mildew/mold stains (and smells) off my butcherblock

[Dazedstella]

I have the Ikea butcherblock countertops in my kitchen and we don't have a dishwasher so all my dishes drain in a dish drainer on my counter. The problem is now I have mildew/mold stains that smell on that spot on my counter. I try and let it air out as much as possible but doing dishes for a family of four means that there are often dishes needing to dry. It's gross and smelly and unattractive. The only advice I can find online is to kill it using bleach but i REALLY don't want to do that. Are there all natural products that can kill the mold? How can I prevent it?

[ChristyMarie]

Have you tried a light sanding and/or vinegar? And I'd put a fan on it to speed the drying process.

Can you get a dish drainer with a rubber mat to put under the dishes as they dry?

[Dazedstella]

I tried sanding a while ago- it's too deep, i think I would have to completely refinish the thing. Haven't tried heavy doses of vinegar yet- a little spritz of it when I wipe the counters down though. Good thought on the fan.

Sadly- we do have a rubber mat under the dishes, it doesn't seem to prevent the issue

[azdesertrn]

So, is the rubber mat trapping the water so it never dries? Can you put a towel under the mat and then change the towel as needed during the day? A dry towel will give you a bit of air space so air can get to the dampness.

Not sure what you can do about the stains. I would think vinegar to kill the mold or maybe a one time wipe down with very dilute bleach- I don't use bleach regularly, but I would for mold/mildew. It can be very dilute and still work.

[artzy_fartzy68]

*sigh* your only alternative is bleach, I'm afraid.

Can you soak it in bleach overnight, then give it a good vinegar rinse? If you can spray it w/ vinegar periodically after its mildew free, perhaps it will prevent it. Also, periodically letting it stay nice and dry would help (dry your dishes with a towel and put away immediately) maybe 2 or 3 times per month. Or leaving outside in the hot sun for most of a day now and then.

some kinds of molds are toxic, so you really have to weigh the pros and cons of bleach vs mold.

[yeahwhat]

I'd use bleach for this, then make sure to dry dishes and put the dish drainer away at least at night time so the counter has time to dry out completely.

What sort of sink do you have? Could you change it for one with a built in drainboard? Something like this. http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/S99847467 Ikea has them in several sizes.

[gmvh]

We had the same counters and the same issue. We've ended up replacing part of our counters with Corian with a built in drainboard. Another thing we considered was replacing the sink with one of the ones posted above, with the built in drainboard. Do you have a two basin sink? Can you find a dish drainer that will fit in the second sink and drain dishes that way? Not ideal, I know. Good luck!