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If you microwave your consumables in plastic that is on you. Microwavable plastic is a marketing myth. Put your food on a plate or bowl and cover it with a wet

If you microwave your consumables in plastic that is on you. Microwavable plastic is a marketing myth. Put your food on a plate or bowl and cover it with a wet paper towel.

dboreham 2y ago
Isn't the wet paper towel and EM reflector? I use wax paper fwiw.
- almostnormal 2y ago
  I use a second plate, upside down.
- righthand 2y ago
  It would reflect under the paper towel too then, therefor serving it’s purpose.
hindsightbias 2y ago
What makes you think there isn't BPA in your paper towels? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21939283/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21939283/
- righthand 2y ago
  Because I was skeptical of paper towels too and only buy ones without. It is also noteworthy that the paper towel doesn’t soak in the consumable when reheating like a tea bag does.
imglorp 2y ago
We have a set of reusable silicone lids. They can withstand high temperature on stove or microwave and just rinse off. Hopefully they aren't found to release anything. Instead of a paper towel, we throw food on a plate or bowl and drop a lid on it. This also works in the fridge; one less thing to wash and nothing disposed.
- righthand 2y ago
  You may be interested in Weck jars too that are made of glass for storage and are very affordable. They have glass lids.
  - bityard 2y ago
    I'm sure they are good, but you and I have quite different levels of "very affordable." On Amazon, they seem to average around $10 each depending on size. Contrast with mason jars at a little more than $1 each at my local Menards plus a bit more for reusable lids or silicone gaskets.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - folmar 2y ago
      Depends on where you live, in Europe if you get the generic branded (not "the" Weck brand) ones they are $2 for small and $3-4 for bigger ones.
burkaman 2y ago
It is absolutely not on you. In order to function as an adult you need to be able to have some level of trust in your family, your society, and your government (depending on where you live, I guess). That doesn't mean blindly believing everything you hear, but it does mean not having to do novel scientific research to confirm everything you were ever taught. The majority of people alive on Earth today grew up in a world where plastic packaging and containers were a common, completely accepted part of life. Research suggesting this is harmful is very new, and still not settled. You cannot blame anyone for not picking this random ubiquitous aspect of modern life and avoiding it because it might be bad for them. Home microwaves themselves are no older than home plastics - why do you trust them?
- righthand 2y ago
  They also grew up in a world that was skeptical of plastics and chose to ignore the skepticism because not being skeptical and blindly trusting your family, society, government is a fools errand. The exact issue is people promoting this “well I shouldn’t have to think/research” way of life. That’s just nonsense and the reason we’re here. It’s a cute dream but ignorance will just kill you.
  - burkaman 2y ago
    I am open to being convinced otherwise, but I don't agree that there was any widespread skepticism of the health impacts of plastic until very recently, maybe the last 5 years. There has certainly been broad concern about plastic trash and environmental pollution for a long time, but that's a different topic. I stand by my claim that you and I should not have to research the health impacts of, for example, microwaves. We should have to think about it, but if you have a basic understanding of how they work and how to use them safely, and you listen to people who might tell you if there were an issue (friends, the news, the FDA, etc.), then that is enough. And when I say "how to use them safely", I don't mean doing your own experimentation to find the limits of the device. I mean being told not to put metal in it, maybe watching a video to see what happens if you do, and accepting that it's a bad idea and you won't do it. It is not possible for me to do a medical study on the impacts of eating microwaved food, but I have enough societal trust that I continue to use them anyway.

If you microwave your consumables in plastic that is on you. Microwavable plastic is a marketing myth. Put your food on a plate or bowl and cover it with a wet paper towel.

dboreham 2y ago

Isn't the wet paper towel and EM reflector? I use wax paper fwiw.

almostnormal 2y ago
I use a second plate, upside down.
righthand 2y ago
It would reflect under the paper towel too then, therefor serving it’s purpose.

hindsightbias 2y ago

What makes you think there isn't BPA in your paper towels? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21939283/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21939283/

righthand 2y ago
Because I was skeptical of paper towels too and only buy ones without. It is also noteworthy that the paper towel doesn’t soak in the consumable when reheating like a tea bag does.

imglorp 2y ago

We have a set of reusable silicone lids. They can withstand high temperature on stove or microwave and just rinse off. Hopefully they aren't found to release anything. Instead of a paper towel, we throw food on a plate or bowl and drop a lid on it. This also works in the fridge; one less thing to wash and nothing disposed.

righthand 2y ago
You may be interested in Weck jars too that are made of glass for storage and are very affordable. They have glass lids.
- bityard 2y ago
  I'm sure they are good, but you and I have quite different levels of "very affordable." On Amazon, they seem to average around $10 each depending on size. Contrast with mason jars at a little more than $1 each at my local Menards plus a bit more for reusable lids or silicone gaskets.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - folmar 2y ago
    Depends on where you live, in Europe if you get the generic branded (not "the" Weck brand) ones they are $2 for small and $3-4 for bigger ones.

burkaman 2y ago

It is absolutely not on you. In order to function as an adult you need to be able to have some level of trust in your family, your society, and your government (depending on where you live, I guess). That doesn't mean blindly believing everything you hear, but it does mean not having to do novel scientific research to confirm everything you were ever taught. The majority of people alive on Earth today grew up in a world where plastic packaging and containers were a common, completely accepted part of life. Research suggesting this is harmful is very new, and still not settled. You cannot blame anyone for not picking this random ubiquitous aspect of modern life and avoiding it because it might be bad for them. Home microwaves themselves are no older than home plastics - why do you trust them?

righthand 2y ago
They also grew up in a world that was skeptical of plastics and chose to ignore the skepticism because not being skeptical and blindly trusting your family, society, government is a fools errand. The exact issue is people promoting this “well I shouldn’t have to think/research” way of life. That’s just nonsense and the reason we’re here. It’s a cute dream but ignorance will just kill you.
- burkaman 2y ago
  I am open to being convinced otherwise, but I don't agree that there was any widespread skepticism of the health impacts of plastic until very recently, maybe the last 5 years. There has certainly been broad concern about plastic trash and environmental pollution for a long time, but that's a different topic. I stand by my claim that you and I should not have to research the health impacts of, for example, microwaves. We should have to think about it, but if you have a basic understanding of how they work and how to use them safely, and you listen to people who might tell you if there were an issue (friends, the news, the FDA, etc.), then that is enough. And when I say "how to use them safely", I don't mean doing your own experimentation to find the limits of the device. I mean being told not to put metal in it, maybe watching a video to see what happens if you do, and accepting that it's a bad idea and you won't do it. It is not possible for me to do a medical study on the impacts of eating microwaved food, but I have enough societal trust that I continue to use them anyway.