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Comment by n8cpdx | Hacker News Reader

> then heated them at full power for three minutes in a 1,000-watt microwave

This seems like unrealistic use of a microwave. The liquids are likely boiling for well over a minute. Are people really boiling liquids in the containers they’re serving their infant children?

I’m not especially plastic-phobic but I also don’t think a reasonable person would think it is a good idea to boil liquids in their children’s bottles regardless of heating source.

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https://blog.mambaby.co.uk/feeding/how-to-self-sterilise-the...

Popular milk bottle brand instructing users how to sterilize their product with the microwave.

Boiling milk bottles is a very common way of sterilization as well.

I can confirm this is common. But after sterilizing the bottle or washing the bottle, you don't give that water to the child. One usually just cleans using the microwave, rinse it out, then you add water from another source that hasn't been in the microwave in a plastic container.

They probably don't advise serving the water that you used for sterilization to your child.

Well yes, but whatever milk/water you serve in it right afterwards will still taste and smell of burnt plastic. I take it as something inevitable because no one's going to be giving a glass milk bottle to an infant.

Maybe I should dump every single child plastic drink/dinnerware for 18/10 stainless steel.

That's fucked up, for real.

Because it’s boiling plastic or silicone? Silicone should be fine, no? Can’t the plastic be engineered to take it?

About 20 years ago I used to make boiled potatoes in the microwave - just had to boil in there for a good 10 minutes in a plastic container... yeah that wasn't so great.

I learnt a technique of poking holes in them and wrapping them in paper towels. Hopefully tiny pieces kitchen paper towels are safer to eat than nano plastic particles..

Now you gotta deal with nano paper particles in your blood stream.

Some day in some lab someone will find tiny origami in a blood sample.

I can’t think of a frozen meal that doesn’t boil on the sides after being cooked for three minutes. Those taste awful, but are pretty popular.

Yeah. I mean I avoid microwaving plastic now (or even packing my kids' lunches in it where possible) but in my student days I ate a lot of tv dinners. My kid loves this seasoned rice that comes in a plastic microwaveable cup. Probably should stop her eating that.

Totally. Have to get the edges boiling to get any heat through to the middle

For 10 years I used a plastic microwave steam steriliser for my kids plastic bottles that boiled 200ml of water for 5 minutes at 1000W.

Well, then think of frozen TV dinners. Lots of those are blasted for more than 3 minutters.

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