5 ms·

IDK about the cell phone radiation but given the trickle/torrent of bad indicators about our biology and plastic, my rule is no plastic near food, at least at h

IDK about the cell phone radiation but given the trickle/torrent of bad indicators about our biology and plastic, my rule is no plastic near food, at least at home where I can control it. Definitely no freezing, heating, or microwaving plastic near food. Feels like one of the many accepted facets of space-age modern life that is too convenient to examine closely for most people, and I think it retrospect it will be viewed somewhat as we view lead in paint and fuel, asbestos in buildings, smoking in public, etc.

galangalalgol 3y ago
We use a distiller now that is all stainless into a glass carafe. It has a small paper/charcoal filter that sits in a porcelain housing just before it drips. What is left over is gross. Not what it looks like, that is just minerals. But it smells like things I shouldn't be smelling. I'd like to build a glass only solar still to save all that power, and to avoid the high temps that I suspect are causing some reactions that release VOCs. Not all of which might be getting caught by the charcoal.
- Nelkins 3y ago
  Do you have a link to the product? Interested in something similar.
  - nayuki 3y ago
    https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+distiller https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+distiller , for example https://www.amazon.com/CO-Z-Distiller-Stainless-Distilling-Countertop/dp/B078GHJ921/ https://www.amazon.com/CO-Z-Distiller-Stainless-Distilling-C... for $116 USD.
  - galangalalgol 3y ago
    https://www.h2olabs.com/p-54-white-baked-enamel-model-300-water-distiller-with-glass-carafe.aspx https://www.h2olabs.com/p-54-white-baked-enamel-model-300-wa...
pyr0hu 3y ago
What do you use for freezing food if not plastic containers? Heating and microwaving, okay, I can work around the plastic containers/plates, but the freezer I have no idea how I'd do that. Especially that the freezer's casing is still plastic
- seszett 3y ago
  Glass containers work fine and come in the same shapes as plastic containers do. They are heavier and take a little more space due to being thicker, but it's a small difference. They do have plastic lids most often, but the lid doesn't have to touch food.
  - jorvi 3y ago
    Yup, the IKEA one’s are more than good enough. And they’re borosilicate so you can even use them in the oven. The plastic issue is also why I think people doing sous-vide are insane. You’re vacuum sealing meat into plastic and then giving it a nice long leeching in hot water. Sometimes with acidic foodstuffs!
  - pyr0hu 3y ago
    Cheers, thanks for the info! So as long as the plastic does not touch the food, I'm basically good to go?
- navaati 3y ago
  Aluminium trays, like that: https://www.emballagefute.com/img/plat-a-four-alu-sertissable.jpg https://www.emballagefute.com/img/plat-a-four-alu-sertissabl.... Yes, it’s non-reusable, pick your poison :/.
RajT88 3y ago
It's become impossible to find a coffee maker where water doesn't come into contact with plastic. There used to be a pretty decent one: Gourmia GCM4900. It had some subtle design flaws, and only lasted 5 years. (If I can buy another one, I probably can somewhat mitigate that and make it last longer)
- noduerme 3y ago
  I use a moka pot. No plastic, no filters to replace. Great coffee. Takes a little bit longer but it's worth it.
  - hedora 3y ago
    This comes close to no plastic: https://flairespresso.com/products/espresso-makers/flair-classic/ https://flairespresso.com/products/espresso-makers/flair-cla... There's a silicon gasket, and they offer a stainless steel plunger upgrade. There is some plastic in the portafilter that coffee will touch (unless you run in bottomless mode). The bigger problem with most espresso makers (but not the model I linked) is that they use brass for the heating block / boiler and that leaches lead into the water. This matters less in coffee shops (where they use up the water in the boiler in a few hours or maybe a day), but a lot more at home (where you might only refill the boiler once a week or even once a month).
noduerme 3y ago
One thing I am sad about where I'm exposed to a lot of plastic but have little choice is that I wear a dental guard at night. This probably more than makes up for all the plastic food contamination I avoid in other ways. But after shattering three teeth from grinding in my sleep (waking up to a loud crack and an exposed nerve), I've decided it's the lesser of two evils.
- doctorhandshake 3y ago
  Funny you say that because I have an appointment with my orthodontist this week to discuss whether or not I can have a permanent retainer so I can stop wearing the plastic one they gave me. If the answer is no, I’ll just forgo the retainer and deal with crooked teeth. I don’t want to sleep with plastic in my mouth every night.

galangalalgol 3y ago

We use a distiller now that is all stainless into a glass carafe. It has a small paper/charcoal filter that sits in a porcelain housing just before it drips. What is left over is gross. Not what it looks like, that is just minerals. But it smells like things I shouldn't be smelling. I'd like to build a glass only solar still to save all that power, and to avoid the high temps that I suspect are causing some reactions that release VOCs. Not all of which might be getting caught by the charcoal.

Nelkins 3y ago
Do you have a link to the product? Interested in something similar.
- nayuki 3y ago
  https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+distiller https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+distiller , for example https://www.amazon.com/CO-Z-Distiller-Stainless-Distilling-Countertop/dp/B078GHJ921/ https://www.amazon.com/CO-Z-Distiller-Stainless-Distilling-C... for $116 USD.
- galangalalgol 3y ago
  https://www.h2olabs.com/p-54-white-baked-enamel-model-300-water-distiller-with-glass-carafe.aspx https://www.h2olabs.com/p-54-white-baked-enamel-model-300-wa...

pyr0hu 3y ago

What do you use for freezing food if not plastic containers? Heating and microwaving, okay, I can work around the plastic containers/plates, but the freezer I have no idea how I'd do that. Especially that the freezer's casing is still plastic

seszett 3y ago
Glass containers work fine and come in the same shapes as plastic containers do. They are heavier and take a little more space due to being thicker, but it's a small difference. They do have plastic lids most often, but the lid doesn't have to touch food.
- jorvi 3y ago
  Yup, the IKEA one’s are more than good enough. And they’re borosilicate so you can even use them in the oven. The plastic issue is also why I think people doing sous-vide are insane. You’re vacuum sealing meat into plastic and then giving it a nice long leeching in hot water. Sometimes with acidic foodstuffs!
- pyr0hu 3y ago
  Cheers, thanks for the info! So as long as the plastic does not touch the food, I'm basically good to go?
navaati 3y ago
Aluminium trays, like that: https://www.emballagefute.com/img/plat-a-four-alu-sertissable.jpg https://www.emballagefute.com/img/plat-a-four-alu-sertissabl.... Yes, it’s non-reusable, pick your poison :/.

RajT88 3y ago

It's become impossible to find a coffee maker where water doesn't come into contact with plastic. There used to be a pretty decent one: Gourmia GCM4900. It had some subtle design flaws, and only lasted 5 years. (If I can buy another one, I probably can somewhat mitigate that and make it last longer)

noduerme 3y ago
I use a moka pot. No plastic, no filters to replace. Great coffee. Takes a little bit longer but it's worth it.
- hedora 3y ago
  This comes close to no plastic: https://flairespresso.com/products/espresso-makers/flair-classic/ https://flairespresso.com/products/espresso-makers/flair-cla... There's a silicon gasket, and they offer a stainless steel plunger upgrade. There is some plastic in the portafilter that coffee will touch (unless you run in bottomless mode). The bigger problem with most espresso makers (but not the model I linked) is that they use brass for the heating block / boiler and that leaches lead into the water. This matters less in coffee shops (where they use up the water in the boiler in a few hours or maybe a day), but a lot more at home (where you might only refill the boiler once a week or even once a month).

noduerme 3y ago

One thing I am sad about where I'm exposed to a lot of plastic but have little choice is that I wear a dental guard at night. This probably more than makes up for all the plastic food contamination I avoid in other ways. But after shattering three teeth from grinding in my sleep (waking up to a loud crack and an exposed nerve), I've decided it's the lesser of two evils.

doctorhandshake 3y ago
Funny you say that because I have an appointment with my orthodontist this week to discuss whether or not I can have a permanent retainer so I can stop wearing the plastic one they gave me. If the answer is no, I’ll just forgo the retainer and deal with crooked teeth. I don’t want to sleep with plastic in my mouth every night.