Can I microwave it?
April 11, 2018 10:44 AM Subscribe
Can I microwave this fabric? it's a mix of viscose/rayon/nylon/spandex.
I made my boyfriend a microwaveable neck wrap out of a stretchy shirt and only after the fact thought about whether it's ok to stick it in the microwave.
The tag from the fabric says: "87% viscose, Rayon, 11% Nylon, 2% Spandex." The other side says "Machine wash cold with like colors gentle cycle. Only non-chlorine bleach if needed. Line dry. Cool iron if needed or dry clean." This leads me to believe that this fabric does not like heat. (This was a thrift store shirt that I never actually wore. If I had actually worn this shirt I absolutely would have thrown it into the dang dryer without a second thought.)
I don't care about shrinkage or general appearance of the fabric after it's 'waved, but will this nonsense melt or catch fire if I put it in the microwave?
I can re-make it pretty easily but the stretchy fabric is really soft and nice.
I made my boyfriend a microwaveable neck wrap out of a stretchy shirt and only after the fact thought about whether it's ok to stick it in the microwave.
The tag from the fabric says: "87% viscose, Rayon, 11% Nylon, 2% Spandex." The other side says "Machine wash cold with like colors gentle cycle. Only non-chlorine bleach if needed. Line dry. Cool iron if needed or dry clean." This leads me to believe that this fabric does not like heat. (This was a thrift store shirt that I never actually wore. If I had actually worn this shirt I absolutely would have thrown it into the dang dryer without a second thought.)
I don't care about shrinkage or general appearance of the fabric after it's 'waved, but will this nonsense melt or catch fire if I put it in the microwave?
I can re-make it pretty easily but the stretchy fabric is really soft and nice.
Oh, okay. As long as you've made it with plenty of organic filler the fabric itself won't get hot at all from the microwaves. Just make sure to moosh it around after you nuke it to spread out any hot spots -- but one should do that with any microwavable warmer!
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:55 AM on April 11, 2018
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:55 AM on April 11, 2018
Microwaves don't excite every molecule, just the ones that resonate at the wavelength of the energy. Microwave ovens work at 2.4GHz because that is a very resonant frequency for water. That's why food heats up and non-food doesn't. Most organic material contains a lot of water (even if it seems dry), so even dry rice will respond to microwaves. Synthetic fabric -- indeed, almost all plastics in general -- is not resonant at that frequency, so doesn't get hot. Except, and this is important -- unless there is nowhere else for the energy to go. Since there's rice, the vast majority energy will go into the rice.
This is, from a physics point of view, exactly the same as filling a plastic bowl full of dried rice and nuking it. As long as you don't leave it in there too long, the bowl will be fine and the rice will get hot.
But it's totally cool, if you're worried, to just remake it with a nice natural fabric. I, personally, wouldn't worry about it.
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:03 AM on April 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
This is, from a physics point of view, exactly the same as filling a plastic bowl full of dried rice and nuking it. As long as you don't leave it in there too long, the bowl will be fine and the rice will get hot.
But it's totally cool, if you're worried, to just remake it with a nice natural fabric. I, personally, wouldn't worry about it.
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:03 AM on April 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
If you want to be super safe and you like the fabric you can make a removable inner bag out of cotton to hold the filling.
posted by bleep at 11:03 AM on April 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by bleep at 11:03 AM on April 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
So I would agree that natural fibers are the way to go here. However, the last time I needed to make a new rice sock, I was out of cheap crappy cotton tube socks and used a cheap crappy synthetic tube sock, and so far I haven't melted anything in the microwave or out of it.
Natural, non-melty fibers are certainly best practice here, but if you are careful about length of time in the microwave and keep an eye on it, and then make sure to shake the wrap well after to eliminate hot spots, you're probably going to be safe. Start by trying short intervals in the microwave, increasing until you have the level of heat you want.
posted by asperity at 12:20 PM on April 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Natural, non-melty fibers are certainly best practice here, but if you are careful about length of time in the microwave and keep an eye on it, and then make sure to shake the wrap well after to eliminate hot spots, you're probably going to be safe. Start by trying short intervals in the microwave, increasing until you have the level of heat you want.
posted by asperity at 12:20 PM on April 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
But it's totally cool, if you're worried, to just remake it with a nice natural fabric.
Or do an inner pouch with cotton holding the rice and an outer cover with pretty cloth. This will also allow you to wash the cover.
posted by sukeban at 10:27 PM on April 11, 2018
Or do an inner pouch with cotton holding the rice and an outer cover with pretty cloth. This will also allow you to wash the cover.
posted by sukeban at 10:27 PM on April 11, 2018
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posted by seanmpuckett at 10:50 AM on April 11, 2018