to worry about melted plastic in dishwasher

[stoppingtheroundabout]

Water bottle melted / warped in dishwasher. Am worried about fumes and chemical leakage, have the windows open and want to re- wash everything. DH thinks I'm ridiculous and is gone off in a huff.
AIBU?

Yeah you're being insane sorry

It's warped in the hot water but I doubt it will have seriously decomposed.

Yeah you’re being unreasonable. It wasn’t on fire! (Presumably) I’d chuck the warped item but not worry about anything else.

Ummm yeah you really don't need to worry. We regularly have melted plastic as I wash stuff before it goes into our recycling (it lives indoors and I don't want smells before anyone starts on that). We're still alive and I've been doing it for well over a decade.

You're being ridiculous.

YABU, yes

I'm pretty sure it's not even really 'melted'. Plastic water bottles are made essentially by blowing them up like a balloon, there's stress in the structure. When it's warmed above a temperature known as its 'glass transition', it can lose its rigidity, the stresses will be relieved and typically they shrink.

(Caveat... I'm not a polymer chemist, different field. But DH is, he'd show this effect to dd when she was little which he wouldn't have done in a million years if it was even slightly dangerous)

Well obviously bin the melted thing but apart from that I wouldn't worry. The articles you may have read about plastic exposure are all about cumulative exposure and include the aggregate involvement of plastic in various supply chains. I don't even think it'd be possible for any "contamination" to happen between plastic and the rest of your crockery, and certainly nothing to do with the air.

Yab ridiculous. It's warped not burnt.

Open the windows

run the dishwasher empty

then rewash the stuff

Why?

Why?
The plastic has warped from the heat of the dishwasher why would everything else need washing ?

Madness

All plastic containers go in the dishwasher here for recycling, everything comes out a warped plastic mess for chucking in the recycling bin.

However, I don't think the OP is being unreasonable to be concerned - she's not an expert and I don't suppose many of the people being quite rude to her are either. If in doubt, better safe than sorry.

For her peace of mind, to clear any gases released, to clean off any residues

It's just gone floppy, it hasn't turned into a toxic soup.

That’s what DH says 😀

My logic was that there was probably a plastic-y chemical reaction of some kind but, reading these responses, it’s probably my anxiety talking.

It hasn't released any gas or left any residue @vanana it's warped

Thanks @ErrolTheDragon was feeling anxious AND stupid but still appreciate the honest answers all round

My logic was that there was probably a plastic-y chemical reaction of some kind but, reading these responses, it’s probably my anxiety talking.

Well, it's a sort of 'plasticky reaction' as in the way plastics may react to heat, but it's a physical change rather than a 'chemical reaction'.

Thanks @ErrolTheDragon it was a thick plastic bottle like a baby bottle and not a disposable plastic bottle - does that make a difference?

I think people saying op is anxious/mental, including her husband are quite arrogant and stupid. Plastic can leech when heated so it’s a good idea to be cautious.

I was told by a scientist that using old Robinsons squash bottles to make up robinsons orange etc squash drinks to take to work was bad for my health as the plastic could leach as they aren't intended to be used week in week out for that purpose.

Sounds mental but I believe her.

With that in mind, I'd suggest you bin the damaged item and just wash the whole lot again. For the sake of 50p or whatever it will be worth it for peace of mind.

Thanks @vanana and @DeliciousApples, I did re-wash everything just in case.

Am finding difficult to assess real risk at the moment which isn’t helped by DH’s never worrying about anything. Also, not helped by the reality that there is so much health risk around our kids now e.g. upfs, air quality, plastic leaching, silica in worktops, polyesters etc.

Depends what exactly what plastic and how it was made, I think. Actual baby bottles, obviously, have to be able to withstand heat for sterilisation.

I normally washed the baby's bottles in the dishwasher. I had a special basket for the top rack that held the teats and bottle rings. I remember buying that in Mothercare. Never an issue.

You are worrying unnecessarily and way overthinking things. It's just a warped and distorted bottle. Absolutely no harm done and no need whatsoever to rewash anything.