Found my dad's old 1950s oven mitt at his house last weekend

I was cleaning out his garage after he passed and pulled this beat-up mitt from a box. It had a burn hole right through the thumb and the fabric was stiff like cardboard. I tried washing it with some dish soap and warm water, and it actually came back soft. Now I'm using it on my own stove, 70 years later. Anyone else find old kitchen stuff that still works?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivere302d ago

Ngl I gotta disagree a bit here. That mitt was probably stiff because it was filled with asbestos or some other nasty old insulation that finally broke down after decades of heat. You might wanna check if there's any info on the tag before you keep using it, that stuff wasn't regulated back then and can mess you up.

the_mason15h ago

Huh, never really thought about it that way honestly. I always figured old oven mitts just got crusty from years of heat and grease, but you make a solid point about the insulation breaking down. I've got a couple vintage ones in my kitchen drawer that I've been using as trivets, now I'm kind of side-eyeing them. Gonna dig through the tags later and see if there's anything sketchy printed on them, appreciate you looking out.