# Oiling my roommate's wood **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596 "2007-10-13T17:16:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/21 "2007-10-14T20:30:38Z")
[QUOTE=Diomedes] If the cutting board has been entirely untreated (and cleaned regularly with soap) for several years, the wood itself may have lost a lot of its essential oils. [/QUOTE] Only a few species of wood (e.g. teak) have measurable amounts of oil; woods typically used for cutting boards (e.g. maple) basically have none at all. The word “essential” is thus hard to put a meaning on in this context. Mineral oil (easily obtained at a drugstore, as rowrrbazzle notes) is a good treatment. The only problem with using too much is that the excess will leak away for a while. You could hasten this by warming the cutting board and placing it on paper towels. Walnut oil can also be used; it tends to harden just a bit, and so can result in a somewhat longer-lasting treatment. Tung oil will harden even more, but there doesn’t seem to be universal agreement that this is a desirable finish for kitchen items. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/22 "2007-10-14T21:09:41Z")
So you’re saying that the oil leaking out of the back of the board is just that the wood couldn’t handle so much at once? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/23 "2007-10-15T03:08:05Z")
[QUOTE=11811] The guys on furniture on the mend did a spot once where they waxed their roommate’s wood. [/QUOTE] Oiling my wood will get you flowers, waxing it will get you punched! ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/24 "2007-10-15T05:02:58Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Louisiana? 😉😃 Actually, I moved up near the Canadian border in 2003. [/QUOTE] Huh. Never knew that Los Angeles required the periods. Always figured it was akin to DC, where they’re superfluous. Ignornace fought. And I’ll be damned, but the oil absolutely leaked through my board after leaving it overnight (well, overday, I’m working the third shift this weekend). I put a full cup of mineral oil on the board at 7:30 AM, and at 7:00PM, the paper towel underneath it wasn’t soaking, but was definitely transluscent in several places. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/25 "2007-10-15T12:05:51Z")
I would have thought it much more likely that the oil would simply creep across the surface of the board by capilliary action and get underneath that way. Whenever I have oiled my boards (phnarr) that appears to have been the mechanism by which the oil gets all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/26 "2007-10-15T13:45:07Z")
Slight hijack — I have no idea what it means to “condition” a cutting board. Why would someone want a greasy board instead of a clean one? I’m sure there’s probably a Conditioning Cutting Boards For Dummies out there somewhere, and I’d appreciate a link to it. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/27 "2007-10-15T14:03:24Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] So you’re saying that the oil leaking out of the back of the board is just that the wood couldn’t handle so much at once? [/QUOTE] Right - no harm done. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/28 "2007-10-15T16:33:52Z")
[QUOTE=Keeve] Slight hijack — I have no idea what it means to “condition” a cutting board. Why would someone want a greasy board instead of a clean one? I’m sure there’s probably a Conditioning Cutting Boards For Dummies out there somewhere, and I’d appreciate a link to it. Thanks! [/QUOTE] Seconded. Why would you grease your board? I regularly scrub my wooden boards with soapy water, which would take off any oils anyway. I don’t see the point. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/29 "2007-10-15T16:36:49Z")
Thirded. Why bother? It’s essentially a $15 item. It doesn’t need to last forever. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/30 "2007-10-15T16:39:36Z")
[QUOTE=Keeve] Slight hijack — I have no idea what it means to “condition” a cutting board. Why would someone want a greasy board instead of a clean one? I’m sure there’s probably a Conditioning Cutting Boards For Dummies out there somewhere, and I’d appreciate a link to it. Thanks! [/QUOTE] Wood that dries out excessively will not only tend to split, but also absorbs a lot of liquids like juice, blood, etc. A bit of oil soaked into the wood will keep it in good shape, and also stop it staining so badly. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/31 "2007-10-15T17:16:57Z")
[QUOTE=rowrrbazzle] You could’ve gotten it at a drug store. It’s used as a laxative. [/QUOTE] Speaking of leaking out the bottom… ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596/32 "2007-10-15T17:37:23Z")
[QUOTE=rowrrbazzle] You could’ve gotten it at a drug store. It’s used as a laxative. [/QUOTE] I just got a new cutting board also, and was wondering if this is the same stuff that you get (at a higher price) in the store that sells the cutting board. Is it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oiling-my-roommates-wood/422596.md?page=1)