There’s not doubt that the foodservice industry goes through HDPE or High-Density Polyethylene cutting boards like nobody’s business (even though it is literally their business), so one of the most frequent questions we get here at Gasket Guy Corporate is “can I just resurface my HDPE cutting board?” A question to which we normally respond: we highly recommend that you don’t.
Why not? It seems simple that sanding down your poly cutting boards should make it like-new again, but the downsides of resurfacing your poly or plastic cutting boards far outweigh the convenience of simply sanding it down and “renewing” the surface.
1. You’ll Lose the Texture
When you purchase a brand new HDPE cutting board, you can feel that one side of the board is made with a semi-rough texture to prevent your food from moving while cutting it. When you sand down an HDPE cutting board, you’re getting rid of those pesky knife marks and possible coloration, but you are also getting rid of that necessary texture that keeps your food from slipping and sliding across the cutting board while food prep is in process.
2. Your Knives Will Start Slipping
Not only will the food likely slide across the board, but losing that semi-rough texture of your poly cutting boards will also cause your knives to slip more easily. Needless to say, a slippery knife can lead to all kinds of dangers in the kitchen such as cutting your fingers or hands.
3. Sanding and Resurfacing HDPE Cutting Boards Breeds Bacteria
You would think that sanding down your poly cutting board would eliminate all of the scratches from your knife, however it actually also creates minor cuts on your cutting board that food particles can get trapped in. When small food particles get trapped in these boards, they can often be missed during cleaning (even in commercial dishwashers) which then cause harmful bacteria to grow and inevitably contaminate your food.
As you can tell, resurfacing a HDPE cutting board can be a slippery slope (pun intended). While it can be a hassle, our best recommendation is for you to replace your HDPE cutting boards when it seems they have reached their end. The good news is that here at Gasket Guy we not only make custom HDPE cutting boards to order and ship them out quickly, but we also have a network of Gasket Guys around the country waiting to come check out your kitchen and give you a personal quote for exactly what you need.
You can easily shop both our custom HDPE cutting boards and standard size HDPE cutting boards by clicking here or you can find your local Gasket Guy with our Gasket Guy locator.