Undoubtedly, the hype about the safety of the appliances we use in our homes is well deserved. In all cases, it is better to be safe than sorry. That is why time after time, people check well to know if a particular appliance is dangerous.
Regarding the safety of toaster ovens, you are not in the wrong places. This post addresses all the questions you might have regarding toaster ovens and how best to ensure your safety.
There is no doubt that this post will be filled with relevant information for you and your home. This is why you should not miss it for anything. Besides, if you ask us, we would wonder why you should miss out on something as vital as safety in your home? So, if you are ready to tap in, then let’s get to it.
Are Toaster Ovens Dangerous?
If you are looking for an outright yes on the question of whether your toaster ovens are dangerous, you won’t get that here. The thing is that your toaster ovens have been made following all safety protocols. And once you use them according to the safety instructions, hardly would you be exposed to any dangers.
Most times, the danger with toaster ovens that people experience is the misuse of the appliance. If the appliances were used properly, it is almost certain that there won’t be an issue.
Nonetheless, this is not to rule out malfunctions even when the ovens have been used accordingly. These ovens are electrical appliances, and many things not due to how they are used might come together to make them dangerous.
To put things in a better perspective, you should treat your toaster ovens well, but be on the lookout for some dangers. Statistically, research has found that toaster ovens caused close to 3000 fires and accounted for more than 27 million dollars in property damage.
This alone should tell you that toaster ovens are capable of causing a great deal of damage.
Briefly, let’s consider some of the dangers you might be exposed to by using toaster ovens and, of course, some safety measures you can adopt in your kitchen.
Some of The Dangers You Might Be Exposed to by Using Toaster Ovens
Burns
If you have used ovens repeatedly or have someone who has, you should know that there is a great likelihood of getting burnt. This is due to the heat level emitted by the oven.
Often, removing food items from the ovens may be difficult without getting burnt. This is due to the operation of the toaster ovens and has nothing to do with how you use them. These burns can cause skin blistering, which is often painful.
What you can do to prevent these burns is to insulate your hands against the burns. Once you have done this, there is little or nothing more to fear.
Fire
Another danger of toaster ovens is fire. This research shows that unattended cooking is the cause of up to 33% of fires in the home. This shows that fire is caused by not paying attention to what is in the toaster ovens. The following can also be a cause of fire when using toaster ovens;
- Using flammable materials to wrap foods. E.g., parchment papers.
- Accumulating food particles at the toaster oven’s bottoms
- Design fault
- Electricity supply
- Using very high heat for a long period
The good news is that all these can be avoided if you stick with toaster ovens’ instruction guidelines.
Explosion
Yes, your toaster ovens can explode if there is too much-pressurized air in them, mainly due to using high heat over an extended period. This is why you should monitor your cooking. And in the chances that you notice your toaster is about to explode, stay away from it.
Electric Shock
This is a danger that occurs in almost all electrical appliances. Most times, due to design malfunctions, when you touch your toaster ovens with conductive substances, it might lead to shock.
Examples of these conductive substances include; metal forks and spoons and knives. Also, water or other liquid could be a conductive substance. This is why you must keep your toaster oven dry at all times.
Safety Tips When Dealing With Toaster Ovens
- Read the toaster oven’s instruction manual carefully before you begin using it.
- Ensure your toaster oven is unplugged after you have used it
- Create space for your toaster oven. Ensure that flammable substances are as far away as possible
- To avoid burns, ensure you use mitten when removing or putting food items in your ovens
- If you are the busy or forgetful type, it will be better you buy the auto-shutoff model of toaster ovens
- After cooling off, ensure you clean the toaster oven
- Keep your toaster oven out of your children’s reach.
- Place the toaster ovens in a place it is difficult for them to get wet
- Keep a fire extinguisher handy in case of fire hazards
Do Toasters Give Off Radiation?
Toasters can give off radiation. But then, beyond this, what’s the explanation behind it? Let’s take a quick look.
Most toasters are built with infrared radiation that helps to heat food items. It is this radiation that dries up the food items, especially bread. Also, toaster ovens mostly have a metallic coil with considerable high resistance to electricity.
The implication of this is that electricity would struggle to pass through the metallic coil. In this process, heat is produced, which in turn is used to toast your bread. This heat that is produced is radiated in the form of infrared waves.
It is these infrared waves that constitute electromagnetic radiation.
However, the good thing about this is that infrared radiation may not be all the way harmful. This is why many people still encourage the use of toaster ovens with these kinds of radiation.
Why Do Toaster Ovens Explode?
When we see these kinds of questions, we are often reminded of the need to be more cautious about many of our home appliances. The reason being that- even without misusing them- they may still be capable of causing danger. This is why it is important to explore the reasons behind some of these hazards.
To douse the tension, you are probably feeling toasters would not normally explode out of the blues. If it explodes, it is due to the accumulation of some things. This is why it is important to always watch the signs that your toaster ovens might give you.
Yes, your toaster ovens can explode if there is too much-pressurized air in them, mainly due to using high heat over an extended period. This is why you should monitor your cooking. And in the chances that you notice your toaster is about to explode, stay away from it.
Also, because most toaster ovens are placed in an enclosed area, it is easy for pressurized air to fill it if something close by catches fire while you are toasting.
Where this is the case, you don’t have to worry too much; all you have to do is gently open the glass door so that the pressurized air can get out. However, you should be careful if there is already fire within the toaster ovens.
This is because once you open it, the fire will struggle for oxygen and might get out of hand if large. In this case, ensure you open the glass door gently, leaving only some room for oxygen to enter bit by bit before you finally open it.
This way, you can be sure that there won’t be many issues with your toaster ovens exploding.
What Are The Benefits of a Toaster Oven?
Regarding toaster ovens, there are also benefits to using them. Some of the benefits are discussed below;
Size
If you are just setting up your kitchen, one thing you will find yourself battling with is how to fit appliances to different places. With toaster ovens, this is not much of a problem. It is so convenient that it can fit into many places. This explains why it is always in a place where there is no much space.
Energy Efficient
If paying the light bills is giving you some worry, you just might find some assistance in using toaster ovens. The reason is that they don’t consume much power. Usually, it is between 1200w & 1800w. This makes sense for you, as it cuts down on energy consumption and still gives you what you want.
Saves Money And Time
One thing is that these ovens don’t cost you your savings. Their prices can’t even be compared to the price of traditional ovens. Also, they are fast and effective, wasting no time of yours.
Versatility
Toaster ovens are designed to give you great versatility with cooking abilities. To cap it all, they have different temperature ranges to serve the exact heat you want for your food item. Generally, an average toaster oven should be able to handle your toasting, defrosting, baking, warming, and boiling needs.
Can You Cook a Frozen Pizza in a Toaster Oven?
There are times that what you have with you are just frozen pizzas. And the problem is that you can’t eat it that way, so you have to heat it to ensure it is properly cooked.
In this case, is it possible to use a toaster oven? Well, this might be possible because toaster ovens do the same job as a traditional oven. The difference is just their sizes.
However, most pizza manufacturers would tell you not to use anything other than a traditional oven. The reason is mostly that they are afraid of the pizza not turning out as great as you would want it, in which case, you would have forgotten that the fault is with you not being patient enough with the pizza and begin to blame the pizza brand.
This, in turn, affects their reputation. So, to them, the best way to be in the safety net is to only recommend that you use the traditional oven.
But then, if you are cool with the toaster oven, you can use it too. Your pizza will just turn out well.
Should You Preheat a Toaster Oven?
It is not in all cases that you should preheat your toaster ovens. If you are cooking something like bagels or toasts, you don’t need preheating. But when it comes to foods that might require baking, preheating may be important. Examples include bread, chicken, casseroles, cakes, etc. The reason for this is because the cooking time for these food items does not include preheating.
So, by preheating your toaster oven, you are covering the field for any excesses.
Conclusion
Perhaps you saw questions examining the safety of toaster ovens twenty years ago, you might be wondering why it was being asked. But now, there is no such thing. The consciousness about safety has gotten the better of all of us. This is a great thing and may not change anytime soon. This is why, as we have explained above, we should abide by all the safety guidelines of toaster ovens.
