Microwave turntable
Dishwasher-safe, and breakable by the one thing people do instinctively — putting it in water straight after cooking.
Precautions
- Do not apply to a hot surface
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
Start here
What this is, what tends to go wrong with it, and what to do about it.
The science behind this: Thermal shock
Part of Microwave oven.
In detail
The turntable is the part of a microwave most likely to come out for washing and the part most likely to be broken doing it. The manufacturer's instruction is a thermal-shock instruction and it is stated as such: TO PREVENT BREAKAGE, DO NOT PLACE THE TURNTABLE INTO WATER JUST AFTER COOKING. A hot glass plate meeting cold water is the same failure that cracks a casserole dish, and the timing is the whole of it. Once it has cooled the answer is easy and more permissive than people assume: warm sudsy water, OR THE DISHWASHER. Both are named. The turntable and its support can also be broken by dropping, which is worth knowing before carrying a wet one across a kitchen. One operating instruction belongs with the turntable rather than with the appliance, because it is what makes a missing turntable a problem: the oven must not be run without the turntable and its support seated in place.
What works
Water is safe on, in specific conditions, Microwave turntable
Safe only in specific conditions
This is only appropriate within specific limits. Outside those limits, no claim is made.
The manufacturer permits the dishwasher and forbids only the timing.
Only within these limits:
- Not placed into water just after cooking, while the glass is still hot
- Warm sudsy water once it has cooled
- The dishwasher is explicitly permitted as an alternative
The instruction is about timing rather than about the water. A hot glass plate meeting cold water is the failure the manufacturer names, and it is the same mechanism that cracks a casserole dish.
Precautions
- Do not apply to a hot surface
Evidence
Supported
Sources
Owner's Manual: Microwave Oven, models JEM31 and PEM31
GE Appliances · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That the turntable must not be placed into water just after cooking, to prevent breakage, and that it is washed in warm sudsy water or in the dishwasher. (states this directly)
Why
- Microwave turntable is explained by Thermal shock
Why the timing is the instruction rather than the water.
Sources for this page
Sources
Owner's Manual: Microwave Oven, models JEM31 and PEM31
GE Appliances · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That the turntable must not be placed into water just after cooking, to prevent breakage; that it is then washed in warm sudsy water or in the dishwasher; that it and its support can be broken if dropped; and that the oven must not be operated without both in place. (states this directly)