplied it every few months but we began to notice it was less effective. The area around the sink was discoloring and the counter was very easily stained.
Being the handy guy he is, my husband sanded them down entirely to remove all the marks and we gave them a really good soaking in mineral oil. They looked great at first, but it didn’t last.
What we realized was that it is just too dry here in southern Arizona for unsealed butcherblock. I mean, we have single digit humidity here! No matter how much mineral oil we applied, they would dry out within a few weeks. This was definitely more maintenance than we anticipated or wanted to do.
Back to the drawing board. My husband found a product that would penetrate the wood and seal it and wouldn’t react adversely with the mineral oil already in the wood. So, another round of sanding, then two coats of an extremely stinky solvent and then two more coats of the sealant and we have gorgeous countertops once again. Water beads up beautifully!
How do you think they look now?
