| General > General Technical Chat |
| Burnt out fan oven element - is the white deposited powder safe? |
| (1/1) |
| eti:
Hi all. I was heating my oven earlier, and suddenly heard a loud buzzing, arcing sound as you would when using an arc welder, replete with a fantastic white hot firework display inside the oven cavity. No big deal. Our element had burnt out previously, about 5 years ago, and due to their cheap cost (£8 each), I had the foresight to buy two, so the replacement only took 20 mins. Question: there was a very thin white coating on the interior of the oven, and the wire racks, which is assume is the magnesium oxide insulation powder that has sprayed out as it fizzled and buzzed - I’ve given the door and racks a quick wipe down - is this stuff toxic? Google says no. |
| Cerebus:
Magnesium oxide is used as a dietary magnesium supplement, so entirely safe. If at all, you probably want to be more concerned about anything else that got sputtered out of its prior containment at the same time, but on such a recent oven it's likely to be fully RoHS compliant. The usual basic precautions ought to be all you need: don't breathe the dust (it's not like a face mask isn't a standard household supply nowadays), many harmless things are still respiratory irritants and give the whole oven a good clean before using it again. I doubt there's anything to fuss over in there but a little caution is never a bad thing. |
| AntiProtonBoy:
Most metal oxides are non-toxic, but could be alkaline. Wipe with vinegar water, then clean out with soapy water. |
| Ian.M:
Magnesium oxide of itself isn't notably toxic, in fact in the form of magnesium hydroxide, its used medicinally as an antiacid and laxative, however the deposit in your oven is likely to be heavily contaminated with various heavy metals from the element and its jacket. If you are concerned about this, (and as there is a possibility the jacket was stainless steel, containing chromium, you probably should be) as magnesium oxide is alkaline, I suggest thoroughly wiping down all surfaces with a generous amount of white vinegar to dissolve as much as possible, then with water to rinse away the residue, then letting it dry with the door open and finally run it at max temperature for min. 20 minutes or run a self-cleaning cycle. Any remaining residue after that should be firmly adhered to the surface its on and unlikely to transfer to your food. |
| eti:
Thank you all. Much appreciated. |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |