Good morning everyone or afternoon depending on when ya read this 

I have a black American Walnut worktop in my house was fitted around 5 years ago and I have never done anything to it since , due to my wife now decorating the hole house it looks a bit sorry for itself and needs some maintenance ,  I am unsure if I should oil it or wax it as I am not very clued up in the wood working world  on my parquet flooring I use a company called osmo for products  , I have 2 pictures that I am going to kindly ask a mod to insert into this post for me as the iPhone shall not let me .

Around the taps the wood has turned white and the other areas are starting to loose colour .

If a mod could drop me a message I am happy to email them across and let the post be modified.

I am sure I shall get lots of helpful advice from you kind people  :halo:

Tom

I'd personally go for oiling it  and keep on treating it with oil , it will soak in and help to keep the wood looking good and water-resistant.

Osmo oil is good but in my experience it's not so good around the taps where you get a lot of water standing. It needs a good few coats before it builds up enough protection and the oil only soaks in so fast so there's a limit to how quickly you can get the coats on.
The whitening *may* need sanding back first to prevent it "ghosting" back through the fresh oil. If fact I would advise you sand it all out and start again. Sorry.

First, you have a live wood surface, so be prepared to work at it forever. Although this may only be a little oil, a few times a year.
Coat with oil, leave for a while to be absorbed, then wipe dry and leave to harden.

Danish oil is recommended for worktops and contains dryers so it dries fairly quickly.
Linseed oil or Tung oil will work. These will also dry, but a bit more slowly. If you leave too much on they will go sticky.
Some sites will recommend olive oil or other kitchen oils, but they will probably need renewing much more often, especially around the taps.
Wax can sit on the surface and then go white, personally, I would not use wax, but if you do, then beeswax and natural turpentine mix is what to look for.

"Top of the line" might be sanding, then epoxy coating, but that is a lot of work and an extreme measure. (There are videos on YouTube.)

Thankyou all for your input ! Very very helpful I shall  definitely be doing the oil and forget the wax I think I shall go for a clear satin oil definitely as I want it to have a bit of shine ? This seems the correct one ?

https://osmouk.com/product/topoil/

That will work.
As said, you might want to do a bit of rubbing down first if it's stained already.
I would not attack it with a power sander unless you are refinishing the whole top.

Yes the area around the taps will require sanding as it?s lost all its protection and has gone bleach white the rest still holds all its colour so a gentle sand should be enough I am hoping apologies on not being able to insert photos !

Are you going to take off the taps?

Yes I shall remove the taps their on modern isolation valves so shouldn?t be a issue , may I ask how come you asked? Will I need something else possibly ?

Taking the taps off makes it easier to sand the damaged area, also when I put my taps back on the wooden worktop sit it on a bed of silicone. Water tends to get between the rubber washers which will accelerate the problem. Oh rubber washers as well  :

Cheers useful  I did think of silicone the taps not spare washers though good idea !

I?ll second Wayland?s suggestion of Danish oil.
From experience on bare wood furniture including tables (not worktops) the secret is little and often to keep the wood in good condition and preserve the overall appearance.