Potholders, Oven Mitts Or Hot Pads
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Containers, Tableware & Packaging · CPSC Code 436
Down 11% over 5 years
The verdict
Potholders, Oven Mitts Or Hot Pads carry a danger score of 27/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 230 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 11% over the last five years.
- 27/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 230
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 2.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 436 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 27/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for potholders, oven mitts or hot pads - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume230 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)2.7%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-11%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Potholders, Oven Mitts Or Hot Pads (CPSC product code 436, in the Containers, Tableware & Packaging category) generate an estimated 230 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 4,363 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 27/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 11% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2015 (536 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2014 (31 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for potholders, oven mitts or hot pads is burns, thermal to the hand, accounting for approximately 1,588 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burns, thermal to the finger (749 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 683 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 2.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 34 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how potholders, oven mitts or hot pads fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 176 | 157 | |
| 5-14 | 81 | 335 | |
| 15-24 | 103 | 580 | |
| 25-34 | 227 | 243 | |
| 35-44 | 116 | 508 | |
| 45-54 | 76 | 441 | |
| 55-64 | 96 | 482 | |
| 65-74 | 71 | 314 | |
| 75+ | 160 | 195 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| Finger | Burns, Thermal | |
| Lower Arm | Burn, Scald | |
| Hand | Burn, Scald | |
| Lower Arm | Burns, Thermal | |
| Foot | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Foot | Burns, Thermal | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Finger | Strain, Sprain | |
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
22YOF PRESENTS FROM HOME WITH BURN TO FOREARM WHILE COOKING WITH *** OIL AND HOT PAD. DX: GREASE BURN TO FOREARAM
40YOF WAS REMOVING BAKING PAN FROM OVEN USING A MITT AND HEAT STILL PENETRATED SKIN OF LEFT HAND. DX: BURN OF LEFT HAND
73 YOM REPORTS A POT OF GREASE CAUGHT FIRE ON THE STOVE, PT USED AN OVEN MITT TO MOVE THE POT AND THE OVEN MITT CAUGHT FIRE, UNKNOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT. DX: DEEP SECOND DEGREE BURN OF LEFT HAND
82YOM, WAS COOKING ON THE STOVE WHEN THE POT HOLDER CAUGHT ON FIRE, ATTEMPTING TO MOVE IT AND DROPPED IT ONTO LEG, REPOTS THE POTHOLDER RUBBED AGAINST LEG DX: THERMAL BURN
63 YOM WAS BURNED WHEN OVEN PAD SLIPPED WHILE PT WAS TAKING BAKING TRAY OUT OF THE OVEN.DX: PARTIAL THCKNESS BURN MULTIPLE FINGERS OF RIGHT HAND
43 YOM HAS PATCHY BURNS ON THE BACK OF BOTH HANDS THAT HE STATES OCCURRED WHEN AN OVEN MITT CAUGHT ON FIRE AT HOME TODAY. FD NSDX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN RIGHT HAND, PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN LEFT HAND
88YOF PATIENT REACHING FOR POTHOLDER TO REMOVE ROAST FROM OVEN WHEN SHE FELL TO FLOOR HAS FOREHEAD HEMATOMA, RIGHT FOREARM PAIN DX: FACIAL HEMATOMA, FALL, SYSTOLIC EJECTION MURMUR, ELEVATED TROPONIN
20YOM PRESENTING AFTER HOUSE TESTED POSITIVE FOR ASBESTOS AND SINCE HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1976, MOM WOULD LIKE LEAD TESTING. DENIES ABDOMINAL PAIN, IS NOT EATING AND LEAD IS NOT IN THE PIPES. HAS BEEN LIVING IN THE HOUSE FOR 3YRS. NOTES STATE NO LEAD TESTING INDICATED FOR THIS PT SINCE HE IS UNLIKELY TO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED BY EATING PAINT CHIPS, NO RECENT CONSTRUCTION. DX: ASBESTOS EXPOSURE
15YOM PRESENTING AFTER HOUSE TESTED POSITIVE FOR ASBESTOS AND SINCE HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1976, MOM WOULD LIKE LEAD TESTING. DENIES ABDOMINAL PAIN, IS NOT EATING AND LEAD IS NOT IN THE PIPES. HAS BEEN LIVING IN THE HOUSE FOR 3YRS. NOTES STATE NO LEAD TESTING INDICATED FOR THIS PT SINCE HE IS UNLIKELY TO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED BY EATING PAINT CHIPS, NO RECENT CONSTRUCTION. DX: ASBESTOS EXPOSURE
7YOM PRESENTING AFTER HOUSE TESTED POSITIVE FOR ASBESTOS AND SINCE HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1976, MOM WOULD LIKE LEAD TESTING. DENIES ABDOMINAL PAIN, IS NOT EATING, DOES HAVE COUGH FOR MONTHS. HAS BEEN LIVING IN THE HOUSE FOR 3YRS. WILL TEST PT SINCE HE IS AUTISTIC AND CHANCE OF EATING PAINT CHIPS; LABS: NOT DETECTED. DX: ASBESTOS EXPOSURE
11YOM PRESENTING AFTER HOUSE TESTED POSITIVE FOR ASBESTOS AND SINCE HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1976, MOM WOULD LIKE LEAD TESTING. DENIES ABDOMINAL PAIN, IS NOT EATING AND LEAD IS NOT IN THE PIPES. HAS BEEN LIVING IN THE HOUSE FOR 3YRS. NOTES STATE NO LEAD TESTING INDICATED FOR THIS PT SINCE HE IS UNLIKELY TO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED BY EATING PAINT CHIPS, NO RECENT CONSTRUCTION. DX: ASBESTOS EXPOSURE
52YOF, PRESENTING WITH BURN, SHE REPORTS SHE BURNED ANTERIOR CHEST WITH AN OVEN MITT 1 HOUR PTA. DX: SUPERFICIAL BURN OF CHEST WALL
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Product: Halloween Theme Oven Mitt from Dollar Tree I attempted to use stated oven mitt to move an item from my oven to my stovetop for cooling. Upon touching the pan the outer orange layer of this mitt instantly stuck/bonded to my dish. The inner white supposedly cotton portion just completely melted/shriveled like plastic (did not act like cotton material) leaving my thumb fully exposed to the hot dish.
Two thick rubber type oven mittens or pot holders (red) bought at Costco in Sterling, VA. The gloves cracked between thumb and finger when picking up a hot frying pan handle. The hot handle slid into the crack and burn my skin between thumb and finger. It hurt a lot and blistered the skin. I dropped the pan and hot contents all over the kitchen floor, over my shoes, sock and pant leg. A few months later, the same thing happened to the other glove. I contacted Costco and the rep there said they had not received any other complaints about this product.
While taking a baked Item out of a toaster oven, the mitt sparked and caused my daughter to pull her arm out of the toaster oven and burn her arm on the top of the oven. The mitt also melted and caused a burn on her arm and got all over the counter and smelled up the whole house. It never caught fire, mind you, It just sparked and she got scared. The rubber material melted onto a small part of her hand and burned her and she received a burn from removing her hand quickly as to avoid potential fire. The oven was set at 250 F and the mitt Is supposed to be heat resistant up to 47SF.
I sustained 2nd degree burns on 2 fingers of my right hand when I used a Cuisinart Silicone Mini Oven mitt to remove a baking sheet from a 400 deg oven. The mitt is supposed to be safe to 450 deg. The mitt failed to protect my hand.
I bought a set of the Amazing Glove Deluxe online to use as oven mitts. The box clearly states they can withstand up to 480 degrees F. I tried to pull something out of the oven and my hand started feeling warm in about 2 seconds and then it quickly became unbearable. I thought it might be a fluke so I tried again. This time, I set the oven to 400 degrees F and placed a baking sheet inside. After the baking sheet warmed up, I tried to hold it. Again, my hand became warm in about 2 seconds and it was unbearable at about 3 seconds. These gloves are very dangerous. Someone can badly burn themselves when using them.
I used one of the dollar tree sunflower square oven mitts to take a pan out of the oven. The material did nothing to protect my skin from the pan and left me with a giant burn/blister.
I am writing to report a product that is unsafe. I have recently purchased potholders that were either fully made of polyester (from Dollar Tree), or were cotton on the outside with polyester filling (from [REDACTED] ). The ones that are all polyester melt, burn through and subsequently burn the user. This can happen on the very first use when removing something from the oven. The fact that the fabric melts and can stick to the user's skin while hot makes them doubly dangerous. The cotton covered ones burn through the thin cotton fairly quickly and then, again, melt through the polyester and burn the user. Since the purpose of a potholder is to keep the user from being burned, I believe no potholders containing polyester should be sold. As well as being unsafe, it is a real waste of resources and energy to make and sell a product that is certain to fail very quickly. I know these are inexpensive items, but there is no reason they should be ineffective and dangerous. Thanks! Recipient: Information Center
I was taking a pan out of oven and the mitt melted on the pan exposing the stuffing and making it hot for me pulling out
Showing 8 of 34 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to potholders, oven mitts or hot pads on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are potholders, oven mitts or hot pads?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, potholders, oven mitts or hot pads have a danger score of 27/100 (low risk). An estimated 230 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from potholders, oven mitts or hot pads?
The most common injury is burns, thermal to the hand, accounting for approximately 1,588 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from potholders, oven mitts or hot pads increasing or decreasing?
Down 11% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for potholders, oven mitts or hot pads injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 683 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by potholders, oven mitts or hot pads?
Of all ER visits involving potholders, oven mitts or hot pads, approximately 2.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (97.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with potholders, oven mitts or hot pads?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Containers, Tableware & Packaging
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 27/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 15-24 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
