10 Things You Should NEVER Microwave


As commonplace as the microwave is, many people really don’t know too much about this magical appliance or how it works. You punch in a timeframe, hit start and sha-zam!

You need to be careful though because although we are all pretty familiar with microwaves, they are powerful machines. Many people wonder whether or not their microwave could malfunction and explode. The odds of a microwave exploding is very low, but the odds of certain foods you try to microwave exploding is pretty high!

Knowing what you can and cannot put in the microwave is best learned through articles like these and not through direct experience.

Below are 10 things you should know to NEVER put in the microwave.


Metal

metal no microwave

Never put any metal such as stainless steel or aluminum foil in a microwave unless you want dangerous fireworks that will destroy your microwave and cause possible injury.

Certain Plastics

do not microwave plastics

Always check to see if the plastic is microwave safe. Some plastics are made to be safe in a microwave. Others will melt or the plastic will “leak” into your food and could cause health problems.

Paper Coffee Cups

paper coffee cups

Although its tempting to reheat the Starbucks beverage, most of the paper cups used aren’t equipped to handle microwave heating. The problem comes from the glue that binds the cup together to melt, and could seep into your coffee.

Travel Mugs

travel mugs

Okay, certain travel mugs are safe to microwave but they will always have a label stating it is safe. A lot of mugs are made from stainless steel and will wreck havoc.

Hot Peppers

hot peppers do not microwave well

That chemical in hot and spicy peppers is fun to eat, but if you try to microwave peppers it will release this chemical in the air once you open the microwave door. This will cause your eyes and throat to sting and burn. It is sort of like pepper spraying yourself with your microwave!

Sauce

sauce explodes in microwave

Although tempting, it is difficult to microwave sauces without them exploding inside the microwave. Some people have luck putting their microwave power setting on low and covering it, but the best way to heat up sauce is in a stove pot.

Eggs

eggs will explode in microwave

Who would microwave eggs? It happens. The thought process is: heat up the egg, make a hard-boiled egg. Nope. Hard-boiled eggs are made through boiling water! Attempting this will result in the egg exploding and a huge mess inside the microwave.

Fruit

fruit in microwave

Not sure what mad-man figured this one out (who would heat up fruit?!). But apparently fruit tends to explode in the microwave, especially grapes and berries.

Chinese Take-out Containers

chinese takeout

So many people learn the hard way that you shouldn’t microwave left-over Chinese food in those containers. It has that little handle which is METAL. Try to microwave your food in these and you might end up with your food on fire after the metal causes sparks and flames.

Paper bags

You’d think it would be safe to microwave those lunch paper bags but think again. According to the USDA, “Intense heat may cause a bag to ignite, causing a fire in the oven…” and the can emit toxic fumes!

Nothing

 

That’s right, never microwave ‘nothing’ because this can damage the microwave. When there is nothing inside the microwave to zap, the microwaves are actually absorbed by the microwave itself. This could potentially cause the microwave to catch fire.