The Best Ways to Prevent Countertop Damage to Kitchen Appliances
The kitchen is typically the heart of the home: it’s where we gather to share food, snack, and talk about our day. It is also quite a dangerous place. Besides the open flames, slippery floors and flammable gas that is literally being pumped into our homes, the harmless little appliances that infest our countertops can also pose a real danger.
Every year, more than 150,000 people visit their local emergency rooms after an accident involving a household appliance. Small appliances may seem safe enough when placed on the kitchen counter, but they can be extremely dangerous if they are malfunctioning, used incorrectly, or placed in the wrong location. In addition to the risk of injury, an improperly installed countertop appliance can also cause damage to your home. Here’s what you need to think about when you’re deciding where to place everything in your kitchen.
General rules to consider
If you want your kitchen to be as safe as possible, there are a few basic safety rules that apply to any kitchen appliance:
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Keep things away from water. Do not use electrical appliances near sinks, pot fillers, or other sources of running water. This protects against electrical hazards and prevents dangerous bacteria growing in the regular sink from getting into your food.
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Connect ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). All of your kitchen appliances should be connected to a GFCI. Until 2023, only appliances located near water sources were required to be connected to a GFCI, but the National Electrical Code was changed to include any kitchen appliances. These special outlets are designed to be disconnected to prevent electric shock, and using them reduces the chance that your countertop appliance will harm you or damage your home.
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Never use extension cords . Even if the cord is plugged into a GFCI outlet, this is a bad idea. Many countertop appliances, such as deep fryers or microwaves, consume a lot of juice and can melt most standard household extension cords, resulting in a serious fire hazard.
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Stay away from the stove. You should not place any countertop appliances near the stove (or, God help us, on it ). Heat and open flames can melt power cords, increasing the risk of fire or other accident.
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Stay away from the edge. If your countertop is overcrowded and something needs to sit right on the outer edge, it’s time for a reorganization. Having any appliance right on the edge of the counter is just an invitation to disaster.
While these guidelines apply to any appliance, some countertop appliances have special placement considerations.
Toasters and ovens
The heating element in a toaster can reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit , and some toasters can reach temperatures as high as 600 degrees on certain settings. It’s pretty hot, and while even the cheapest toaster oven has some built-in safety features, placement matters. Never place the toaster oven or oven on anything flammable, such as a towel. If you’re concerned about your countertop being damaged by the heat (although most toaster ovens and ovens are designed to sit safely on countertops made from standard materials, even wood), you can place it on a nonflammable surface, such as a silicone mat or even a piece of stone tile.
You should also never place anything on top of the toaster (or toaster oven). Yes, it takes up valuable counter space, but anything you put on top could potentially be damaged by the heat or even catch fire.
Coffee maker
You might think your humble coffee maker is pretty safe, but it can cause long-term damage to your kitchen cabinets and walls due to one byproduct of the coffee-making process: steam. This hot, damp material rises, and if it regularly interacts with your cabinets, it can cause serious damage by warping and staining the wood, as well as discoloring other materials. Since the most affected area will be under the cabinets, you can cause serious damage before it becomes noticeable.
Always place your coffee maker away from upper cabinets when using it, and make sure your kitchen always has good ventilation, especially when using any appliances that produce heat or moisture.
Pressure cookers
In addition to being a ticking time bomb if used incorrectly, pressure cookers pose the same steam hazard as coffee makers: They produce steam as they operate, and constant exposure to that steam can damage your cabinets and walls. You can try pointing the pressure valve away from the cabinets or purchasing steam vents that redirect the steam. But it is best to use the pressure cooker away from cabinets.
Air fryers
Air fryers are very popular, and like other appliances on this list, they can damage your walls or cabinets with superheated fumes. In addition to the damage that steam can cause, it can also burn walls and cabinets if placed too close or with insufficient ventilation, so always place them with enough space around them.
Air fryers also get very hot, so like toasters, you shouldn’t place them on top of towels or anything else that could catch fire.
Multicookers
Slow cookers pose the same steam hazards as pressure cookers, but can be even more dangerous because of the “slow” part. While occasional use of a pressure cooker or other steam-producing appliance probably won’t destroy a cabinet or stain a wall, occasional use of a slow cooker is more likely due to the length of time it runs.
It is best to place the slow cooker away from walls and cabinets and never place it on or near flammable objects. And due to the length of use, the slow cooker should be placed on a metal stand or heat-resistant mat to protect the surface underneath.