When you cook, craft, or crimp, you want to do it without damaging your furniture. We've spent a lot of time in the kitchen, crafts aisle, and beauty counter over the years, so we came up with this creative list of ways to use silicone trivets (aka silicone hot pads) to protect your home and belongings in ways you wouldn't expect.
First, some off-the-wall uses for Silicone trivets
Protect Your Tush From Hot Leather Car Seats in the Summer.
Just lay that trivet down, sit in and drive! Alright, yes, we’re joking. But if you’ve ever spent a Summer in Texas, you know you’ve thought about leather seat heat shields before.
Keep a Trivet On the Mantle Above Your Fireplace
Be prepared in case you need to place a hot fire iron out of reach of pets and kids. There’s nothing like holding a hot poker and needing to put it down, but without a safe place to lay it. If you make heavy use of your fireplace, you know how it goes. A thin silicone trivet can be placed on top of the mantle to be used in case you need it. And there’s another use for it up there, anyway (more on that later).
Protect Your Countertop From the Curling Iron
Ever used a silicone trivet to protect your bathroom countertop? We love this one.
You’ve never seen a person run so quickly, once they realize they left the curling iron on upstairs. Not only can a hot curling iron damage your counter, it could even start a house fire if left powered on atop the bare counter and left there a while. Ever wondered if you or someone in your house left the curling iron on? Did you turn the car around and go back to check?
Ease your mind. If you curl your hair, have a spouse who curls their hair, or have children who curl their hair, get some silicone hot pads for the bathrooms. You can put the hottest curling iron known to man on them, and they’ll stay cool and like new. And so will your counter, more importantly.
Lay Down Your Hair Straightener Without Burning Your Countertop
Similar to the curling iron, a hair straightener can burn your counter tops, and even melt them and cause a fire, depending on countertop material. Put your straightener on a silicone trivet every time and you’ll never have to wonder if your counter tops are melting like queso back at the house.
Lay a Silicone Trivet Face Down on a Powered Off Hot Burner For Safety
You know that hot burner on your flat-top stove…the one you turned off, that is still hot enough to burn you or your kids? Sure, you can see the little warning light, but the little ones can’t. Place an upside down trivet on it for added safety. That way, accidental contact has less chance of burning someone you love. Note, do not do this when the burner is still on, or when the burner temperature exceeds 500 degrees.
Protect Your Table From a Hot Glue Gun While Crafting
Ever panicked, looking around the room for a place to set your hot glue gun, as molten lava glue pours out the front nozzle and drizzles onto things it shouldn’t be on…your knee...the carpet…coffee table….the dog. For safety’s sake, for your dog’s sake, get some silicon trivets to use while you do crafts. The hot glue is dangerous, but it’s no match for silicone, to which it won’t bond.
And what if your glue gun falls over on it? That will melt or burn almost anything. Not to worry, our silicone trivets can handle that heat, too.
Use Your Silicone Trivet as a Painting Pallet or Paintbrush Rest
Did we mention that almost nothing bonds to silicone well? Like hot glue in the idea above, or paint of any kind? Silicone is paint repellent. You can spray it, brush it, pour it, or shake it all over a silicone surface and it won’t stick. If you spray it, it won’t even “land” on the silicone usually. Paint hates silicone that much, and that’s why you should always use silicone trivets for paintbrushes and anything else with wet paint you want to set down.
Set Down a Hot Clothes Iron Without Damaging Your Clothes or Ironing Board
Ever have a little snafu in the laundry room while ironing? Did you frantically look around wondering where to set that hot iron? Most ironing tables cant take that heat. And you certainly can’t lay it down on your new shirt!
Some ironing boards have a tray for the iron to go on, but the tray usually gets too hot to touch afterwards. And it always feels precarious setting it on its butt. Easy to knock over, especially if on a soft ironing board.
Place your trivet on the end of your ironing board, or on a shelf or anywhere else that would be a convenient spot to reach to when ironing. The next time you need to set it down, just put it on the trivet. The iron will stay hot, the silicone will stay cool, and it won’t leave a residue on your iron. You can pick it up again in a moment and continue pressing your outfits.
Never place an iron face down on a trivet if the heat of the iron exceeds 500 degrees. Aprons by JEM silicone trivets are heat resistant to 600 degrees, but it's better to be safe than sorry!
Protect Surfaces When Working With Glue or Epoxy
As we mentioned with the paint example, there isn't much that will bond to silicone. If you've ever worked with glue or epoxy, you know it can be hard to find a mixing tray that doesn't have to be thrown away after use.
Also, where do you lay down your project while waiting for the epoxy to cure? If you set it on a table, you risk it being stuck to the table. If you set it on paper, you risk having paper stuck to your finished project. It's a mess.
Most glues and epoxy resins will not stick to silicone, and this makes silicone trivets a great tool for working with epoxy. Lay your freshly glued crafts on the trivet and rest assured you'll be able to get them off when the epoxy cures.
You can also use a silicone trivet to:
Protect Your Dinner Table From Burning Candles
Remember that trivet on your mantle for a hot fire iron? When you’re not using it for that, put a candle on it. Glass jar candles can get hot enough to burn a surface, so be sure to put them on something protective. Wax candles can drip onto your mantle making for a messy cleanup. A silicone trivet will catch those drips (a flood of wax may still spill over) and cleans up easy for re-use.
Also, remember our mantle example from earlier? When you're not using your fireplace, the trivet can be kept under a candle. Whenever you light the candle, you can protect your mantle from wax. Better yet, just keep two up there so you're always covered!
Rest a Fragrant Oil Burner on a Trivet to Protect Counters
Hot oil on your counters, anyone? Some of us love the scent of scented oils in the home. But to get that, we have to set a hot oil burner on the counter, and that can be a recipe for your disaster. Do your home value a favor, protect the counter underneath with a washable silicone trivet. You can even find one in a color that goes well with your burner, making it a lovely home decor item.
Protect Your Kitchen Counter From Hot Pans - Especially Cast Iron
Some pans can hold a lot of heat. Glass, cast iron, and thick stainless being the worst. All of these can get hot enough (and stay hot enough) to seriously burn many counter top surfaces. Having a few kitchen hot pads handy on the counter by the oven and stove means you’ll always have a place to set that hot pan, worry-free.
Place a Pot of Boiling Sauce, Soup, or Water Off The Stove
You know that hot pot you’re holding, but really need to set down, but can’t set down on your countertop? Have a cooking hot pad handy for such an occasion, so you never burn your hands holding something too long.
Protect Surfaces From Nail Polish and Rest Your Hand While You Paint Your Fingernails
We mentioned painting, but this is a whole other level. When you paint your nails, where do you rest your hand? Do you have a place where it’s okay to just get paint on it, rinse it off later, and then do that repeatedly every time? That’s what you can do with a silicone trivet. It will keep the nail polish off of everything else, and it will remain unpainted by the polish. Just rinse and repeat!
Other Uses For Silicone Trivets:
Reduce Cleanup by Setting Messy Stirring Spoons on the Trivet
Who likes a sticky counter? Nobody, that’s who! But if you lay sauce spoons and soup ladles on your counter tops, sticky counters is exactly what you’ll have. Then you get the added enjoyment of scrubbing your counter top with a sponge.
Don’t forget to somehow pick up any stray crumbs without launching them off the counter onto your clean floor below. Isn’t that always a fun exercise?
OR, you could just place them on a silicone trivet, and then throw it in the dishwasher when you’re done cooking. Doesn’t that sound much easier?
Place a Pot of Hot Coffee on the Table Using a Trivet
When you’re serving coffee to multiple guests, you might as well just keep the pot of coffee handy. If your friends are like mine, two people can go through a pot cup by cup as the conversation flows. Rather than going back and forth to the coffee maker, just keep the pot on the table with you, on a stylish silicone hot pad. It can take the heat, and you can take your coffee however you like it, right from the table.
Use the Trivet as a Tray for Your Bottles of Cooking Oils
When will mankind invent a container for olive oil that doesn’t spill, drip, or leak? Don’t get me wrong, I love all sorts of cooking oils and use them liberally. But I don’t want them liberally dripped all over my counters.
I'm not holding my breath for mess-free oil bottles, so I use a trivet made of silicone and junior cord fabric to keep the oil off the counters and keep my bottles of oil looking like a stylish decoration, rather than a slippery mess.
When oil has begun to collect on the trivet, I quickly wash it in the sink or dishwasher. Voila! Clean, stylish counter tops!
Protect Counters From a Hot Water Kettle
Tea time is supposed to be relaxing. It's not going to be very relaxing if you scorch a big circle into your wooden table or counter top with your tea kettle, is it?
Get a stylish silicone trivet to match the color of your tea set, and keep it with the set. That way you're always prepared with a place to set your kettle when you sit down for tea. Our black junior cord kitchen hot pad has a classic gray look that goes well with a tea whose name rhymes with "girl hey" ;)
Place a Trivet Under Your Flower Vase to Protect Your Table
If you have a heavy glass vase that can leave an imprint, you need to put something under it that won't. Instead of using a high-profile vase stand, use a trivet to protect your table without taking attention away from the flowers and vase.
Added bonus, since it is silicone it isn't vulnerable to moisture. If your vase sweats, no problem. If you spill a little water down the side of the vase while caring for your flowers, no problem.
We Hope You Enjoyed These Home Decor and Protection Tips
Have you ever panicked, scanning the room for a place to set your hot glue gun, as molten lava glue pours out the front nozzle and drizzles onto things it shouldn’t be on? Your knee...the carpet…the coffee table? I know I have. I've made "accidental wood burning art" in a few tables, even - oops.
When you use hot pads or trivets to protect your kitchen and bathroom surfaces from heat, you're investing in your home. We've done the research to help you choose the best ones.
