Rusty microwave

shaun_from_Africa

shaamit,
is there any particular reason you've decided to respond to a thread that was last updated almost 11 years ago?

Norman_Castle

^They only post are about rusty microwaves. Can you cook spam in a microwave?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/73350152#Comment_73350152

sillyvixen

I had a 30 year old microwave .. it was my grandads but we had had it over 10 years. I hated that thing and did not use it (it was a combination microwave and my only attempt to use it to heat up leftovers resulted in me using the wrong setting and welding clingflim to my dish and veg lasagne) hubby used it occasionly to heat up the odd sausage roll and my brother used it most days. it was also huge, heavy and took up too much space. She I noticed the rust had started to form it was my chance to get rid and buy a much more user friendly, smaller and lighter one - I had been waiting for the old one to fail for years, any chance that it may or may not be safe was my chance to replace it. I even use the new one occasionally. Although I have noticed a higher wattage microwave produces more steam we leave the door ajar after use.

Before we inherited grandads microwave we had a cheap one that looked really good in the shared house I was living in .. that was unsafe we had it under 18 months and had to stop using it she plates started to explode within 60 seconds of heating the food on them, so Ias we were clearing grandads houee at the time claimed his microwave.

Physicist

The FDA has a page specifically dealing with microwave ovens that you can consult, which will clarify all of the above. Sorry that I cannot post the link for you, you'll just have to try googling it because after going through all the process required to sign up, the site isn't allowing me to post the link that I found for you anyway due to being a new user. That FDA page in particular isn't very easy to find, but worth reading if you can find it, so do try.

Physicist

shaamit,
is there any particular reason you've decided to respond to a thread that was last updated almost 11 years ago?

Shaun, probably Shaamit decided to respond for the same reason that I did. I came across the earlier discussions related to this thread and signed up to be able to send the people involved in those discussions a link that would hopefully clarify things for them. Their posts are no longer visible and these more recent posts were not visible when I posted my reply (above) to the thread.

davemi

Microwaves cook using microwave radiation. This is bombarded inwardly thus causing extra resistance against opposing waves and requires the cooked item being centrally placed for maximum effect. The case of an oven would have to be completely removed before any slight chance of a burn or indeed any adverse effect being imposed on a user. Microwave ovens would like to cook from the inside out but any greater resistance than that provided by a thin sheet of paper tissue defies the theory. All food cooked in such an oven with any moisture or substantial vegetable or protein content always cooks from the outside in. This is why your food is always colder in the middle and why all food manufacturers recommend stirring and/or reheating after standing. It is almost impossible to involuntarily  receive a microwave burn from a microwave oven in almost any scenario. However it IS entirely possible to sustain a microwave radiation burn from a high frequency radio transmitter or receiver. Touching bare metal antenea with naked skin may cause a substantial burn to fingers which would seem to come from the inside out. This is purely due to the thinness of the human finger and the depth of the burn is misleading. These burns are due to microwave radiation but are more frequently known as Radio Frequency or RF burns. For the record I have lost the tip of one index finger due to this effect from previous military communications employment.
If your microwave oven shows signs of rust or paint breakdown i would suggest that this is due to a moisture issue which you may or may not be able to address. You will not be at risk from any microwave radiation within your kitchen until the casing of your oven physically breaks down and then only if your machine continues to operate which is against their design - but only you will be in a position to asses this unlikely scenario. Do not worry about rusty microwaves - until the integrity of the inner case is compromised.

BalazsY

When your microwave was manufactured, it was most likely powder coated, no hydrocarbon solvents, after it came out of the oven, coating was 100% cured meaning no VOC's leaching out. Any "wet" type paint as in a spray can will have VOC's leaching out for a while, even water based. Safer just to buy a new Microwave.
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