Should you really boil wooden utensils often to clean them?

I can’t tell you how many instagram videos I’ve seen about boiling your wooden utensils for a ‘deep clean.’ Honestly, the idea has never crossed my mind before seeing these videos which maybe is repulsive or maybe it’s just the usual expectation for wooden utensils. I clean my utensils with soap and water…is the water really going to look like those viral videos? I wanted to test this out to understand:

1. Does it do anything/is there a noticeable difference after boiling wooden utensils?
2. Would I do this repeatedly to keep them clean?

Of course, this is an easy thing to test out. I used my dutch oven to hold a bunch of water and I put a little bit of dish soap in with the water because it made me feel like that would give the extra oomph to get any grime off. I boiled the water and added the utensils. Here’s what I learned:

1. My water did not turn brown or yellow like every viral video I saw. Actually, it was still very clear which made me feel proud of my typical cleaning techniques.
2. I noticed they got very dry – there is something these viral videos don’t tell you which is that this method really gets the oil off the utensils. This isn’t necessarily a good thing in my opinion. It’s normal to have ‘seasoned’ utensils and food oils on them. After doing this process I noticed that one of the spoons had some minor cracks. It’s no big deal but I think the videos leave out that you should probably oil the utensils after boiling to prevent over-dryness.
3. I don’t think I need to do this often. The videos I’ve seen have suggested doing this on a monthly basis. I frankly think this would be overkill. I cook and bake with these tools typically every day and have had them for 10+ years. I think this method may shorten the lifespan of the tools and I didn’t notice a huge difference. I could maybe get on board with this 1x/year (if that).

Overall this is a viral trend that is going to be a ‘pass’ for me moving forward. I hope this is helpful for you! For me this was a good reminder that viral videos are sometimes great content but not necessary life practices. Let me know if you feel differently or if I am missing a critical reason of why this method is important.

xoxo, LL