Wooden worktops in Kitchen - good or bad?

[zozzle]

Am currently choosing a new kitchen and I love the look of dark wood esp. Iroko but am worried about the maintenance. What's your experience?

If you don't mind a "lived-in, rustic" look then wood is OK, but not all of us have the time or the inclination to keep up with all that oiling and sanding. My brother damaged his wood top on the day it was installed just by putting a bottle of cleaning fluid down - it left a ring that he never got rid of.
I agree with pippop1 - go with granite. Totally bombproof, easy to keep clean, and not as expensive as you think if you shop around. But then, that suits me, as I like a clean contemporary kitchen; rustic isn't for me!

A mistake - not practical at all, repeat of what others have said about staining and marking

Couldn't disagree more.

We have wood - think it's cheap ikea and it is utter crap. Been here since we moved in. Black marks round sink that refuse to be sanded. We're building an extension (one day...) so have put off replacing but it is minging. I would rather have stainless steel or granite. Or anything actually.

I know I keep posting, it's just so frustrating hearing everyone dismiss wood because it requires a couple of hours maintenance a year. I've had wood almost all my home owning life and you just can't beat it. Granite scratches, laminate warps. Wood is brilliant.

And I know I'm not the only Mumsnetter who thinks so. But perhaps I'm the only evangelist!

no, i love mine too!

I stained and painted our wooden worktops with Osmo and it seems to repel water and ringmarks.

Black mushy stains on wood can be removed with oxalic acid.

I have had a wooden worktop in my kitchen for about 5 years. Not an expensive one either- just from Ikea.

It still looks great.

The trick is when you first get it to oil it, oil it, oil it some more, and then oil it again. The first few times you really have to leave a layer of oil over the surface to soak in over night, and do this a couple of times. I used ordinary cheap vegetable oil, so it was not expensive.

Now I just give it a good scrub with an abrasive cleaning paste and a scourer about every three months and re-oil generously. Apart from that, I just wipe it down every day. I do take care not to leave water sitting on the surface, but apart from that I have not had a problem with it marking from anything else.

See, that's just the point Thistledew - I can't imagine having a kitchen worktop where you can't leave water sitting on the surface!! I keep my worktops clean, but I don't want to be fussing round with a dishcloth every time someone puts a glass down for more than 5 seconds!
Go granite!

Ikea from the bargain section (near the tills) as a stop gap,
oak next to sink black marks depite lots of oil.
Maple (?) near oven split

Thought I was pretty careful with them especially since I was so chuffed to replace horrid plastic from tip but not a success here, we're doing the place properly with slate, glad I tried with the cheap offcuts first.