Always wash your wooden utensils by hand. Never, ever, ever put them in the dishwasher. The high temperatures and super long cycles of the dishwasher actually cause disaster to your wooden utensils. Think of them like little sponges – they will soak up way too much water, and all the flavors and all the smells of everything else in your dishwasher. Blech! Throwing your wooden kitchen utensils in the dishwasher results in gray and fuzzy utensils with a short life span. Not really what you want for that gorgeous hand crafted piece, right?

Use hot water and a mild dish soap. You can use either a washcloth or a bristled brush to scrub your utensils.

Prop them up to dry. This will allow as much airflow around them as possible to help even out drying and minimize the effects of expanding and contracting that happens when wood gets wet.

Oil your wooden goods. Don’t just use any old oil you have laying around. It is important to use the right oil that will protect your wood but also not impart flavors or weird additives to your wood. It needs to be protective, reduce moisture intake, yet also be breathable.

Petroleum based oils like Mineral Oil are recommended. Sometimes they get a bad wrap for being petroleum based, but its totally food safe, it penetrates the wood grain really well, it won’t go rancid, and won’t leave a sticky residue, and it is odorless. These have an awesomely long shelf life.