Is Your Microwave Oven Leak-Proof?

Health Issues Associated with Microwave Leakage

Testing that your microwave oven is safe can be as easy as making a phone call. You don’t need to buy any fancy gadgets, just have access to a mobile phone.

Some microwave energy may leak from your oven while you are using it, but this would pose no known health risks, as long as the oven is maintained correctly.

Health Canada has established a regulation that limits the amount of leakage allowed from any microwave oven sold, leased, or imported into Canada. This limit is well below the level of microwave exposure that would cause any known health effects.

Proper maintenance is the key to keeping microwave leakage levels within acceptable limits. The amount of leakage may go up if the door or seal of the oven is damaged. It is also essential to keep all of the hinges and latches in good working order.

You can test your microwave oven for leakages just by putting your mobile phone inside (do not whatever you do, start up the oven) and then telephone /call your mobile from another phone. You may unplug the Microwave during the test.

If your oven is safe, your mobile phone will not ring. If your oven is unsafe, your mobile phone will ring and you will need to get the oven repaired or replaced.

I checked this out and it really works. When the microwave oven door was shut, my mobile phone didn’t ring and the message I got was that it was unavailable. I left the phone exactly where it was and opened the oven door. Then I phoned my mobile again and this time it rang. Just to be 101% sure, I then closed the oven door and did the test again.