Unpopular opinion: using the stove top as a dish drying spot isn’t automatically dangerous. In my kitchen there are maybe two feet of actual counter, so the stove is dead flat space when the burners are off. I set a small metal rack on the back burners and move it before I cook. The real hazard is when people pile paper towels, mail, and plastic containers next to the stove and then bump the wrong knob. I’d rather have damp plates in a rack than stack them on the counter or leave them in the sink overnight. Is there a better option that doesn’t involve drilling into tile the landlord won’t let me touch?

Totally different topic, but this has the same 'normal or red flag?' energy as Renewal rider wants my renter’s insurance to name the landlord as ‘additional interest’ — normal or red flag?—sometimes the answer comes down to your kitchen and your lease, not a universal rule. In my old gas-stove apartment, I stopped drying on the stove after a guest leaned over and bumped a knob. Nothing lit, but the metal rack got hot enough to warp. Now I use a folding dish mat on a narrow cart next to the sink. Ugly, but it works and I can roll it out of the way. If you’re short on counters, put the mat on top of the fridge before you stack stuff on the stove.

Wait, is drying stuff on the stove actually illegal or just one of those building rules? I just moved into a one-bed in Queens and I’ve been drying my cutting board on the stovetop because my counter is the size of a pizza box. I thought if the stove was off it was fine. Do you all have a setup that doesn’t take up the one outlet/coffee area? Also, are plastic colanders a no-go near the stove? Mine is plastic and now I’m second-guessing everything. Sorry if that’s a basic question.

beth, not illegal in any city-wide way. In a rental it might violate a lease or fire safety rule if the building mentions it, but most people just don’t want to be the person who melts a cutting board. I bumped a knob once while reaching for a plate and turned on the burner under plastic. The smell lasted two days. I keep a thin bamboo mat that rolls out over the sink when the sink’s empty, then I stow it on the fridge. For a plastic colander, just keep it away from the burners and you’ll be fine.

big_city_beth, one distinction: my stove is electric, so my risk calculation is different from someone with old gas knobs. If you’re on gas, the stove being off matters less if a grocery bag or towel nudges the knob. I’d still use the stove as a temporary drying spot, but line it first and keep plastic things toward the back. EastHarlem_E is right about the folding mat—it’s the cheapest first step before buying a cart or drilling anything. Also, if you have a microwave, that’s another flat surface people forget about.