Can You Put A Towel In The Microwave?

While a microwave oven can be essential for food purposes in the kitchen, one can also improvise by putting a towel inside a microwave to give it a quick fix. But is it ideal to put a towel in a microwave? Will I get the dryness I want? Will the towel catch fire?

Although the idea of drying a towel with a microwave might sound odd, you can microwave a towel and have your warm towel ready in just a couple of minutes under a regulated temperature.

In this article, we have a look at how to use a towel in a microwave. While also taking note of some precautionary measures that make a towel in a microwave feasible.

Can Towels Be Microwaved?

We all want to wrap ourselves in a warm towel during those cold mornings, a heated towel gives us this pleasure as it brings us more comfort in cold weather and during therapeutic procedures. 

Hot towels can be used to reduce muscle pain with a few drops of essential oil, it becomes more relaxing and therapeutic to ease the stress of a long day. 

Although towels are microwaveable, you need to consider the cloth fibers of the towel, before you put a towel inside the microwave, this helps to tell if it is capable enough to withstand the heat inside the microwave. 

As towels come in many diversities, the common ones are cotton towels which are microwaveable, as it contains mostly air. Meanwhile, a polyester towel that is made from synthetic fiber is considered not microwave-safe and is advisable not to heat them in the microwave. 

Lastly, when microwaving a towel, you would require a clean towel and then some water, the aim is to make the towel damp enough for the heat generated by the microwave to drain the moisture and make the towel warmer.

Microwave
Image: Envato Elements

How To Heat A Towel With Your Microwave

Below is a step-by-step guide on heating a towel with your microwave

1. Wet the towel with water

Get ready with a clean towel and a bowl of water, soak the towel in the bowl of water until it’s wet, and squeeze it to get rid of the excess water to give you a damp effect when the water in the towel is just minimal and not dripping. Then, it is ready to go in the microwave. 

2. The size of the microwave

Now, you want to make sure the towel you are using is not too big for the microwave to contain and the weight too much for the microwave plate. If so, the plate might not rotate, hence the towel will not heat. So, make sure to use a towel that fits perfectly for your microwave.

3. Regulate the temperature and time of heating

Avoid heating your towel for a long period, it is advised that microwaving on high for one minute is ideal, you can also reduce the intensity of the heat to medium-high and you can off your microwave at intervals and check with your finger to see if the towel as heat to your desire.

4. Remove the towel from the microwave

It’s not safe to remove a heated towel from the microwave, as it can burn your fingers. Wait for it to cool down before removing it. Then, the heated towel is ready to use.

Precautions to take when heating a towel with your microwave:

1. Avoid the towel containing any metallic object, as the presence of any metallic object can cause a spark or flame in the microwave.

2. Make sure the heating is properly monitored, so you don’t overheat the towel.

3. Consider the size of your microwave. When your towel is fitted in on the microwave plate, you want to ensure that there is an allowance where the plate would be able to rotate. This measure is put in place to improve the life span of your microwave.

Conclusion

You might be skeptical about microwaving a towel, but it’s not a bad idea if done right, and to think of the pleasure derived from a hot towel.

If you want to microwave a towel, follow the basic steps of knowing the fiber your towel is made of, get your towel damp, sit your towel on the microwave plate, and monitor the temperature by setting it at one-minute maximum.

Do well to also take precautions that can prevent sparks, also noting that the towel should not be too heavy for the plate to rotate so as to lengthen the life span of your microwave. But, can you put a towel in the microwave? Yes, you sure can.

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