Can i put spoon in microwave

Improve this answer. Greg Petersen Greg Petersen 5 5 silver badges 13 13 bronze badges. And it is not specific to my microwave, even though most manufacturers don't feel the need for this warning. I guess I'll get an opportunity to mess with some friends' nerves at times On second thought, the manufacturer has got some nerve putting that warning, that's basically trading one risk for another. Even if the manual explains thoroughly that wooden spoons are preferrable, users can't be trusted to read it Tin foil can spark if the edges are thin enough after tearing.

Schneider G. Schneider 41 1 1 bronze badge. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown.

Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Superheated liquids boil violently when you disturb them and can cause serious injuries as a result. You must be logged in to post a comment. Leave a Reply Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment.

My mother-in-law feels that by shaking a partially consumed bottle of carbonated…. I am a new, and newly sleep-deprived, dad. As such, I didn't think twice about taking a big, shiny, stainless steel spoon and sticking it right in a baby bottle sterilizer. Now, a bottle sterilizer consists of a large, sealed, plastic box into which you put a bunch of water.

Put it in the microwave, and it's basically an autoclave. I sealed that sucker up and let 'er rip at watts. I then walked away and down a flight of stairs. When I came back to my kitchen, everything was fine. The 3-minute microwave cycle was done, and my stainless steel spoon was apparently sterilized. Nothing was on fire, and the microwave seemed as happy as it had been. I, however, was mortified--and puzzled. I've read that only pointy surfaces cause problems in microwaves. But my spoons are fairly pointy, especially at the handle end:.

Right now, I am provisionally chalking this up to God. But I must admit that I don't find my explanation quite thorough enough. Does anyone have a more specific accounting?

There are too many variables to make general statements like "such-and-such metal is safe" or "smooth objects are safe" with confidence, hence the sweeping guaranteed-safe blanket advice to not put metal in the microwave. In fact a cursory search just happened to turn up this paper regarding sterilization of metal objects in a microwave , which mentions:.

Arcing back to the magnetron and damage to the microwave oven are prevented by placing a radar absorbent material within the oven and with proper insulation of the item to be sterilized. And you've got both of those things: A radar absorbent material the water and the insulation a perfectly sealed plastic container.

The type and shape of your metal object is probably unrelated to the success of your accidental "experiment". That's why, for example, the authors of the sterilization paper linked above included a radar-absorbent material, strange and unpredictable reflections off of metal can easily put the microwave under uneven energy loads it wasn't designed to handle see also thermal runaway.

And of course, there's also issues with defective appliances or design flaws as well, e. While the causes of those fires aren't really related to the OP's situation, the point is making blanket statements about metals and such is further complicated by the potential for poorly designed or defective appliances.

Even "safe" is flexible: A microwave fire doesn't necessarily lead to a kitchen fire or a burned down house or an injury, e. I suppose you could call a microwave fire hazard "safe" if you were standing there on the ready with a fire extinguisher and protective clothing. Spoons most metal, in fact are generally not a huge problem in the microwave. My microwave has metal parts Forks are sometimes a problem due to a build up of charge between the tines, which could result in sparks.

As you note, shape can be a factor. The shape of spoons spreads the charge, the pointy edges of forks and narrow tines could allow a build up. It wasn't luck, but it probably should not be normal practice. The big danger is arcing and that happens with pointy things like forks and apparently grapes. It's also worth considering, being in a plastic box, there was nowhere for the spark to jump to. With a fork there's a small enough spark gap for current to jump.

With a spoon, there is not. However, metal also has a shielding effect, and the USDA even says it's safe to use small quantities of foil in a microwave. In this specific case, there wasn't really enough potential to cause a spark; the shielding just redirected microwaves elsewhere. In order to reliably set your kitchen on fire, make sure there is enough fuel available, and that some of its mass is either brought to its autoignition temperature, OR vaporized and heated to its flash point, then ignited.

While electrical arcs of any kind reach tremendous internal temperatures, they are notoriously bad at heat transfer to surrounding materials. You have a plastic box on one hand, as fuel, and you have water, steam, a metal spoon and a metal microwave oven interior, all noncomustible. So when the electricity stopped and the arcs stopped, flame was not sustained.

Putting just one piece into the microwave did basically nothing, but having two pieces together created sparks between them and burned them away. Your spoon might just be too massive to reach enough temperature. Hey, I'm Jim and the author of this website. I have always been interested in survival, fishing, camping, and anything in nature. In fact, while growing up I spent more time on the water than on land! I am also a best-selling author and have a degree in History, Anthropology, and Music.

I hope you find value in the articles on this website. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or input! When my kids were young, they stood eagerly next to the microwave, waiting for their popcorn to pop.

My friend had seen them doing this and told me they'd ruin their eyesight and never look directly Paper plates offer a lot of benefits when it comes to heating food in the microwave. They reduce the hassle of clean-up and can be simply disposed of after being used to heat food.

Also, paper plates Skip to content Here is a situation that has happened to many of us. Why Does Metal Spark in the Microwave? Is a Sparking Microwave Dangerous?