Non-Toxic Pad for Dining Room Table

September 13, 2016, by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from Melanie 

Hi Debra,

I hate vinyl, but need a thin pad to go under my dining room tablecloth.

I have searched the Internet thinking I could find latex or rubber padding but was not successful. Thoughts?

There has got to be something less toxic than vinyl...

Debra's Answer

First, for those who don’t know why you might need a dining table pad…

If you have a nice wood dining table, it can be damaged by heat, scratches, and spills.  A pad can protect the surface of your table from these accidents.

This is good for the table, but may not be so good for health.

The industry standard is to use vinyl and other possibly toxic materials and adhesives to make these pads.

There seem to be two types:
* solid, about 11/2” thick
* flexible, like a table cloth with thin padding.

The industry standard is to use vinyl and other possibly toxic materials and adhesives for both,

So the challenge here is to come up with some type of padding that will protect the table. I’m thinking if we can find a nontoxic foam in a thin layer, that should do it. And then put a tablecloth on top.

I actually did find something I think will work, but haven’t tested it.

There’s a website called Foam Order that sells thin sheets of foam made from EVA or polyethylene. Either of these would be fine to use. I don’t know if these are waterproof, however you can get it as thin as 1/8”. Call them and ask if this would meet your needs and let us know.

If it’s not waterproof, you could add a waterproof layer of something else. But this would give you the padding.

Also, a reader suggested a layer of wool felt.