Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Put out the fire!

We have to put the dog dish on the stove (ideally it would be the counter but the place where it is out of the way is by the back door, which is right next to the stove) when it is not in use because Miles likes to eat the dog food and play in the water. Amelia has been vigilant about watching out for Miles and the dish.

A few days ago I had finished processing some jars so I moved my steam canner to the sink. The element on the stove was still super hot. As usual, Miles was making his way for the dog food. Amelia, being on the look out, promptly moved the plastic dish to the top of the hot stove. Melted plastic dish and smoke ensued. I grabbed for our baking soda and dumped a generous amount of it onto the plastic that was melting/melted onto the element and the smoking stopped. Once it had cooled completely, it was much easier to scrape off (than it would have been without the baking soda).
Keep baking soda above your stove in case of melting plastic or small oil fires. It will smother the flames and stop the smoke.