How to Clean Cutting Boards? | Hot Soapy Water Yes, Dishwasher No

Cleaning a cutting board properly comes down to two things: hot, soapy water and complete drying. Most boards just need a scrub with mild dish soap, a rinse, and a towel-dry before they air out. The rules get stricter with wood, which is a common place where people make mistakes — and whether you can sanitize with bleach depends on the board material and the product label you’re using.

The Standard Wash For Any Cutting Board

Every cutting board benefits from the same basic routine after each use. It removes the food residue and bacteria that plain wiping leaves behind.

• Scrape food scraps into the trash before anything touches water.
• Wash with hot water and mild dish soap using a clean sponge or cloth.
• Scrub the knife grooves and surface cuts where particles get trapped.
• Rinse with clean water and dry with a clean towel or paper towel.
• Let the board finish air-drying upright on its edge so water doesn’t pool.

That last step matters more than people think. A board stored while still damp invites odors and can warp. Propping it on its edge lets air hit both sides, and that simple habit prevents a lot of problems.

Wood Boards: What Not To Do

Wood cutting boards need different treatment because water and heat damage them. The most important rule is never put a wooden board in the dishwasher or soak it in a sink full of water — sources agree this warps or cracks the wood.

Wash both sides of a wooden board even if you only used one. This keeps moisture even on both surfaces, which reduces the chance of warping. If the board only touched bread, Consumer Reports notes you can often just brush off the crumbs or wipe them away with a damp cloth.

Steer clear of metal tools when scraping stuck-on food. They gouge the surface and leave grooves where bacteria hide; use a plastic scraper or a soft sponge instead.

When To Sanitize And How

Routine washing is enough for most daily use, but sanitizing is worth doing after cutting raw meat or poultry. A diluted bleach solution is the most widely cited method, though the exact mix varies by source, so match the guidance you’re following.

Consumer Reports recommends 1 tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water with a one-minute contact time, then a rinse. The Spruce suggests a similar approach. Clorox’s own guidance for food-contact surfaces uses 2 teaspoons of its disinfecting bleach per gallon, and notes no rinse is needed if you let the board air-dry completely. The safest move: follow the product label on whatever disinfectant you have, and rinse after bleach unless the label says otherwise.

Vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and lemon with salt show up in cleaning tips, but the reviewed sources don’t treat them as reliable sanitizers.

One more rule applies to every material: don’t use the same board for raw meat and ready-to-eat food without washing and sanitizing in between. That’s where cross-contamination starts. When raw meat has touched the board, clean both sides thoroughly before it touches anything you’ll eat raw.

Dishwasher Safety And Material Labels

The dishwasher question has a simple answer: only plastic or composite boards explicitly labeled dishwasher-safe belong in it. Wood boards are repeatedly flagged as incompatible, and even some plastic boards warp on the bottom rack. When in doubt, hand wash — it’s harder to damage a board with a sponge than with a dishwasher cycle.

If you’re shopping for a board that handles all this easily, non-porous materials like food-grade plastic or resin clean up fastest and tolerate the dishwasher better than wood. Our roundup of cutting boards for easy cleaning tests which surfaces actually resist stains and odors. For deeper reading on wood-board care, Wirecutter’s wood cutting board care guide covers the details.

The habit that keeps boards clean long-term is simple: wash hot, dry completely, and store upright. Those three steps prevent the warping, odors, and bacteria that shorter cleaning routines miss.