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I seem to have stretched my water media mat...it no longer lies flat. The area in the middle, where you work, appears bigger than the surrounding edges. I'm considering cutting notches in the edges to get it to relax, but will hold off until I get your advice.
I am not familiar with this mat but is it by chance a silicone type mat? The reason I ask is when I laid my Gel plate directly on a silicone mat it left a warped area that I could not get rid of. I can't offer a solution or why if you did something similar just that that may be how the warping happened. Hopefully someone else can help.
Do you remember what you were doing Judith when it happened? I just got one so I am looking to avoid that...
That is so odd to me Stacey that happened with a silicone mat...isnt that "supposed" to be our "superman" mat?
I'd never heard of the Waffle Flower one, so I looked it up - and it actually says specifically on the Waffle Flower website, do not place a gel plate on it
Quote:
. Avoid using a gel plate on top of your mat. It will stretch and damage your mat.
And the Waffle Flower one is food-grade, oven-safe silicone.
Ha, makes me want to try with my gel plate and an old mat, but I don't know if a homemade gel plate would do the same thing.
Whatever the gel Plate is made of is apparently has similar ingredients/properties to my mat and it greedily sucked it up. I'm just glad it didn't ruin my gel plate too. Totally took be by surprise and I had just bought the mat, it was brand new. (grrr)
Thankfully even though it is about 2 -3 inches in size it is in one corner of a large mat so I am still able to use the mat. The warp has gotten slightly less over time but that corner is still a "don't use" zone. Live and learn.
I think there is a chemical reaction when the gel comes in contact with the silicone (something about the mineral oil in the plate). I remember being advised not to put my gel plates directly on a silicone mat, but I don't remember who told me that. When I use my Gelli plates, I leave them on the plastic sheet that they came on. When I store them, I keep them in the plastic case they came in, with the 2 plastic sheets on the top and on the bottom.
Thanks, I got it at Tue Morn fairly cheap & I've been able to use it just fine. It is several years old now and have adapted to the raised area being there, its where I place stuff I want close by, aka tools...etc.
Judith did you get the answer you were looking for"? If not more info or pics might help us help you.
Do you remember what you were doing Judith when it happened?
When Stacy asked if I'd used my Gelli plate on it, I had a little pang - it did sound like something I would do, but I truly don't remember. I contacted Waffle Flower, and they said that it's a known issue that Gelli plates will affect the water media mat. (I definitely do not recall reading that on the package) She could not be sure when, but she says that the mat will likely return to shape.
I will just throw this out there... right after I bought the mat, I was in an electronic supply store, and they sell a mat that looks exactly like the water media mat for 1/3 the price! Circuit board builders use them. I wouldn't be as irritated as I am if I'd only paid $15.
Waffle flower Water Media Mat
