Can a Microwave Kill Coronavirus?

Last Updated on November 12, 2021

Can microwave ovens kill coronavirus? Before you can answer that question, let’s take a look at what coronavirus is. Coronavirus is the virus behind SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which killed 800 people in 2003. While there are no cases of coronaviruses currently spreading among humans, it does make sense to be prepared for future outbreaks by understanding how microwave ovens might affect this particular virus.

The microwave has been used as an easy way of heating up food for many years now and it’s safe to say that more than 90% of households have one in their home today. This makes microwaves an important part of our lives so it only seems natural that you would ask yourself – can microwave ovens kill coronavirus?

What we know currently about the Coronavirus

Coronavirus is a virus that is spread through the air, but it can only be transmitted from a sick person if they cough or sneeze. If you touch an infected surface with your hands and then put those same dirty hands in your mouth, nose, eyes or on a cut – you could become ill as well.

In most cases coronavirus isn’t considered to be deadly however there have been some outbreaks of coronavirus leading to death during which people fell ill very quickly after being exposed to the virus (within just two days). In addition, for elderly people and those who already had another type of respiratory illness before catching coronavirus their chances of dying were increased.

What do we know currently about microwave ovens?

Microwaves work by heating up food through a process known as microwave radiation which is a type of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. When the microwave oven sends microwave energy into your home, it doesn’t have enough power to remove electrons from the water molecules in the food you are cooking or warming up.

Microwaves can be interrupted by things such as foil and metal but they’re unable to penetrate glass so microwaving food inside a microwave safe container will not affect how long it takes for that meal to cook on average (however some plastics may melt if overheated).

Understanding Coronavirus And Microwave Ovens

The question here becomes – do microwave ovens kill coronavirus? It’s possible however it might take longer than usual since there isn’t any microwave radiation being emitted from microwave ovens that is strong enough to penetrate the coronavirus.

So then how much time does it take for a microwave oven to kill coronavirus? If you’re looking for an estimate, there have been studies done which showed that a microwave was able to reduce the amount of coronaviruses found on contaminated surfaces by 90% after microwaving them at full power (high) – however this took between 30 and 60 seconds.

When the microwave had only been used once before experiments were conducted where they left food inside without opening or closing the door and these tests revealed that no virus reduction occurred if all parts of the microwave hadn’t cooled back down again afterwards. This raises another question – can heating up food in microwave ovens kill coronavirus?

Since microwaving food is the recommended way of preparing it before eating, you should be safe if using a microwave to warm up your meal. When heating up meat or chicken in particular, make sure that all parts are heated through and don’t eat any part which isn’t white (if you’re not cooking chicken breast yourself). If there’s no color change when grilling fish fillets for example – throw them away.

Conclusion

While microwaves aren’t able to kill coronavirus on their own, they can be useful in reducing the amount of virus found on contaminated surfaces by 90% which means that microwaves could potentially reduce your chances of catching a coronavirus.

However microwave ovens will not always cause a reduction in the amount coronaviruses present and require you to heat up or cook food prior to eating it. In order to ensure safety from any possible outbreaks – use foil when heating up foods such as pizza instead of using plastic wrap for example because this way you’ll know exactly what’s going inside microwave oven without risking contamination.