“4 Reasons to throw out your Microwave” – Debunking There was recently a “meme” posted on Facebook that several news outlets broadcasted. The meme states that “microwaved foods lead to a higher percentage of cancerous cells in the blood stream” we want to assure everyone this is not true.
This is the meme for reference, everything stated is in fact untrue.
This is false, microwave ovens work by vibrating water molecules which essentially heat the food up, there is no studies that have proven that microwaves cause food to have carcinogenic substances.
False. Actually as the microwave cooks food a lot quicker than a conventional oven some foods are known to retain more nutrients. There are no significant differences between the nutrients in microwaved food and oven cooked food.
Also false, there are no proven studies that link microwave ovens and cancer together, there are also things that stop the microwaves escaping, there is a door latch which allows the microwave to turn on once the door is shut, there is also the mesh screen you will see on all microwave doors this is to keep in the radiation.
Lastly the fourth point is also false, as with “microwaves cause cancer” there is no studies to suggest that any health problems are linked to microwave ovens.
In conclusion, just because Facebook told you so does not mean it’s true.
The interiors of microwave ovens do tend to rust over a long period of time. This can be due to a number of reasons, the main cause is the generally thin coating of paint is damaged by the continuous rotation of the roller ring, antagonized by spillages or condensation and the warmth of the oven create perfect conditions for rust. Rust is difficult to completely cure but certainly using our touch up kit and a little tender loving care can reverse the unsightly looks.
Our microwave oven cavity paint touch up kit is available in different colours from our online shop – available online at kitchenwareonline.com
Instructions as supplied with your paint touch up kit.
Please read through these instructions and follow them carefully. Perfect results are not guaranteed but if you follow them carefully you will reduce the poor finish caused by rust and wear.
Allow a period of time when you are not going to need the microwave, the paint needs at least 6 hours to dry before the microwave can be used otherwise the paint itself will heat up and spoil.
Ideally unplug the microwave oven to prevent any accidents or risk of electrocution.
Remove the glass tray and roller ring.
Place some old newspaper in front of the microwave in case the paint drips.
Rub down the affected area firstly with some coarser glass paper sheet and then some smoother grade (supplied in the touch up kit), to remove any loose flakes of paint and as much rust as possible. The smoother the prepared area, the neater it will look when finished.
Wipe over the area and wipe out the oven cavity with a dry cloth to remove all dust, debris and moisture.
Shake the tin of paint vigorously for at least 30 seconds and then open it with a small screwdriver or knife and stir thoroughly with one of the stirrer sticks.
Using a paintbrush, carefully paint over the affected area. The paint does dry quite quickly. A better finish is achieved with several thin coatings of paint rather than applying a large amount of paint in one application. This also reduces the risk of unsightly blobs of paint.
Once complete, leave the microwave oven unplugged with the door open for 6 hours at least to allow the best opportunity for the paint to dry.
If the paint tin lid is pressed firmly back into place, it can be stored for many months. The stirrers supplied in the kit can be re used once dry. The brushes can be cleaned using turpentine or white spirit but we have supplied 2 in the kit with the view that it may be better to discard the used brush once used and then use the other if necessary at a later date.
Paint contains Cobaltcarboxylat and Butanonoxim and can cause allergic reaction. Full specification upon request.
We repair a great number of built in microwave ovens. For many years now new kitchens have had the option to have a microwave or combi oven fitted within the wall units to keep the worktop clear.
The microwave tends to be based around a free standing microwave so from our point of view will be just as easily repaired – once it is out of the unit. To that end if you can remove it from the housing why not bring it into our shop to save the call out. The repair will be even cheaper.
The unit often has the trim pieces top and bottom fitted to the oven. if you can see screws then they are probably just locating the oven within the housing. It is usually sat on a plynth to centralise it in the housing and more often than not held in mainly by gravity.
Like a lot of built in appliances, it will be a lot easier and no doubt cheaper to repair the microwave than to have to find a replacement that is the same design and size.
As you can see from the photos here of a typical example that has come in for repair. The trim is fitted to the oven so has come out of the housing with it and there are even hand holds for carrying the oven to your car.
4 large apples, peeled and sliced into thick chunks
1 tblspn caster sugar
1 heaspn cinnamon
Place all the flour, sugar, butter, eggs and milk or yoghurt into a large mixing bowl. Beat until mixture is well combined and light and fluffy.
Line a large 30cm shallow cake pan with baking paper. Spread the cake mixture over the paper, then top with apples slices, in neat circles.
Combine the caster sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle over the apples.
Cook in a combination oven 200 degrees c of heat with microwave MEDIUM LOW power (350 watts) for 10 – 12 minutes, or on the CRSIP function of the Whirlpool Jet chef JT355 oven on the crisp function for 10 minutes, in the crisp plate
The cake can also be cooked in a microwave oven for 7 – 8 minutes on MEDIUM HIGH power.
2 ready-cooked chicken breasts, skinned and shredded
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
2 handfuls beansprouts
3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
4 tbsp light soy sauce
4 spring onions, sliced
50g peanuts, roughly chopped
20g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Instructions:
Cook the rice noodles according to the pack instructions. Meanwhile, put the chicken and pepper in a microwave-proof dish and cover. Microwave on High for 2 mins, until piping hot.
Follow the instructions for the rice noodles, place the chicken and sliced pepper into a microwaveable dish and cover. Set the microwave on high for 2 minutes until the contents is piping hot.
Drain the noodles, stir in beansprouts, add the chilli sauce and soy sauce and whisk the contents together, (including the chicken), to finish scatter peanuts and coriander over the bowl.
We know that manufacturers genuine parts are made by or made under licence for the manufacturer and as such demand a higher price than copies made and distributed by any number of factories who have the ability to copy products. Products are invariably made similar but not to the manufacturers own specifications. Sometimes these work ok and last a long time – sometimes they don’t. The main thing is that the price should reflect that difference in quality and you would expect these ‘pattern’ parts to be considerably cheaper than genuine ‘ branded’ parts.
We know that as sellers of manufacturers genuine parts we get more sales if we advertise the fact that they are ‘Manufacturers genuine parts’ However, there are a lot of ‘businesses’ particularly on ebay and amazon who have huge numbers of listings and just buy and sell large quantities of cheap copies of almost anything. We have noticed more recently on these platforms that the sellers are listing these parts as ‘Genuine Quality’. Obviously a bit cheeky as if they are pattern parts they are not genuine quality and they are not genuine. A customer glancing thorough the listings would see the word genuine and think exactly that they are genuine.
Be careful only in that we don’t mind paying a little extra for branded parts but don’t get duped into paying branded prices for a pattern part.
We deal with several manufacturers and many spares distributors and do find that the manufacturers name isn’t always on the part or the packaging. For instance we by many genuine spares from Panasonic and the packaging rarely mentions Panasonic and often just says made in China or Vietnam. However, we know or trust that Panasonic spares are from Panasonic and will be made to their specification wherever in the world they choose to have them made.
There are lots of film clips and pictures going around on social media at this time of year about how tasty mini eggs are if you microwave them. Microwaving them for a short while softens the chocolate inside and makes them warm and even tastier.
So, we thought this might be a good time for a little education about the science of microwave ovens and microwave cooking for you.
Microwave ovens work by applying energy to molecules in their path. Microwave energy effectively makes molecules move faster, that movement in turn causes friction and friction causes heat.
In a microwave the effect of that heat is the food heating up. Molecules that move more easily heat quicker which is why liquids or food with a high moisture content heat up quicker in your microwave than those with less moisture.
Occasionally there is no moisture present in the oven and when this is the case the microwave doesn’t like it. Simply put, the microwave energy needs to be absorbed by something – preferably something in the oven or it will find the next weakest part (the plastic roller ring or the waveguide cover) or if run ‘empty’ for too long will cook itself ! – to destruction.
This is sometimes where problems occur. In our workshop we will occasionally get a call from a customer who has reported some random sparking in the microwave. A little questioning about ‘what were you heating?’ ‘How soon did it spark?’ ‘how big was the portion being heated?’ generally reveals one of 3 scenarios :
The customer was defrosting something from frozen. If something is taken from the freezer and put straight in the microwave, there is no moisture until the frozen food starts to melt.
The customer was heating such a small quantity of food that there were more microwaves in the oven cavity than could be absorbed by the food.
The food – as far as the microwave was concerned was solid, such as butter or chocolate, again for the first few seconds until it started to melt on the outside.
There are simple solutions to prevent sparking in all 3 of these situations.
For frozen food ; let the food stand for a few minutes before putting it into the microwave, the longer the better of course but if its long enough that the outside becomes wet as the outer layer of frost melts enough to absorb microwaves.
For small quantities or for solids just put a (microwave safe) mug of water in the microwave with it. It might take fractionally longer to heat overall but the water will absorb some of the microwaves to prevent them damaging parts of the oven before the butter or chocolate melt.
You might find as you’re melting your mini eggs that this happens to you. If it does, now you know why and what to do to prevent damaging your microwave.
One last tip. If you do heat your mini eggs or chocolate or butter. These all have fat or sugar in which absorb microwaves very well. This means that they will get very hot very quickly. Don’t burn yourself on melted chocolate.
I follow a lot of conversations about all things microwave and a subject that has come to the fore again recently is the worry about the need for microwave cookware being BPA free.
So what is BPA ?
BPA stands for bisphenol A. BPA is an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1960s.
BPA is found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are often used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles. They may also be used in other consumer goods.
Epoxy resins are used to coat the inside of metal products, such as food cans, bottle tops and water supply lines.
Some research has shown that BPA can seep into food or beverages from containers that are made with BPA. Exposure to BPA is a concern because of possible health effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children. Additional research suggests a possible link between BPA and increased blood pressure.
For this reason it makes sense that when you use plastic microwave cookware to see if it is BPA free if possible.
On these 2 items from our shop you can see that they are clearly marked as BPA free:
this product shows that it is BPA free
microwave soup mug showing BPA free label
However. The chances of your food absorbing any BPA is very small anyway. Even if you use plastics that are not BPA free there is only a very minuscule chance that any will be absorbed from the plastic to the food.
The chance is increased in plastics that are classed as one use plastics that get reheated that were never designed to be heated in the first place. Examples are margarine tubs or fast food takeaway containers. I would advise transferring these into at least a proper microwave container, whether it be microwave safe or even glass just to be absolutely sure.
As it happens all of the cookware we sell at www.kitchenwareonline.com is BPA free just to be sure. Although cookware doesn’t have to be marked as BPA free if it is marked as such you will be sure that BPA will never be an issue in your kitchen.
Microwave ovens run quite hot anyway but they have a cooling fan which draws cool air usually at the back of the oven.
Microwave oven cool air vent
However, if this air vent becomes blocked, which it does over a period of time. it draws in fluff which builds up like this :
Eventually the oven will not be able to draw enough cool air through the vent and the workings inside will get progressively warmer until one or more of the microwave components overheats and fails.
microwave oven magnetron distorted through overheating
This particular blockage resulted in the failure of the magnetron, the device that produces the microwaves. The microwave overheated and cut out. It was repaired and it wasn’t too costly for the customer but could have been prevented completely.
Look at the back of your microwave and see where the air is drawn in and just check the condition and clean it off with a stiff brush – but not while the oven is running or the fluff will be drawn inside the oven. if it is bad then you may need to remember to check more often to save the cost of a repair.
Microwave Service Company Ltd 