Hopie Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Several years back, my neighbor and I were playing with making candles. I had bought a little kit online, and invited her over to mess with it. It was for making a soy candle. SO, we started puttering around, and the instructions said to microwave the soy, add color, FO, then pour. We did a few like that, and all went well....UNTIL....we were both standing in my kitchen, my microwave was at approximately "neck height" on a shelf. We were chatting, waiting for the bell to go off indicating the timer was done....and we heard a HORRENDOUS POP! We looked into the window, and this is what we saw! It was SHOCKING, to say the least! Our only thought was "What if one of us had opened the door BEFORE it popped?!!" It could have sliced one or both of us RIGHT ACROSS THE THROAT! Please, PLEASE do not us a microwave, in in an "oven safe" measuring cup to melt your wax! (which as you can see, it was an Anchor Hocking measuring cup!) I saved these pictures to show my FB friends what can happen! SO, here it is, I'm sharing it with all of you! Needless to say, I NEVER melted wax in this way again! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonstar Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Omg 😲 how did you ever the that mess up ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopie Posted April 16, 2018 Author Share Posted April 16, 2018 Trust me, it took DAYS to get it ALL out of there, the glass was in total SHARDS! The worst thing about this, was that the directions I got with the candle kit TOLD ME to make them in this manner! Can ya' BELIEVE that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah S Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Great safety tip! It's easy to disregard how hot liquid wax can be! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 That is the same reason soap makers are cautioned to not use those Pyrex to mix their lye solution. Pyrex is no longer boroscillate. They switched to cheaper soda lime which is not nearly as well suited to temp fluctuations and shock. Man what a mess. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopie Posted April 16, 2018 Author Share Posted April 16, 2018 31 minutes ago, TallTayl said: That is the same reason soap makers are cautioned to not use those Pyrex to mix their lye solution. Pyrex is no longer boroscillate. They switched to cheaper soda lime which is not nearly as well suited to temp fluctuations and shock. Man what a mess. Yes, I posted this to put the FEAR into anyone considering doing this! It's just not worth the shortcut! You should have seen the look on our faces when that thing exploded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 I've heard of people melting soy in the microwave, but I would never do that. This is a good indication of what NOT to do. Good post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopie Posted April 16, 2018 Author Share Posted April 16, 2018 Yes, and I'm glad I found this in my photos while looking for something else....I thought I'd deleted it a long time ago. I guess I thought it was important enough to keep it after all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Looking at the picture it looks like your Pyrex exploded. I don’t think the problem was with the wax. I have noticed that my Pyrex gets hot in the microwave. I also have some coffee cups that also get hot, so I don’t microwave them anymore. There are silicone measuring cups available that are microwave safe that could be used to melt wax in a microwave. You can also get Borosilicate Glass measuring cups on Amazon that shouldn’t explode. Thank you for sharing this! I am now going to order some of the silicone measuring cups so that when I need to microwave something I have a safe container to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Pyrex is not for use in microwaves. It can explode as you found out. Melting wax in the micro is not the most ideal way to melt it but it wasn't the wax that was the problem it was the pyrex glass. Only use microwavable plastic and glass in your microwave. If it doesn't indicate that its microwavable don't use it. You are lucky Hopie. You could have been injured. Glad that you and your friend were not hurt. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 My old pyrex works just fine in the microwave, but not the new stuff, it gets really hot and you can barely touch it, even with the little 20 second bursts I give it. I don't use it for wax that is probably double trouble, hot oil in a super hot glass. You can actually see a bit of a blue tint in the newer stuff. Why do they change what has been so good for so long? I hate plastic so store everything in pyrex or corning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 2 hours ago, kandlekrazy said: Why do they change what has been so good for so long? Money. When this is the question, money and production cost is always the answer. It's cheaper glass, hence cheaper to produce, so their profit margins go up. IMO most (not all of course but most) big corporations do not give one whit to quality if it means putting out a similar product, that they can charge the same amount of money (or more) with lower production costs and lining their pockets. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopie Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 Yes, I was assuming that it was a container issue. I have another one just like the exploded 2 cup measure, and it's also stamped "microwave safe" on the bottom of it! I just wanted people to be aware of the dangers of doing what I did. An injury that "could have" happened would be catastrophic! I don't want anyone to get hurt by not knowing the volatility of these glass containers. They should not be stamped "microwave safe" when they are clearly not. Happy and safe pouring 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokoo Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 I have seen quite a few people microwaving wax, the first time I seen someone doing this, I instantly had a picture in my head and it looked just like yours. I know it is suppose to save time, but how much time do they really save if this were to happen. I love doing this with eggs though, kids get a kick out of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 10 hours ago, Tokoo said: I love doing this with eggs though, kids get a kick out of it. Have you microwaved marshmallows for kids? I love doing that too, and watching them blow up like balloons!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokoo Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 48 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said: Have you microwaved marshmallows for kids? I love doing that too, and watching them blow up like balloons!! LoL yep, haven't done that in awhile, we hardly buy them, not a huge fan of marshmellows, besides for hot coco, or smores. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam W Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Off topic but another TIP: Never, never, never set down a bottle of liquid dye without putting the lid on it first.....(don't ask...) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 19 minutes ago, Pam W said: Off topic but another TIP: Never, never, never set down a bottle of liquid dye without putting the lid on it first.....(don't ask...) Yep I've done that.... Trappeur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 On 4/16/2018 at 2:55 PM, Hopie said: Trust me, it took DAYS to get it ALL out of there, the glass was in total SHARDS! The worst thing about this, was that the directions I got with the candle kit TOLD ME to make them in this manner! Can ya' BELIEVE that? Wow did this thread scare the living daylights out of me in using the microwave. Think I'll throw mine out after reading this....Thank you for sharing your experience that could have been a horrible catastraphy. Glad all turned out ok Hopie! Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopie Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 12 hours ago, Trappeur said: Wow did this thread scare the living daylights out of me in using the microwave. Think I'll throw mine out after reading this....Thank you for sharing your experience that could have been a horrible catastraphy. Glad all turned out ok Hopie! Trappeur Well, I think it was more the glass container than the microwave itself. I placed soy wax in an Anchor Hocking glass measuring cup to melt it, and this is what happened! That cup was marked "Microwave Safe"....well, HARDLY! I personally don't use a microwave much for heating food, rare occasion, because I don't like what it does to food, but I'm not saying you should throw it out. Google "exploding glass cookware", and you'll see that it's not made to actually withstand the heat it's exposed to. I never used glass in a microwave or oven again, that's for sure! Same thing can and does happen in a regular oven with glass cookware. I found a lot of articles about this AFTER what happened in my microwave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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