How to Clean a Cutting Board Made of Plastic

Plastic cutting boards are extremely common in the kitchen whether it's a business or at home.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Soap
• Sanitizer
• Scrubber

1. Cutting boards of all kinds get stains and cut-marks on them. Plastic ones are especially susceptible to stains from things such as beets. Plastic is preferred over wood because they not only last longer; they cannot have their tarnish chipping and they cannot give you a splinter.

2. Cleaning a plastic cutting board is simple. If a spray spout of water is available, start off by spraying it clean.

3. This is three sink procedure that all professional kitchens must abide by; you can still get away with it without all three sinks however! In warm-to-hot highly soapy water, start scrubbing the board.

4. 
   Three Sink Equipment

   Dip it in warm water that has no soap.

5. Let it soak in sanitizer for at least thirty seconds. This is available at major drug stores and grocery markets. You do not want one that says it is a "degreaser"--this needs to be left for cleaning the oven or a pan that is in serious need of revamping.

6. 

   Let it air dry. This is better than towel-drying because the towel can just make it dirty again.

7. It is time to clean your cutting board when you change what you are cutting up. If it is a raw product, you absolutely must clean it in between! Even if the products are different but all raw, you still have to do it to be safe. Raw products carry different germs. If you are working on the same thing for a while, you need to clean it every two hours if you are consecutively working at a station.

8. Or...you can just place it in the dishwasher! It will be fine. In a business, we don't really have time to put our cutting boards in the dishwasher every time we need it clean, unless it is the end of the closing shift.

Tips & Warnings

• Plastic cutting boards are great tools. If you didn't buy one that has grips on the bottom, be sure to have something underneath it i.e. a dry rag to hold it in place.
• Be wary! It is possible to allergic to a sanitizer. Although very rare, you could break out in a rash.

[lopez-n]

on 12/12/2008 Good article thanks for sharing.