How To Safely Seal Your Butcher Block Countertops
Sealing Laundry Room Countertops With MMS MilkWax-ECO™
Do you have butcher block countertops, or are you thinking of adding them to your home? Find out how easy it is to use MMS MilkWax-ECO™ to safely seal your butcher block countertops, making them waterproof, food-safe, and scrubbable.
Hi friends, Kelly here from The Tattered Pew.
Happy New Year! As I ease my way into 2022, I am getting that all too familiar itch to refresh some areas of my home.
I decided to start with my laundry room and, more specifically, our butcher block countertops.
New Space, New Counters
This past summer, we moved into a new home, and I fell in love with all of the different countertops in the home that the previous owners had recently added. The one I was most excited about was the raw butcher block countertops in our basement laundry room! They are a beautiful color, but I noticed that they weren’t sealed, and this had me asking questions about how to care for them.
However, I have been a bit nervous about caring for them since I have never had wood countertops before. Our family can be rough on surfaces, and so it’s usually my job to make sure all the surfaces in our home are properly cared for. I want to make sure we are taking care of our new space!
Researching Butcher Block Countertop Care
I needed to do a bit of research.
Specifically how to care for them properly, which means how to seal butcher blocks counters safely and how to maintain them around the sink area. We use our laundry room a lot because it is down in our basement with another living space, bedroom, and bathroom. Our laundry room includes a sink, microwave, large freezer, and of course, our washer and dryer.
So obviously, I was on the hunt for a product that was not only food-safe (imagine movie nights, popcorn, ice cream, etc.) but scrubbable as well! We have kids ranging from 9 all the way to 21, and they can be messy.
Of course, one of the first places I went to do some research was over here on the MMS Milk Paint website. I knew they had introduced a new line of durable finishing waxes, and I found this article on the MilkWax Eco™!
And let me tell you, I was over the moon excited and did my happy dance because it was everything I needed!
Check out these benefits.
Milk Wax-Eco™ Benefits
● Food-contact safe
● No VOC’s
● Plant-based
● Vegan
● Non-toxic
● All-natural
Why I Chose Milk Wax-ECO™ For Our Butcher Block Counters
After finding out all of the benefits of this glorious wax, it put my mind at ease knowing how safe this product is for my family and me. Next, I wanted to know a little bit more about the ingredients.
And they did not disappoint either!
This wax contains carnauba wax which is an extremely durable wax that is used on cars to seal their paint finishes, and thus making it perfect for high traffic counters like ours. It also has walnut oil which makes the wax soft and easy to work with.
Our counters needed to be safe to eat/prepare food on as well as waterproof and cleanable since we use our laundry room for so much more than just the laundry. And this wax checks all those boxes.
I also love that this natural wax has a clear finish and will not change the look of our counters which I adore! So many great reasons for choosing to use MilkWax-ECO™ to seal our butcher block countertops.
Tattered Pew Tip: If you are looking for a durable wax option with some color, MMS MilkPaint™ offers MilkWax-ECO™ in Onyx (a black color) and Umber (a warm brown color with reddish tints).
How To Care For and Safely Seal Butcher Block Countertops
The moment I was able to get my hands on some of the MMS MilkWax-ECO™, I couldn’t wait to try it out.
But before I got started, I had to clear off the counters in our laundry room and clean them. To clean them, I simply mixed 50% water with 50% alcohol. I sprayed this mixture on my counters and wiped them down.
Once they were dry, I grabbed a lint-free rag and got to work rubbing the wax onto the counters. Luckily MilkWax-ECO™ has no VOCs, and so I was able to safely use it in our enclosed basement laundry room that has no windows. So thankful for this!
This Glorious Wax
This MilkWax-ECO™ has a soft and smooth buttery texture and not much of a smell. I loved its feel, and I literally had the MilkWax-ECO™ rubbed on both butcher block countertops in less than 10 minutes! The more layers of wax you add, the more durable your counters become.
I chose not to buff it too much after it was applied because I wanted more of a matte finish. But if you do like that shiny look, you can always add more wax and more buffing!
Now I just have to wait 5-7 days before they can handle light use and 30 days until they are fully good to go! Once they are cured, I can even wipe them down and clean them with gentle soaps like Dawn or Palmolive.
Safely Sealed Butcher Block Countertops
I LOVE the outcome, and I love knowing that my butcher block counters are durable, sealed, and safe for anything that may come their way. Even food and water!
It sure has put my mind at ease knowing all of the benefits that come with MilkWax-ECO™. I can’t wait to put them to the test, and I know my kids will help me out as well. Ha! Now that I know how to safely seal my butcher block countertops, I can’t wait to give this a try on my kitchen counters and cutting boards too! So many possibilities.
Do you have any butcher block counters or projects you want to try MilkWax-ECO™ on? Let me know in the comments below.