Daft question: Can I microwave polyester toy stuffing?

[NotADragonOfSoup]

I'm making a rice had warmer. It is in the shape of a fat owl and really needs the top stuffed to keep its shape. Will stuffing it with polyester toy/cushion stuffing cause problems when it's microwaved to heat the rice??

I can't make it with a removable rice pad.

[marissab]

Don't know for sure but won't it melt? I would stuff with old bits of cotton fabric shredded up or something.

[NotADragonOfSoup]

I'm glad I'm not alone in a) not knowing and b) feeling wary. :)

I may well stuff it with shredded cotton - that's a good idea. I had it set in my head that it needed to be stuffed with stuffing (which is nuts given I stuffed some crochet bear badged with ends of wool - doh!)

[lifeistooshort]

Don't know for sure either but am also inclined to think it would melt

[NotADragonOfSoup]

I"ve gone with strips of cotton fabric, although at a later date I may try microwaving a piece of stuffing for research purposes!

[JamNan]

I think I'd use wool roving or sheep fleece. Even if polyester doesn't melt it might smell 'funny' like that burnt plastic smell if you scorch a man-made fibre with the iron.

Let us know the outcome of your experiment . I don't have a microwave so can the handwarmer be warmed up in an oven? How long does it keep warm? Thinking of DH when he's working outside on a cold day.

[NotADragonOfSoup]

I don't know about warming it in the oven - I think it is only practical as it takes 2 minutes in the microwave. It was warm for over 30 minutes so on a par with those clickable gel heat pads.

I have an old microwave waiting to go to the dump so I may microwave some polyester stuffing in that. Or I may just accept that shredded cotton fabric is the way to go! :o

I"ve not got an fleece/roving so that option is out.

[rockinhippy]

No, it will melt/burn, perhaps slowly so is not obvious & will be a fire hazard, - same as if you,over heat a heat pad - you need to stick to cotton based fabrics & stuffing to keep it safe

HTH

[rockinhippy]

PS, Barley is a better filling for heat pads, holds its heat better than rice & is cheaper

[NotADragonOfSoup]

Waitrose only had rice :)

I accidentally microwaved the owl on high instead of medium yesterday. It was smoking steaming.

[rockinhippy]

Sorry soup, I was having a brain dead moment & missed it was your thread - doh!!

I've never used rice to make them, so I don't know if there's a difference, but with wheat or barley I always nuke them on high, though they would smoke/steam if I nuked for too long - I had one catch fire once, as I stupidly hit the 10 min button & walked off - it was quite scary as even put in the sink & wet, it still smouldered for hours - I treat them with a lot more respect now, can you imagine if that was in a bed - eek!!

[NotADragonOfSoup]

This was only 2 minutes on high. Thankfully it just steamed. Or smoked.

Not sure I'll nuke it again - this one can just sit on the radiator I think!

[NotADragonOfSoup]

And I'll see if I can tweak the pattern to make a removable rice pad.

The rice worked fine BTW. The first time I nuked it on a medium setting, as instructed!

[orangeandlemons]

I teach textile science. It will melt....

[rockinhippy]

Mind you, it could be steam - rice absorbs moisture from the air, thats why I stick it in my biscuit tin - so in theory it could easily be slightly damp without looking so & would let off steam if heated - @ 2 min on high, I cant see it actually burning -

I've made a lot of these & experimented a lot with time etc, as they were personalised ones for gifts, a lot for kids, so I wanted to be sure they were 100% safe, I found out that heating time does depend on the size, but even the smallest - (aprox 4") denim heart one I made DD is fine at 2 min, so I wouldn't worry too much - my bigger ones are 3 or 4 min on high

[NotADragonOfSoup]

I told myself it was steam. But it didn't smell like it :o

[NotADragonOfSoup]

Another issue was that it expanded - I guess because steam couldn't escape quickly enough through the fabric and the rice bag was too big for the owl. The owl was very hard when it came out.

[FrancesHouseman]

In the dim and distant past I once tried to dry a pair of socks in the microwave. There was definite meltage and a touch of flame.

HTH!

[rockinhippy]

Ooo, I wonder if the rice actually puffed up like popcorn does, you know like rice crispies or those puffed rice sweets, that might explain why is was hard ??

[NotADragonOfSoup]

I wondered that too but it deflated again!

It is very tempting to open it up and investigate :o