How do you clean cork?

What to avoid, and why it matters more than it sounds

Almost everything Green Haven makes is agglomerated cork, which is cork granules bound together and moulded into sheet. The binder is a synthetic resin. Solvents, bleach and abrasive cleaners attack that binder and the surface finish, and once the surface is opened up the piece takes on water and stains far more easily.

This is the one place where the usual argument for cork does not work. Cork itself is inert and shrugs most things off. The binder holding an agglomerated sheet together is not cork, and it is what a harsh cleaner finds first.

The rule for a bar, a cafe or a hotel

• Wipe with a damp cloth. Water and mild soap if it needs more.
• Do not put cork in a dishwasher. Not because of the water, which cork is fine with, but because of the detergent and heat, which attack the binder and the finish.
• Let it dry in air rather than on a hot surface or in direct sun.
• No bleach, no solvent-based or alcohol-heavy disinfectant, no scouring pad.

If you are buying in bulk, tell the people who clean it

This is the failure we most want to prevent, and it has nothing to do with the product being wrong. A studio or a hotel buys thirty pieces, hands them to housekeeping, and housekeeping cleans them the way they clean everything else, with the strongest thing on the trolley. The cork degrades and the supplier gets blamed.

So the cleaning instruction goes with every bulk order. If you are specifying cork for a space where someone else will do the cleaning, pass it on, and ask us if you want it written into the handover.

Why it needs so little

Cork's cell walls are about 53% suberin, which is hydrophobic and naturally antimicrobial and antifungal. It resists mould, mildew, bacteria and odour without anything being added to it, and it does not soak up spills the way an open foam does. A daily deep clean is not something cork asks for.

How do you clean a cork coaster or mat?

Wipe it with a damp cloth, using water and a drop of mild soap if it needs more, then let it air dry. Keep it out of the dishwasher, where hot detergent attacks the binder and the finish. Water on its own does not harm cork.

Can you use disinfectant on cork?

Not a strong one. Bleach, solvent-based and alcohol-heavy cleaners attack the binder that holds agglomerated cork together, and the surface finish with it. Cork is naturally antimicrobial, so mild soap and water is enough for hygiene.

Can cork go in the dishwasher?

No, though not because of the water. Cork itself is unharmed by water. It is the hot detergent that attacks the binder holding agglomerated cork together, and the surface finish with it. Wipe it by hand instead.

Does cork need a deep clean?

Rarely. Cork is naturally antimicrobial and antifungal because of the suberin in its cell walls, and it resists mould, mildew, bacteria and odour without additives, so it does not need the routine an open foam surface does.