ongoing care
Most bowls will hold a wide variety of things from chips, nuts, popcorn, whole fruit or salads without damage to the finish. The more decorative bowls are just to admire as the shape or size may not lend itself to holding much, if anything. You decide. The following will help maintain your bowl/mill in top condition for years to come and enhance your enjoyment of it.
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Each handmade wooden bowl or pepper & salt mill continues to breathe, even after it has been turned, sanded and finished. For best results if the bowl, vessel, grinder, etc. gets dirty, wash with a damp cloth and hand dry with a terry cloth dishtowel. Be sure to keep the grinder mechanism dry.
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Perhaps the biggest enemy of wood is sudden changes in temperature and humidity. This means if you leave your bowl in a car on a hot sunny day, the high temperatures in the car can make it crack. Same with leaving it in the car or garage during cool wet weather for a day or two, then taking it into the house where it is warm and dry. Allow the bowl to acclimate by putting it inside a paper bag for a day or so, and away from drafts and direct sunlight.
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DO NOT SOAK ANY BOWL, VESSEL, GRINDER IN WATER OR ANY SOLVENT. Doing so will destroy the finish and ruin the bowl
or mill beyond repair!
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DO NOT WASH ANY WOODEN PRODUCT IN A DISHWASHER. Doing so will destroy the finish and ruin the bowl or mill beyond repair!
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DO NOT PUT YOUR BOWL/MILL IN THE MICROWAVE FOR ANY REASON. It can catch on fire!
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Bowls are finished in one of the following finishes: Tung Oil varnish, “Salad Bowl” finish, clear Shellac, or polyurethane. With these finishes, there should be no need to “oil” the bowl after use. Mills are finished in wipe-on Polyurethane.
With proper care, the finishes should last a long time.