Placemats can help to prevent messes on the table when eating, especially for young children who are just learning to eat. There are many different types of placemats, including silicone placemats, plastic placemats and textile placemats. This article will share the ultimate guide to silicone placemats.
Table of Contents
- What is a silicone placemat
- The benefits of silicone placemats
- How to choose silicone placemats
- How to care for silicone placemats
- Final words
What is silicone placemat
Silicone placemats are a globally popular placemat in recent years, made from food-grade silicone, which is environmentally friendly and heat resistant. It is usually placed underneath cutlery at meal times to prevent slipping, insulate and serve as a decorative piece. It is easier to clean than textile placemats as it does not attract liquids such as water, soup and milk.
Benefits of silicone placemats
Material safety
The silicone placemats are made from 100% food grade silicone and are free from harmful substances such as BPA. When food is dropped onto the silicone placemat, it can also be picked up and eaten to avoid food waste.
High temperature resistant
The silicone material means that silicone placemats are heat resistant. When hot dishes or pots are placed on the table, the heat-resistant silicone placemats prevent the surface of the table from being scalded by the hot tableware.
Variety of styles
Silicone placemats can be customised in a variety of styles, especially for babies with a variety of cute patterns. Because of the smooth surface of the silicone placemats, they can be printed with a variety of patterns through processes such as screen printing and digital printing.
Easy to clean
Compared to textile placemats, silicone placemats do not absorb water and have a smooth surface for better cleaning. After washing, silicone placemats magically stay dry within seconds, eliminating the need for drying and air-drying. In addition, because of their high temperature resistance, silicone placemats can be sterilised by steaming at high temperatures when they have been used for a certain period of time to avoid bacterial residues and create a healthy dining environment.
Protecting tablecloths
Protect tablecloths from oil, stains and other contamination, especially on cotton tablecloths, by using placemats which are not easy to clean, easy to replace and easy to care for.
Thermal and acoustic insulation
Avoids burns on the table and reduces the harsh sound of crockery clashing on the table.
Anti-slip function
Another effect of the silicone placemat is its effective anti-slip and anti-vibration function, which effectively prevents tableware and other tableware from sliding around, reducing accidents such as tableware falls and breakage.
How to choose silicone placemats
If for domestic use
The first step is to identify whether it is a safe food-grade silicone material, so how to identify whether it is food-grade silicone or not?
- See if it has FDA or LFGB certification, after the FDA or LFGB certification of silicone material is food-grade safety material.
- Close to smell the smell of silicone placemats, if there is a pungent smell, it means that the material grade is not enough or baking is not in place, silicone placemats will be baked after manufacturing, the role of baking is vulcanisation, remove the odour of silicone placemats.
- Pull the silicone placemats, when the stretching of the obvious whitening phenomenon, indicating that the silicone placemats are inferior products.
Then choose the right placemat for your baby, taking into account your baby's preferred colours, patterns and other factors, taking into account the reviews of past purchasers.
If you are a trader or brand owner
- Product quality
Look at the certificates and patents of the silicone placemats manufacturer, the certificates mainly look at whether the quality certificates such as FDA and LFGB are passed, quality is always in the first place. Patent certification can show the manufacturer's R & D capabilities, R & D capabilities in the field of customization and design products will provide a lot of help to the growth of the brand or the expansion of trade.
- How strong is the manufacturer and can they guarantee delivery times
If your manufacturer can't deliver on time when your product is hot, you'll miss out on a big market opportunity, especially for fast-paced e-commerce. So when choosing a silicone supplier, you need to focus on its ability to deliver. In general, the size of the manufacturer and the number of workers can determine the delivery capacity of the manufacturer. Compared to a small workshop, a large manufacturer has more equipment and workers, a higher degree of control over the production process, and a higher guarantee of delivery time.
- What is the value for money of silicone placemats
In recent years silicone technology has developed rapidly and the technology for processing has gradually matured. When the producer reaches a certain scale, the production process is standardised and advanced equipment and technology is used, then the price of silicone placemats from a large scale producer will be more advantageous compared to a smaller scale producer with the same grade of material.
- Whether the producer can offer a viable solution
The service level of a manufacturer can be judged by its service team and R&D team. If you are a brand owner and need a certain level of customisation to help your brand grow, finding a silicone placemat manufacturer who can provide a full range of solutions can save you a lot of time to concentrate on building your brand.
How to care for silicone placemats
- When using the silicone insulation mat for the first time, rinse it two or three times with warm or cold water, then dry it with a soft cloth before using it again.
- For daily cleaning, you can wash the silicone mats every 2-3 days, or once a day if you are diligent. If there are no stubborn stains, just rinse with water.
- If there are stubborn stains or oil stains on the silicone placemats, which cannot be cleaned with water, you should brush them with a neutral detergent or soap, taking care not to brush them for too long, so as not to damage the silicone skin and make it white. After brushing, rinse off the residual cleaner with water and dry with a soft cloth or natural air dry.
- After a long period of use, the silicone placemats can be disinfected by steaming at a high temperature.
Final Words
Silicone placemats are becoming more and more of a necessity at the dinner table, combining the advantages of safe materials, non-slip insulation and easy cleaning. Whether you are a parent or a brand owner, it is important to keep your eyes peeled for the right silicone placemats and placemat manufacturer.
