I’ll get to the results in a bit, but first, why would the answer to this question signify anything? In my opinion, if microwaving water to the boiling point changes it’s makeup in such a way that plants are damaged by the water, there is a more than reasonable chance that the microwave is doing us damage too.
On the other hand, if water that was microwaved to the boiling point and cooled is just as good for watering plants as water that was boiled in a kettle and cooled, that doesn’t prove that microwaves are harmless. It just shows that the article’s claim is bogus.
And now, to the results!
As I already reported, the two cut roses lasted the same amount of time.
My cut geranium leaves fared almost equally. There was a small amount of browning on two of the leaves watered with microwaved water, but too minor to be of any significance.
Watered with kettle water:
Watered with microwaved water:
My two thyme plants also showed no big difference. If anything, the one watered with microwaved water (on the right) looks a little more robust.
So there you have it, folks. Watering plants, cut flowers, or cut leaves with water that has been microwaved doesn’t seem to make any difference to the plants. Whether we should feel safe using a microwave in our kitchens is another matter.
Do you use a microwave in your kitchen?
This post was shared with Real Food Freaks, Butter Believer, and Food Renegade. Kelly the Kitchen Kop, and the Healthy Home Economist.
11 comments:
Thanks for this experiment! This makes me feel better about using microwaved water for my tea at work. I have no choice, since we only have a microwave, no kettle! It's not my favorite option, but better than nothing.
Job well done! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing. After reading some big scientific reports on microwaves we stopped using one for a long time.
Here's a test I've been meaning to try but I think I live too high up to even really get flies. Supposedly even flies won't eat microwave food. Two plates of food were put out, one microwaved the other not. The flies wouldn't touch it! and they eat poo. That's one I might have to try when the weather warms up.
I use a microwave now mostly to warm up my coffee or tea these days (our apartment came with one built in), but always felt bad doing so. At least the heated water thing gives me some peace of mind.
Thanks for sharing this! I saw your original post on a blog hop, then forgot to sign up to see the results! I had been wondering how it turned out. We still use a microwave at our house, but I know it's probably not the best. We are transitioning to a traditional diet, and we've come such a long way, but I'm a "slow, steady changes make for permanent change" kind of girl, so maybe we'll get there someday! :) I'm already plenty strange to the neighbors with my backyard chickens and my fridge full of fermented goodies!
I'm still only using the microwave for water. Glad to see that there was not noticeable difference. However, I wonder what long term effects would be. I use it so rarely to heat water, so maybe it isn't an issue . . . .so many things to think about.
We have a microwave in our house. It belongs to my aunt. However, I avoid using it. If I need to heat something, I'll heat it up on the stovetop. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)
While this may have been a fun undertaking, it is by no means scientific. If you want to see if microwaving water to its boiling point changes its makeup, you should examine the water's chemical content before and after boiling, not try to grow some plants in it! Even if you did see results, you would be proving nothing and it would have little to do with the way that a microwave affects humans. You need a microscope to examine the results and a sterile environment for your experiment to prove that nothing else caused the different results. I'm glad that no conclusions were made here because it would certainly have no scientific basis.
I think that Ruth was simply doing this on the tail of something she had read on another blog and wanted to see if it was true that boiling water in the microwave would harm plants, etc. She wasn't making any claims about the safety or anything like that for humans. I enjoyed her trial!
@anonymous
I agree and don't agree with you.
First of all, I have a small apartment kitchen, not a lab, so clearly I don't have the conditions to carry out the kind of experiment you suggest.
While there is certainly merit in that kind of experiment, I don't agree that that's the only kind that is informative. What if the microwaved water consistently killed the plants, yet under a microscope the water's chemical makeup seemed unchanged? Would that mean the water was unchanged or would it mean that you didn’t know how to identify the change.
If there had beeb a statistically significant difference in how the plants fared , you couldn't just ignore the data because you couldn't explain it.
I didn’t assume a carry over from plants to humans, but wouldn’t you want to know what caused the change – had it happened? I wouldn’t.
Thanks for commenting.
Love this, Ruth!
It is a good thing to think about and I'm glad there are people out there concerned. However, I do believe that people have probably done a decent amount of testing since the invention of the microwave in 1947. There are a few hazards related to the microwave, but most are related to improper use. Several articles I have read state that the microwave does not change the nutrient content of the food to a larger extend than conventional heating and it may even retain MORE micronutrients because the heating time is shorter.
Reasons why you might see results from a similar experiment even when the cause isn't the microwaving include:
different lighting reaching the samples due to placement within your house, differences in the health of the organisms before the experiment, pests and/or disease in one or more of the plants, pH of the soil before adding water, air quality, etc, etc.
Yes, there could have been results that you can't explain and it would be significant, but this experiment is not reliable. Maybe there ARE unknown dangers of the microwave, but you won't find them this way.
I agree that if there was results, it should be examined, but the blame shouldn't be automatically shifted to the microwave without proof that it's not something more easily explained, especially when so many studies have been done on microwave safety. I haven't even heard that microwaves have been banned in ANY country.
I just strongly believe that if we are to make claims, they better be backed up by reasonably objective studies. Although I was entertained and it was a fun read, I'm just glad that no assertions were made. I don't want anyone to get a false sense of safety from such an experiment, or the converse had there been noteworthy results.
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