Why Stainless Steel Can Be Used in Microwaves: Uncovering the Truth and Best Practices

What I want to tell you is that some stainless steel products are acceptable, while others are prohibited. Before putting stainless steel products into the microwave, please ensure that there is a microwave safety label on the stainless steel products. But the question is, why there is such a difference. We need to understand the heating principle and arc phenomenon of microwave ovens.

Microwave oven heating principle

Microwave oven plays microwave through the magnetron, forming a rotating electromagnetic field in the metal inner wall of the microwave oven, so that the molecules in the food, especially water molecules rotate with the electromagnetic field, Molecules rub against each other to produce heat energy, then the food can be heated, this is the heating principle of microwave oven.

Arc phenomenon

If the metal vessel is put into the microwave oven, it will reflect the microwave energy in the electromagnetic field, resulting in sparks, which will damage the microwave oven or cause fire and other safety hazards, this is the arc phenomenon.

Arc phenomenon is not only caused by the material of the metal appliance, but also has a great relationship with its structure. The free electrons all over the metal will vibrate due to microwaves. If it is a metal product with sharp angles, the electrons will be concentrated in its sharp place, resulting in an arc phenomenon

Avoid the arc phenomenon→Microwave safety stainless steel food storage container

Synthesizing the above, the material and structure of metal appliances are the two key factors that can not be microwave. If these two elements can be skillfully changed to avoid the arc phenomenon, microwave heating can be carried out safely and effectively within a certain time range.

After the arc design, integrated stainless steel food storage container is heating in the microwave, the moving free electron will be safely distributed at the edge, will not collide with each other to produce sparks.

Microwave stainless steel food storage container use precautions

1. Each microwave heating should be gradual, not more than 5 minutes and divided heating, and don’t put the empty box into the microwave oven heating, but also to confirm that the microwave oven rotation normally, in order to avoid the danger of long time unilateral heating;

2. When microwave heating, please ensure that the stainless steel food storage container is placed in the center of the microwave oven, don’t touch the inner wall of the microwave oven box or the door plate, to avoid causing damage or safety risks;

3. Don’t microwave more than two stainless steel appliances or other metal tableware at the same time to avoid generating electric sparks.

Microwave stainless steel crisper box cleaning

1. Before first use, you can use warm water with a neutral detergent to clean it and wipe it dry for use;

2. After daily use or it need deep cleaning, can use two teaspoons of baking soda (or sodium peroxide) mixed with hot water, diffuse soaking for an hour, thoroughly clean water, wipe and dry after use (such as not wiping the natural air drying surface after water stains is normal phenomenon, not product defects);

3. This product can be put into the general household washing / drying machine cleaning, and it is recommended to use the corresponding material tableware special neutral detergent cleaning.

Conclusion and recommendations

In short, although stainless steel products are welcomed by people for their durability and corrosion resistance, because different stainless steel products have different compositions and shape characteristics, they require pearls in use and quenching. Pay attention to using high-quality stainless steel products with microwave safety marks, etc.  this will ensure the safety of use.

Here are our suggestions on how to improve upon the correct use of stainless steel products.

1. Microwave-safe stainless steel food storage container must be used. For these containers, the kitchenware manufacturers has considered that they can withstand the heat of microwaves without generating sparks at the beginning of the design.

2. Pay attention to check to ensure that your container is normal. Damaged containers will cause uneven heating of food, so do not use damaged containers for heating.

3. Do not heat stainless steel products for a long time during heating, as this will cause the container to become abnormally hot and cause unnecessary danger.

4. It is best to use products with container edges made of silicone or plastic: products with metal edges often produce sparks during baking, which can cause danger.

5. Strictly follow the manufacturer’s guidelines, which often indicate reasonable heating time ranges and power level recommendations for stainless steel products.

Recommended products

Purecook’s food storage containers meet the above conditions and are microwave-safe. Whether you need to heat leftovers at home or enjoy lunch in the office, our food storage containers can be safely placed in the microwave for heating. Additionally, our food storage containers are made of high-quality stainless steel material, which can withstand a wide temperature range. Moreover, they have good airtightness and can maintain food freshness for a long time.

Purecook is a professional manufacturer of stainless steel kitchenware, producing a variety of kitchenware including microwave safe food containers. Our goal is to ensure the safety and health of our users. We only use the highest quality materials and implement strict quality control measures throughout the manufacturing process to ensure that each product reaches an excellent level. In the category of stainless steel food containers, we design and manufacture products that can be safely heated in a microwave to adapt to people’s fast-paced lifestyle. In the field of stainless steel cookware, we manufacture ceramic coated cookware and non-toxic stainless steel cookware to ensure the health of cooking food.