Why not to use Microwaved water on your plants (or yourself)

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Pakanohida, Apr 25, 2012.

  1. annette

    annette Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2010
    Messages:
    889
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hi Pak,

    I only have rainwater out of the tank so I'm thinking that would be similar to yours out of the well.

    Now we just have to close off as many variables as possible. Will have a think back to my high school science days (sheesh) and try and come up with a controlled experiment.

    Would be good if others joined in as two results would not be enough to substantiate anything except our own suspicions.

    Will get back to you.
     
  2. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2007
    Messages:
    2,721
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    inland Otago, NZ
    Climate:
    Inland maritime/hot/dry/frosty
    Rainwater and well water are different enough to be different experiments (think pH, mineral content, contamination from animal poo or leaves etc. That's not a problem, so long as you don't collate results from both together.
     
  3. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2009
    Messages:
    5,925
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    0
    You both need to do a control (not microwaved) and an intervention (microwaved) group. There might be a difference when tank water is microwaved, but not well water for example. You need to take care that EVERYTHING is exactly the same apart from the microwave step. So - seeds from the same source, in potting mix from the same source and in identical containers. Collect the water in the same receptacle, and use the same amount at the same time each day on each plant. The water should be at the same temperature when you apply it. The plants should get the same amount of sunlight too. If you did something easy to germinate like peas or beans, in a plastic drinking cup, it wouldn't be hard to have 20 plants in each arm of the experiment (40 total). That should get you enough to minimise the effects of chance.

    I'm really interested to see how this goes. I wonder if there is a homeopathic type effect on the water from using the microwave, that would be sufficiently disruptive to alter plant growth. If you can demonstrate a difference it might be worth getting the Mythbusters team to take it on and you could get famous!
     
  4. mischief

    mischief Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2009
    Messages:
    1,665
    Likes Received:
    94
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    s/e
    Location:
    South Waikato New ZeLeand
    Climate:
    Cool mountain
    If the water is zapped in the microwave, is it being let cool down before watering the seedlings?
    What happens if you boil water in a jug or on the stove, then let it cool before watering plants?
    I would assume that both the above would produce similar effects, so maybe there should have been 3 seedlings, one for cold unheated by any means, one for jug heated and last one for microwave heated.
    That way, you would be able to see if it is in fact just microwaved water that lessens a seeds ability to grow.

    I do have a microwave, but seldom use it-its not even plugged in, not sure why I havent just tossed it to be honest.
     
  5. Sezmo

    Sezmo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    Messages:
    35
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    The maninchina link I provided did the experiment with cooled boiled tap water, unboiled tap water, bottled('purified') water and cooled microwaved tap water.
    None of the seeds sprouted, so they then did the experiment sprouting mung bean seeds, in which all the seeds sprouted to an equal size.

    The other thing i noted from maninchina is that they measured the amount of water each plant was given each day, how much soil was in each container and made sure each plant got an equal amount of potting mix, water, sunlight, and so on.

    Snopes does make some assumptions in the story there, but the point of the link was that they have done the experiment, and the results are there that the plants grew equally.
     
  6. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2007
    Messages:
    2,721
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    inland Otago, NZ
    Climate:
    Inland maritime/hot/dry/frosty
    Yeah I think unheated water is the control, and the tests are microwaved and boiled on a stove (you can't use a jug because it's metal or plastic, so you'd have to use a glass pot on the stove and a glass jug in the microwave).
     
  7. Sezmo

    Sezmo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    Messages:
    35
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Or you could use a ceramic bowl in a double boiler arrangement over a saucepan on the stove, and a ceramic bowl in the microwave also.
     
  8. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Yes if you boil in a jug the element may add iron, copper of other trace elements to the water.
    isn't science a bitch?
    I have no interest in doing the experiment, but if anyone does, these are some of the variables that need to be controlled.
     
  9. Grahame

    Grahame Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2008
    Messages:
    2,215
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Ummm....

    What would be the actual purpose of the experiment? Is it to show that microwaves are bad? I would have thought that was pretty much a given already? Is it not? Is it just me who thinks that is fairly widely considered as a given? Actually I thought it would be even more cut and dry than the whole climate change debate.

    The microwave 'oven' is indicative of everything that is wrong with modern society. Its effect on water seems to me the least of its concerns.

    I saw a roadside letterbox made out of a microwave today. I think that is a good use.
     
  10. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2007
    Messages:
    2,721
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    inland Otago, NZ
    Climate:
    Inland maritime/hot/dry/frosty
    There are a whole bunch of people who think microwaves are good and fine. They need scientific proof to change their minds ;-)
     
  11. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2010
    Messages:
    1,016
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Im not scared of Microwaves,I use them to cook rice (perfectly everytime) steam veg and fish and to reheat.

    I was listening to DR Karl about 15 years ago on the radio he basically said Microwaves where basically safe and if you invented cooking with fire today and tried to get the method passed by health authorities it would fail.
    Pollution, Carcinogenic etc.

    https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/03/23/1597903.htm

     
  12. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2007
    Messages:
    2,721
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    inland Otago, NZ
    Climate:
    Inland maritime/hot/dry/frosty
    There are things that science still cannot measure. And human health is incredibly complex, way more complex than the above example suggests eg steaming may retain more vitamins, but are they in a form that the body can assimilate as easily as the nutrients in veges cooked in water?
     
  13. Ludi

    Ludi Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2011
    Messages:
    779
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Humans have been barbequing meat for hundreds of thousands of years....rats have not been barbequing until quite recently......
     
  14. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2010
    Messages:
    1,016
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Should we add to the experiment water that's been barbequed and had vegies boiled in it ? :)
     
  15. Pakanohida

    Pakanohida Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2011
    Messages:
    2,984
    Likes Received:
    20
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Proper cooking of meat doesn't char it, quiet the opposite. The best way to seal the flesh is to caramelize the flesh which seals in the juices.
     
  16. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2007
    Messages:
    2,721
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    inland Otago, NZ
    Climate:
    Inland maritime/hot/dry/frosty
    And the way we are going, barbequed rat will become a well loved meal ;-)
     
  17. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2010
    Messages:
    1,016
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    38
  18. mischief

    mischief Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2009
    Messages:
    1,665
    Likes Received:
    94
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    s/e
    Location:
    South Waikato New ZeLeand
    Climate:
    Cool mountain
    I dont know pebs,snails-you know where they have been, rats- you never know what thy've been up to or into..
     
  19. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2007
    Messages:
    2,721
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    inland Otago, NZ
    Climate:
    Inland maritime/hot/dry/frosty
    I wonder if those rats eaten in China were bred rather than wild ones. Not sure if rats are any less clean than other animals though.
     
  20. annette

    annette Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2010
    Messages:
    889
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hi Pak

    After having a think and reading what others have written I think there are too many variables for results to have any substance. May do my own little experiment though and let you know what happens.

    cheers
    Annette
     

Share This Page

-->