Microwave Oven Overheats Water

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Understanding your Microwave’s Real Power: Reading the Fine Print

A grade school history teacher put a small cup of water in her microwave oven, setting the timer for 2.3 minutes. When the timer rang, she took it out, and holding it, she noticed that the water had not managed to come to a boil. Thinking it must be due to the fact she’d heated the water in a brand new coffee cup she’d gotten in a set of mugs for her 28th birthday, she turned to place the cup back in the oven, and set it for another two minutes.

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Suddenly, the water in the cup errupted like a volcano, and the water hit her in the side of her head and her neck. She dropped the cup and managed to dial 911 for an ambulance, which treated her on site for 2nd degree burns to her neck and first degree burns to her right jaw and ear. While en route to the hospital, the EMT specialist explained the phenomenon of hot water that won’t boil, and why what happened to her that day happened.

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He said it’s not such an uncommon thing, when water gets heated in a microwave, for it not to seem to boil, but still be hot enough to burn the skin, like it had hers. He told her on the ride to the emergency room that he felt for this reason, water should never be heated by itself in a microwave. He suggested a stick (nothing that’s metal, of course,) to ”break up” the energy that builds in water when it’s heated in this manner.

Once recovering from the ordeal, the woman thought to go online to the manufacturer’s website that made the microwave she owned, to possibly get their take on what had happened. Perhaps the ambulance guy had been wrong. Perhaps there was a recall on her appliance she was unaware of. Finding no specific recall concerning her microwave oven, she decided to contact them directly, sending an email to customer service, telling them, in detail what had happened. She wondered, as she listed her phone number, if she could sue the company for libel. She just didn’t know. All she knew was, her microwave had hurt her, and she wasn’t going to use it until she knew for certain it was safe again. It was back to conventional cooking methods for now.

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About a week later, she recieved a return email from the manufacturer of her oven. In short, it validated what the EMT had told her in the ambulance on the way to the hospital; that heating water in a microwave can be quite dangerous. The manufacturer attempted to explain what they believed had happened. Indeed, water and some other liquids, when heated with microwave ovens, do not always appear to bubble as they would on a stove. The letter said that in fact, liquids heated by microwaves can actually reach and surpass their own boiling points without ever showing signs of doing so. This is referred to as “superheating,” and superheated liquids can seem to explode out of their containers once the surface of the liquid is touched. The manufacturer rather matter-of-factly suggested avoiding this possibility of exploding liquids while using their product, by remembering to put a wooden stir stick or a tea bag or something, as long as it wasn’t metal, into the cup before heating it in the microwave oven, and to never heat any water more than two minutes, letting it remain, after heating, 30 seconds inside the oven before trying to move it or add anything to the cup. The letter closed with a line or two about how all of this information to avoid such occurences could also be found inside the first three pages of the warranty booklet that came with the product.

At least now she knew the company was well-aware of the dangerous possibility of using their product. There’d apparently be no way to recover for damages, since the information was provided in her owner’s manual. She felt a little silly realising she could’ve avoided the whole ordeal, if she’d read the manual more carefully. She just assumed it was a microwave: a box that cooks things. She never cared to know HOW it cooked them, just that it DID cook them and it always did it, fast. So now there was more to think about.

When she returned to school, having recovered well enough to work again, and sporting only a few bits of gauze at the lower part of her right ear, she struck up a conversation in the teacher’s lounge with the 8th grade science teacher. The other teacher said it was a shame more people didn’t pay closer attention to all the bits and pieces of literature that come with their purchases, because it is those pieces of writing that are mainly supplied to the customer to protect the manufacturer from lawsuit. And for that reason, she said, people should read those parts all the more carefully. Warnings are there for a reason, as well, she told the other teacher, who was feeling all the more foolish for basically buying her appliance, taking it out of the box and plugging it in before using it the first time nearly eight months ago.

On the issue of microwaves and their dangers specifically, the science teacher explained that superheated liquids show no signs that they are well past their boiling points and that especially new containers that aren’t likely to yet have dings and scratches at their surfaces, are perfect candidates for creating superheating dangers. She agreed about the stick suggestion, putting something, as she explained, between the surface and the outside air above the liquid, would ensure that the liquid’s bubbles, once heated, would be able to dissipate in the container, instead of coming up as only one huge bubble once the surface of the liquid was moved or touched.

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She also suggested never trying to heat a small amount of water, citing that anything less than a cup became perfect ground for the superheating to take place. Finally, she explained, for clarity, that the bubbles coming out quickly enough to seem to explode from the coffee cup is much the same way in which bubbles of carbonated water in soda will rise up to the surface, and in many cases, shoot out the top, if the container is shaken. And yes, she told the other woman, the carbonated beverage companies are well-aware of this also.

The history teacher’d learned a lot since that horrible afternoon she thought her microwave had turned against her. She’d tell everyone her story, everyone that would listen, that is. She felt a bit sad for those that might ignore her warnings. They were probably just like she had been, anxious to get their purchase up and running, never minding with the papers and messages from the manufacturer on possible dangers if the product was used incorrectly. She hoped that maybe her story might keep some people from having to go through what she had. She emailed everyone she knew, telling them her story, telling them what she’d done, and how she’d found out the hard way that reading before hand is a good practice to get into. Now she hoped people wouldn’t throw aside her message.

So remember, microwaves are conveniences that still require diligence when using. Don’t just “set it and forget” what you have cooking in that little black (or white, or woodgrain) box…

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keep track of what’s in there and what it’s doing. Nothing takes that long to cook in any microwave these days, so take the time to pay attention to what’s going on inside, and remember, just because the interior of the oven isn’t hot does NOT mean what you take out of it can’t burn you. It IS an oven. Take care whenever you’re using any appliance that generates heat in any manner. And always choose to read what manuals and literature come with whatever you buy. That information is there for a reason, so read it.

As it turned out, her message WAS read, and in fact, it was read and re-read, re-written to include new information, and turned over many many times to many many people, forwarded to friends and family, and their friends and family, co-workers and neighbors. Anyone  that had an email or was in earshot of the story while it was being re-told, learned of the grade school teacher’s message. And here it is being told once more. Now, you have the information, and you can pass it on to others as well.