Are your wood counters looking old and dingy? Take better care of wood counters with this amazing tip and have them looking beautiful again.
A little while ago, I shared our new wood kitchen counters with you and that quickly became one of my most popular posts! It’s understandable because wood counters are so beautiful and unique looking and they’re really really super affordable compared to stone counters! Today I tackle the most asked question related to that post, “How do I take care of wood counters and keep them looking beautiful?”
This is not surprising because in that post I talked about the fact that they do get marked up a bit and they’re definitely not as durable as stone counters, so that’s something to keep in mind. I’ve had quite a few questions from other wood counter top owners having issues with keeping their counters beautiful, but I wasn’t able to help everyone out because our IKEA counters have always been surprisingly water-spot-resistant and have been really easy to maintain in much the same way that I dealt with laminate counters in the past.
Not for Long
Well, lately they’ve been looking a little more dinged-up and I thought it was almost time to sand them down and refinish them, which is something that you’re supposed to do with your wood counters every once in awhile anyway. The marks and scratches were starting to show more and I wasn’t really feeling comfortable using the counters in pictures for the blog anymore. I’ve always heard of people using mineral oil to maintain their counters, so that’s what I’ve used, but now I have something much better that I’ll definitely be recommending to everyone!
I discovered this by accident one day when I was making a salad and I had a little spill. I was drizzling a little flax oil over my greens and I accidentally got a little bit on the counter. Well, another name for flax seed oil is linseed oil, which you may have heard of being used for refinishing furniture before. Of course, the linseed oil you get for furniture to quite different from this organic flax seed oil, but I decided to smear it around anyway and see what happened.
I’m not exaggerating when I say all those marks, dings, and worn out spots just disappeared like magic! It really is pretty amazing stuff. My counters now always have a beautiful sheen and a protective, water-repellant, food-safe top coat and I get to spend the time I would have spent refinishing these counters on another project!
I like the idea of using flax seed oil rather than the boiled linseed oil that you can get for furniture because that stuff often has all kinds of crazy additives and I’ve heard that it’s apparently prone to spontaneous combustion in some circumstances. So flax seed oil it is for me!
The kind of flax seed oil that you eat is supposed to be used up within 6-8 weeks of opening the bottle, so if you have a little leftover after that time has passed, this is a great use for it!
How to Take Care of Wood Counters
Here’s how I do it!
I like to do this in the evening, when I’m done working in the kitchen for the day. I’ll pour about a tablespoon or two at a time on a paper towel and just polish my counters with it, working in a circular pattern.
It’s as simple as that and it only takes about 2 minutes! The counters can feel a little oily or sticky for a bit afterwards, so it’s a good idea to let it soak in overnight or at a time when you won’t be needing to use the counters. By the next morning, the counters will be smooth and scratch-free! I do this about once a week or so, but once every 2-3 weeks is probably more than enough.
Definitely try this out if you have wood counters in your kitchen! You’ll be amazed at how simple and effective this is!
Have you ever used flax seed oil on your wood counter tops? What else have you used to take care of wood counters?
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.