For years, I thought rinsing my cutting board under hot water was enough. Maybe a little dish soap now and then.
It looked clean. It smelled okay. So what was the problem?
Apparently, everything.
The Eye Roll That Started It All
One afternoon, while making lunch, my daughter walked into the kitchen just as I finished rinsing off the board.
She gave me the kind of eye roll only daughters can master.
“You just use water? Seriously, Dad?”
Before I could answer, she grabbed the salt shaker from the counter and said:
“Use SALT. It pulls everything out. Trust me.”
I laughed. But she was already pouring a small mountain of salt onto the board.
The Scrub That Changed My Life
She handed me a half-cut lemon and said, “Use this instead of a sponge.”
Skeptical, I scrubbed hard — in circles, back and forth, pressing into the grain.
Within seconds, the salt and lemon started turning brown.
We rinsed the board, and suddenly the sink filled with a murky, foul-smelling sludge that I couldn’t believe came from something I thought was clean.
What I Saw After
When I looked at the board again, I was stunned.
- The surface looked brighter.
- The deep knife marks were clearer.
- It even smelled fresh — no trace of onions, garlic, or whatever had been living in it.
Why This Works
Salt is a natural abrasive and pulls out deep-seated grime and bacteria from porous surfaces like wood.
Lemon adds natural acidity and acts as a deodorizer and disinfectant.
Together, they make one of the simplest and most effective natural cleaning tricks out there — no chemicals, no mystery ingredients.
The Takeaway
Since then, I’ve never looked at my cutting board the same way.
Water can rinse. Soap can help.
But salt and lemon?
They clean deep — in ways you can see, smell, and feel.
Thanks, kid.
