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for the germaphobia i usually pour kosher salt on the board and let it sit.... for a few hours, or over night .... this is what old time butchers used to do.... salt is pre-bleach.

yeah, the other methods ^ sound good. Save the vodka for more appropriate applications.

Wood and bamboo are naturally resistant to bacteria. You can use them for raw meat, fish and poultry without problem. Just use common sense and don't chop your salad on the same board you just filleted your trout on. There's no need to douse everything in bleach and sanitise everything to death. It's this type of safety ninnyism that keeps people from enjoying such delicious things as raw milk cheese and medium-rare burgers.

As far as I've been able to discover, there is nothing in processed wood or bamboo that is particularly resistant to bacteria (the growing pants are another story).

And there's nothing particularly bold or butch about salmonellosis or related infections, and it makes sense to clean things properly. Unfortunately, cleaning wood properly tends to beat it up. I have these flexible plastic cutting boards (very tough, very cheap; about $6 for a package of 2, at Broadway Panhandler) that I use for hacking up meat. Afterwards, I wash them throughly and pour boiling water over them. I use them on top of a wooden surface, and the knives seem fine.
I had a wooden cutting board that was reserved for meat, and that I used to treat in the same way, but it warped badly (not exactly a surprise, I admit).

warped wooden cutting boards from boiling water and the dishwasher? That's not suprising. Water soaks into the wood quickly, letting it warp. I will soak wood in water in order to bend it for a number of things. Water is the enemy of wood.

Hello. My name is PerkyMac and I'm a safety ninnyist.

I keep a spray bottle with water, a little bit of dishwashing soap and bleach. When I'm finished the dishes, I spray my prep counters and my cutting board, then wipe again with clear water. I oil my boards when they start to look dry. I never put meat on my main chopping board. I also use plastic boards for raw meat. I have a special board with a reservoir and channels for carving meat and I don't use it for anything else.

Personally, I cannot stand plastic boards. Hate the way the knife handles on them, and don't much love the idea of little nano-shards of plastic in my food (yes, I've seen this happen).

Bamboo is pretty and durable and very economical. However, I don't find them very good for regular chopping as I don't care for the way my blades interact with the bamboo -- it seems to grab the knife. So I reserve my three bamboo boards for serving foods that need to be cut as you go along (e.g., cheeses, breads). And they're good spare boards for guests who want to help out in the kitchen, as long as they're not doing anything stinky (onions, etc.).

Raw meats are done on a separate wooden board that is reserved exclusively for that purpose and is used for no other food. It's kept hidden under the sink so it cannot be inadvertently used by others.

My maple block is used for all other purposes.

All of my boards are scrubbed by hand with hot running water. If they need extra scrub-power, use a little dish soap or sprinkle liberally with baking soda or plain table salt, but 99% of all nasties with plain hot running water (I can post links to studies if anyone is interested).

After thoroughly rinsing with more hot running water, I squirt them generously with white vinegar, rub it in well, allow to dry. Excellent disinfectant, great deodorizer, removes soap residue. (I also use vinegar wipe down counters in need of something more than plain soapy water.)

I oil my boards with cheap pharm-grade mineral oil whenever the wood looks a bit too dry, or just because I feel like it.

where do you find decent bamboo cutting boards? and why are they sooooo expensive?