Every time you make a cut on your cutting board, you're creating a tiny little incision, (unless you're using a glass one, in which case you might be creating tiny nicks in your knife instead). Those fine slashes can easily get filled with all kinds of unpleasant bacteria, even after a good scrub or wash - especially if you start to see them change colors from the various pigments of whatever you're cutting. Here are a few great ways of disinfecting your board to prolong it's life and keep it clean.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is an excellent household cleaner, and you can have a lot of success using it to clean cutting boards too! Create a paste out of 1 tablespoon each of baking soda, salt, and water. Just use it to scrub your cutting board once in a while and rinse it off with hot water! Your board should be fresher and cleaner.

Lemons

If your cutting board is dirty - and especially if it's starting to smell - it might be time to give it a nice cleaning with lemon. Toss a bit of salt on your board, cut a lemon in half, and use it to give the board a good scrubbing. Alternatively, you can just use lemon juice and scrub it with a cloth. The salt acts partly as an abrasive, and helps keep your board looking bright.

Vinegar

A bit of white vinegar is an excellent way to disinfect your board and keep it clean (especially wooden cutting boards, since water and soap can cause damage to wood surfaces). When you're ready to clean it, just give it a good spray with vinegar and let it sit for 10-30 minutes before wiping it down. Alternatively, you can wipe your board down with the vinegar after every time you use them to keep it clean on the regular.  If you want to deodorize your cutting board too, put a layer of baking soda across the top of your board and spray it white vinegar. Allow the mixture to bubble for 5-10 minutes, and wipe it down with a cold wet cloth!

Other Tips and Tricks

• Even the most well-kept cutting board will eventually just become too damaged to be useful anymore. Once your board gets enough nicks and scratches, it might juts be time to get a new one.
• Hydrogen peroxide also makes an excellent cleaner, especially when used alternatively with white vinegar. Give your board a good spray with hydrogen peroxide and let it sit for 10 minutes. Wipe it down, and repeat the process with vinegar!
• After you wash your cutting board with soap and water, rubbing it down with a cloth soaked in salt water can help make your board look brighter.

Photo Credits: Examiner, Sacred Bee