Live data from Hacker News

I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

jdstillwater.blogspot.com

131–140 of 331 posts

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#131
post #19

I have a similar but less extreme experience. I have a Tommee Tippee prep machine for baby formula milk. The part it has water coming out got so dirty after months of use. Due to lack of sleep like any father of newborn does, I flip it upside down and clean it with running water, and then I found out all the water finds its way into the machine. Then I completely disassemble it, I use a dehumidifier to blow dry air d…

>Unfortunately I already get rid of my toaster because it got so dirty

I highly doubt that a dishwasher run would change that.

The real reasons not to use the dishwasher are:

— dishwasher isn't a replacement from scrubbing

— caked-on grease will still be there

— you'd need to clean your dishwasher afterwards (more work)

— it's far easier to shake the bread crumbs out when they're dry (and there's a convenient latch on the bottom for that) than if they're wet and stuck to the insides

— There's a potential for rust to form somewhere inside the toaster, which will not make it work (or look) any better. That's not specific to toasters.

Crumpled aluminum foil does wonders for cleaning metallic surfaces from rust and burned grease though. And chemical solutions like 409 can make everything else sparkling clean.

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#132
post #127
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no? i mean it's the same reason most people in the usa don't have a bidet in their house; it's not because they're too poor to afford one. technology adoption is path-dependent and mostly random, and fear makes people conservative. yes, there are a few people who are familiar with the actual risks and rewards of the different technologies, but they're vastly outnumbered by the pre-galilean minds who are entirely guid…

This assumes a bidet is objectively better than a regular toilet. That is debatable. It's not debatable these electric showerheads are objectively better, just because some poorer communities around the world use them.

well, it only assumes that bidets are subjectively better to many people, which they certainly are; it doesn't rely on the assumption of an objective, observer-independent scale of valuation in the way you're describing

(bidets aren't an alternative to a regular toilet, and the fact that you think they are is a minor indicator of why it's difficult for even widespread, highly beneficial innovations to become universal even after centuries)

not only is it debatable whether or not electric showers are better in that sense, i have in fact debated it; i refer you to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41250642 and eagerly await your opinion

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#133
post #93
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the water that's the issue generally - it's the minerals in the water. The article author got lucky this time - when electronics die from water contact, it's usually the minerals bridging connections and creating shorts. Letting the device dry does not remove those shorts. Some places have such hard water (lots of minerals) that evaporated water leaves calcium, limestone and other deposits on the surface of…

Would mineral deposits be sufficiently large and conductive that they would cause an actual issue between components? They would probably represent nothing more than minor stray resistance/capacitance. Assuming it was conductive enough, a scales bridge between higher voltage parts would just represent a path of material a few microns thick that would vaporize as soon as the toaster would be plugged in. For other elec…

>Would mineral deposits be sufficiently large and conductive that they would cause an actual issue between components?

A good proportion of water-damaged cellphones can be revived just by washing the logic board thoroughly in isopropyl alcohol. It's possible that this is due to small amounts of water trapped in crevices, but I've seen it work on boards that looked bone-dry under the microscope.

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#134
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would never do it with a toaster :) But curious, how did you dry the keyboard ?

I just let it air dry for a day. I turned the heated dry option off on the dishwasher just in case.

Reminds me of that time my mom spilled a cup of coffee on the keyboard — and then dried it with the hair dryer.

We spent a few weeks using the other end of a paint brush to hit the keys whose caps melted off until we could get a new one.

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#135

Your GFCI outlet may not always trigger: https://youtu.be/SHGo-52wCDc?si=AzZ71UIpPYVjj31X

I loved that video, it was really entertaining although I didn't see anything in there about GFCI outlets not triggering. The original article does mention how GFCIs don't trigger if current isn't flowing to ground and how that's actually fine (e.g. the hairdryer in water example)

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#136
As a electronics person with microscope-level repair experience: the problem isn't the water, it is what is in it. And it can become an issue weeks later when residues of minerals and detergent combined with current flows corroded your contacts away, leakage current ts flowing in all kinds of unintended places. PCBs are laminated and can do funny things when treated wrongly. Whether that kills the device or not is hard to say without knowing what is inside it. If in doubt open it, wash everything with isopropanol and a toothbrush. Or you know, using a ultrasonic cleaner with the right solution.

Toasters and hair dryers (depends on the kind of course) are as low tech as it gets. Getting them wet is indeed not a big issue, when unplugged. But as a physics teacher he probably has heard about galvanization, oxidation and similar chemical things.. I hope. Corroded electrical contacts have a higher electrical resistance. Higher electrical resistances produce more heat. More heat produces higher resistance..

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#137
post #63
post #60

> These commenters are speaking authoritatively on subjects about which they are completely ignorant, but they are strident in doing so because they are repeating what everybody knows. They are intellectually secure in the center of a vast mob; their wisdom was received, not crafted. This is an important takeaway for me, maybe even more than “electirc devices are washable”. World is filled with conventional wisdom th…

It's not the water that's the issue generally - it's the minerals in the water. The article author got lucky this time - when electronics die from water contact, it's usually the minerals bridging connections and creating shorts. Letting the device dry does not remove those shorts. Some places have such hard water (lots of minerals) that evaporated water leaves calcium, limestone and other deposits on the surface of…

A $20 something you are about to throw away is the perfect thing to play games with.

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#138
I was once involved in a similar (unintentional) experiment with a multi-billion dollar defence radar. A several metres deep underground bunker, containing several 19" racks full of electrical/electronic gear, filled to ground level with a combination of mineralised surface water and mud during a storm.

What we wanted to do was cut the power, pump the water out of the bunker ASAP and immediately clean the whole lot with pure water.

What the (arse-covering) site manager did was nothing, not even cut the power, until a "risk-assessment" had been done. For the first few days we were able to peer into the bunker's hatch and watch der blinkenlights happily operating in the gloom underwater. That stopped after a few days. About a week later the risk had been assessed and a path of action determined: the power was turned off, the water was pumped out and everything was washed with pure water. By then electrolysis had dissolved just about every conductor in the system.

Electrical systems will happily cope with water in the short term, but the longer the exposure the less likely they are to survive. Time is part of the risk.

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#139
post #60

> These commenters are speaking authoritatively on subjects about which they are completely ignorant, but they are strident in doing so because they are repeating what everybody knows. They are intellectually secure in the center of a vast mob; their wisdom was received, not crafted. This is an important takeaway for me, maybe even more than “electirc devices are washable”. World is filled with conventional wisdom th…

I've always put my (dumb, wired) keyboards in the dishwasher and they have always come out great.

I'm a statistic of one, though. I don't know if I just got lucky.

Re: I put a toaster in the dishwasher (2012)

#140
post #132
post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This assumes a bidet is objectively better than a regular toilet. That is debatable. It's not debatable these electric showerheads are objectively better, just because some poorer communities around the world use them.

well, it only assumes that bidets are subjectively better to many people, which they certainly are; it doesn't rely on the assumption of an objective, observer-independent scale of valuation in the way you're describing (bidets aren't an alternative to a regular toilet, and the fact that you think they are is a minor indicator of why it's difficult for even widespread, highly beneficial innovations to become universa…

If given the option, free of charge, to continue using electrified showerheads or using whole-home water heating... how many would continue to use electrified showerheads?

The fact that they are only common in poor and impoverished areas, tells you everything you need to know.

This argument is a lot like asserting instant-coffee is better than fresh brewed coffee because some people have no alternative choice.

Post reply on HN