Survey of bacteria living inside household and laboratory appliances finds a robust ecosystem.

From the article:

But for the general public, the implications of the study are simpler. “A microwave is not a pure, pristine place,” Porcar says. It’s also not a pathogenic reservoir to be feared, he says. But he does recommend cleaning your kitchen microwave often — just as often as you would scrub your kitchen surfaces to eliminate potential bacteria.

  • reddig33@lemmy.world
    131·
    3 months ago

    How does bacteria live through being microwaved? I would think they’d boil from the inside out.

    • Nutteman@lemmy.world
      291·
      3 months ago

      If you’re reading this I am in dire straights, possibly dead. I woke up this morning to find my microwave is bursting with tardigrades. I have left it cooking nonstop for 13 consecutive days and they’ve only gotten more pissed off. I’ve welded their every possible exit from the machine shut, but I fear they are beginning to chew their way out. If you’re reading this, tell the government they need to drone strike my location immediately, possibly nuke it. The world is not prepared for what is inside my microwave.

    • Fermion@feddit.nl
      21·
      3 months ago

      Touch the inside walls of your microwave after you heat something up. They don’t get all that hot.

      • reddig33@lemmy.world
        101·
        3 months ago

        The walls of the microwave don’t contain water. The bacteria do. Microwave ovens work by vibrating water molecules, creating friction and heat. If bacteria are on the oven walls, they should be exploding from the microwaves.