Is it Safe to Keep Oven Mitts on the Oven Door?

Q: Please help me resolve a debate with my beloved boyfriend. He insists that oven mitts cannot be kept on the oven door or anywhere near the stove, as it is a fire hazard. As the person who does the majority of the cooking, I’m finding it hard to break a habit of a lifetime of having these on-hand and grabbing the oven mitt off the oven door when I need to handle something hot…

Now, whenever I need the oven mitts, they cannot be found or are on the other side of the kitchen (large kitchen). I can understand keeping the mitts away from the burners, but surely there isn’t anything dangerous about having the mitts on the oven door (even if the oven is on)? Also, aren’t they made of flame retardant material anyway?

Please let me know if this is unsafe in anyway or if I can continue having these safety items on hand where they can be used most often. -Sent by Rosie

Editor: What a great question! I am firmly on Team Folded Tea Towel on the Oven Handle, using the cloth primarily as a pot holder but appreciating that it’s right at-hand in case of spills. (Note: I always replace the tea towel once it gets wet, because grabbing a hot pan with an even slightly damp cloth is a great way to get burned.) Perhaps I’m naive, but it wouldn’t really occur to me that something on the oven door would be a fire hazard. I mean, I get it, but then surely my clothes are fire hazards, too? And my wooden cutting boards on the counter? Readers, back Rosie and me up—or show us the hazard of our incendiary ways!

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