Nuked Laundry

[Arbo]

MAN SETS FIRE TO HOME BY MICROWAVING SOCKS, UNDIES

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_ODD_BRITAIN_BLAZING_UNDERWEAR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-06-16-02-48

"The fire safety message here is to never put clothing of any kind in the microwave or an oven to attempt to dry them," the Dorset firefighters said in a statement.

Anybody here guilty of doing this? On some level (not a very high one) it makes sense.:laugh:

 

[abcgrad94]

Wow. That's just nuts. He would have been better off to iron them or use a blow drier on them if he was in that big of a hurry.

 

[Gina B]

ABC, look away from this post friend, just look away now.

*slowly raises hand*

Another safety tip: Do not put gold flecked plates in there either, though it's kinda like a sparkler. It doesn't change the gold either, just seems to interact with it. It may not sound like much, but I now know how to protect myself from those crazy ham radio operators should one try to bust in to steal my kitchen appliances!

I'm on my nth microwave. Please, let this one die of natural causes! I haven't done anything to this one yet besides see what different percentages it would take to make bacon steam instead of smoke and am trying to interest myself in how long it can last.

Come on, we have MICROWAVES at our fingertips! There are people who can resist that temptation?! Really?

 

[InTheLight]

Something is amiss with this story. The wet socks could not have started a fire. Microwave ovens heat water molecules because the radio waves bouncing around inside the oven is the exact frequency that sets water molecules vibrating. Vibrating water molecules cause friction, friction causes heat. Wet socks in a microwave would get hot and create steam but not start on fire.

I'm thinking the idiot set the microwave on high for an extended period of time and the circuit boards inside the microwave got hot, overloaded, and started on fire. Or else there was substandard wiring inside the apartment.

 

[Gina B]

The steam overwhelms the microwave and the only escape is forced through that little aerated panel, where it gets into the inside and can short out if you don't catch it in time and that can easily start a nasty, smelly fire.

 

[InTheLight]

The steam overwhelms the microwave and the only escape is forced through that little aerated panel, where it gets into the inside and can short out if you don't catch it in time and that can easily start a nasty, smelly fire.

Microwaves have exhaust fans. I doubt that the steam could overwhelm the exhaust fan.

 

[Gina B]

Microwaves have exhaust fans. I doubt that the steam could overwhelm the exhaust fan.

I've done it to where it flipped the breaker and the house was filled with more steam than I ever thought possible to come out of that tiny box. Where we live now, there's one area on the same breaker that I swear is wired wrong and things are always shorting out and thankfully the breaker flips off, but the electrician checked it out and said it's all up to code. Hrm.

No fire though. Not with steam anyhow, the (small) fire was simply from a piece of food spilling and being caught between where the door touches it when it closes. Go figure. It wasn't much more than a crumb and I smelled it fast enough to switch everything off. The microwave was totally ruined from that. Very weird.

Who knows. Maybe he had crumbs in his socks. :tongue3:

 

[AntennaFarmer]

Actually it CAN burn. I have observed this myself!

It is true that wet cloth will not burn in a microwave. It will produce lots of steam. However, when it begins to dry the fabric can continue to heat and char. It can burn and produce a lot of nasty smoke.

The water molecule theory of microwave ovens isn't the whole story. There are lots of materials that will absorb microwave energy when dry. Some plastics and things made of carbon (e.g. burnt toast) are examples.

I once attended a seminar by a fellow from a certain science lab. The title was "melting rocks with microwaves". Normally the rock will just sit there, not heating. He put another substance on the rock to start the microwave heating process. Once the rock itself heats up some it starts to absorb microwave energy all by itself and then gets REAL hot. Don't try this at home. You have to put the rock in an asbestos box or bad things happen. Please don't mess with asbestos either....

A.F.

 

[Arbo]

Wow. That's just nuts. He would have been better off to iron them or use a blow drier on them if he was in that big of a hurry.

I bet most women already know that (sorry Gina), but men don't think that way when the task at hand is doing the laundry. :laugh:

Confession time- Wifey lets me do laundry, but only the things (towells, sheets, etc.) that can take punishment or are not a great loss if ruined. We have a very nice set of bleach-spotted towells.:laugh: The better loads are absolutely verboten.

 

[Jon-Marc]

I use a washer and dryer. I was told about a woman who tried to dry her wet dog in the microwave, and the dog exploded. Of course, I also saw that story on the TV show, Urban Myths. People see these things on TV and often confuse myth with reality. Still, there are some very stupid people in this world, and I've done my share of stupid things. That could be a good topic for those of us who don't mind confessing to "The Stupid Things We've Done. "