ARRRGH! Warped cutting mat

Well, I recommend not buying a mat during the summer months when in Phoenix.............. especially if there is much of a drive home from the shop..........

Pati, in Phx

Well, heck. This has been an educational thread for me. I knew they'd warp, but I didn't know how easily. My "cutting table" (read: banquet table)....it sits in front of a West window for light. The sun gets pretty hot in the afternoon. Maybe I should move it? Or might throwing a towel over it when I'm not using it protect it?

Sherry

So, in other words, "L", don't blame a goofy kid for ruining your cutting mat because us goofy adults who should know better do it all the time. Heck, she might have thought it was some heat resistant cover for your coffee table.

Cindy

Well, heck. This has been an educational thread for me. I knew they'd warp, but I didn't know how easily. My "cutting table" (read: banquet table)....it sits in front of a West window for light. The sun gets pretty hot in the afternoon. Maybe I should move it? Or might throwing a towel over it when I'm not using it protect it?

Sherry

Howdy!

As I dem> >> Well, I recommend not buying a mat during the summer months when in

You choose your battles. My cutting table is right inside the door everybody uses. It is an easy target. Instead of getting varicose veins of the throat from screaming, I simply placed the worn out cutting mat at that end of the table. It's okay for measuring and lining up long edges . . . and muddy dogs, wet babies, melting ice cream and greasy carburetors haven't seemed to harm it. I've toyed with Sherry's question about western sun warping a mat and think it ought to be safe so long as it is nice and flat. Maybe. I don't know. Polly

Am I the only one who thinks the 'goofy kids' should be told about what happened? The offender might offer to help with the replacement. When I was in High School I accidentally broke a glass pot belonging to a friend's family. I was helping her with her chores at the time. The mother told me in no uncertain terms that I HAD to pay for it. I did, although I thought then and think now that the circumstances were not caused by misuse or carelessness. My mom and I were both shocked and steamed, but she and I just wanted that 'adult' out of my life! Whoops, I digress ... I think the girl should offer to make restitution and she cannot do that if she does not know about the problem. PAT in Virginia

Wellll.....I imagine our weather is close to the same; I'm in S. Okla. The blinds are gonna have to stay closed in August I'm sure....as you well know a west-facing window in August will warp a quilter, let alone a cutting mat.

Sherry

That's an interesting angle. I remember having to make restitution as a kid for damaging something accidentally. Bear with me, and let me tell you what I had to do just 2 weeks ago: I borrowed a quilting book. I left it open, on the cutting table, where I'd been working. Next morning, to my horror, I found that the cat had caught a mouse, and of all the square feet of surfaces high and low, he chose to eat it on that book. It was ruined, as far as I was concerned. I spent hours on the internet searching for this book, which was out of print. I was lucky to find one identical. Then I had to tell the owner what happened to HER book. Personally, I know I'd hate telling the offender about the mat. It's just easier to replace it, and you sure don't want hard feelings over a cutting mat. But what Pat is saying really does have some credence, I think. Letting the child have the chance to make it right just might teach her one of those awful hard-learned lessons we're all familiar with; being mindful of other people's property. It's a thought anyway.

Sherry

I laid mine on the asphalt driveway and it did flatten out at least enough to use! But, it was 100F and I left it all day. I was happy with the result--all things considered.......

The difference in this situation is that it is quite likely that the girl was not aware of how easily the mat could be damaged. It is not obvious by looking at it; in fact it could easily have appeared that it was there to protect the coffee table. In such a situation, I think it would be pretty harsh to ask the girl to pay for it. However, it would be wise to make her aware that she had inadvertently caused damage and of the cost involved in replacing it. Then if she offers to pay for it, accept it (or at least part of it). And if she were my daughter, she would be told to pay for it or work it off somehow. IMO, the owner of the mat is responsible, at least in part, because she left a valuable and not-obviously-fragile item where it could be easily damaged. I think there was a difference when you played stick ball -- you knew that the windows were there and that they were easily broken. You still decided to take the risk of breaking one, so it was fair that you pay for it.

Julia > 26 posts before someone said that the child responsible should make

When we were kids and played baseball in the street, we paid for broken windows. (Some of us just weren't as good at batting and aiming! No, we had no parks nearby. The game was called stick ball. You may have seen it in old-time movies.)

So should I have blamed the goofy adult for having a window on the street-side of the house?

Natural consequences -- you break it, you pay for it. If you want to consider being a goofy adult, pay half.

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Yep, Julia, that is pretty much what I said: the careless guest should be made aware of the issue, then the ball is in her court. Give her the option to offer to help pay for the replacement. I agree that the mat may not have looked vulnerable to the girl, but I don't think she should be putting a hot appliance on ANY surface with out checking with the hostess first. Don't forget, the mat was in the LIVING room, not the kitchen. She was using a hot appliance out of the usual place. Besides, anyone old enough to use a hot appliance unsupervised should be old enough to be responsible. PAT in VA/USA