removing toxic gick from butcher block table

Yesterday, I picked up a lovely and free butcher block table from the curb. In the process of wiping it off, I started noticing a smell. It almost smells like baby wipes. But probably is from the use of clorox wipes or the like. That makes me feel iffy about chopping food on it, as it's intended for. Any suggestions for how I can get whatever toxic gick it is out without messing up the butcher block?

I was thinking I could maybe sand it down a bit and then oil it with something food safe? Maybe I'm just being paranoid? Even if I get the smell out, will the gick remain? I just really don't like the idea of my food being in contact with stuff like that.

I am with you. I would scrub it, sand it, and oil it.  Before I oiled it, I would look it over (smell it over?) carefully, to be sure I had eliminated whatever created the odor.

like John said, sand it down past all the yuck and refinish

I wonder if setting it out in the sun for a day or two might help?

Let us know what you found that worked.

how's it working out?
was just thinking how previous owner of this object coated it with some type of finish or maybe some type of oil based stuff and it might need to be removed. is this goody finish thick enough finish that a sharp putty knife can scrape it off?

Heather Olivia wrote:Yesterday, I picked up a lovely and free butcher block table from the curb. In the process of wiping it off, I started noticing a smell. It almost smells like baby wipes. But probably is from the use of clorox wipes or the like. That makes me feel iffy about chopping food on it, as it's intended for. Any suggestions for how I can get whatever toxic gick it is out without messing up the butcher block?

I was thinking I could maybe sand it down a bit and then oil it with something food safe? Maybe I'm just being paranoid? Even if I get the smell out, will the gick remain? I just really don't like the idea of my food being in contact with stuff like that.

I wonder if someone chopped meat on it and then felt like they had to wipe it with bleach?

As others have said, sanding, scraping and sun all sound like great solutions.

I've used lemon juice and salt to scrub on ours occasionally and then a rinse and some sunshine.

What a wonderful find!

What an amazing score!!!

my first thought reading this is "someone used murphy's oil soap to clean it". I spent years cleaning saddlery with oil soap and then when I went to college, we had a restaurant kitchen in my house and that was what they used to clean the butcher block counters. I smell that stuff in my dreams.

I'd just scrub it down and leave it outside, like everyone else says. Even if someone used bleach on it, it is volatile and loses its potency. Also, consider that the previous owners might not have been up on their food hygiene. If it were mine, I'd make a paste of salt and lemon juice and leave it in the sun on any surface that might have come into contact with raw meat.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions!

how's it working out?
was just thinking how previous owner of this object coated it with some type of finish or maybe some type of oil based stuff and it might need to be removed. is this goody finish thick enough finish that a sharp putty knife can scrape it off?

Truth be told, I've been quite busy and don't have all the tools/time for the sanding operation just yet, so it's been sitting in the kitchen. I don't think there's a finish on the top. Perhaps was oiled at one point and it wasn't kept up with? It just feels like sanded wood, not slick or shiny. If sanding is necessary, any guess how much material I might need to remove? I don't own a sander and would need to borrow one if heavy sanding was necessary.

I wonder if someone chopped meat on it and then felt like they had to wipe it with bleach?

As others have said, sanding, scraping and sun all sound like great solutions.

I've used lemon juice and salt to scrub on ours occasionally and then a rinse and some sunshine.  

I think this is exactly what happened. And/or they may have wiped it down as a safety measure before giving it away. The smell is pretty persistent, so I suspect the former. I will definitely give the lemon juice, salt and sun treatment a try before I sand it. Thanks!

my first thought reading this is "someone used murphy's oil soap to clean it". I spent years cleaning saddlery with oil soap and then when I went to college, we had a restaurant kitchen in my house and that was what they used to clean the butcher block counters. I smell that stuff in my dreams.

I'd just scrub it down and leave it outside, like everyone else says. Even if someone used bleach on it, it is volatile and loses its potency. Also, consider that the previous owners might not have been up on their food hygiene. If it were mine, I'd make a paste of salt and lemon juice and leave it in the sun on any surface that might have come into contact with raw meat.

This seems another strong possibility. I don't recall the smell, but I can imagine how something like that would linger in the memory.
Thank you for the reminder that even bleach is volatile and will fade away. Especially with the lemon,salt,sun and/or sanding treatments. That was really bothering me.

Thanks again y'all! I will give the scrub and sun a try, maybe the sanding if that fails. I will definitely report back with how this worked!