So a week or so ago, the husband and I were watching Rachael Ray and she gave a tip about putting Saran Wrap in the freezer and it won’t stick to itself. Now normally this would not even hit my radar as I wrap stuff in aluminum foil like a normal person. Hubby, however, uses saran wrap as his food covering of choice and is always cursing the package because it sticks to itself and is impossible to tear. So, after hearing this, of course the box of saran wrap went in the freezer.
Lo and behold it WORKS! Can someone explain to me WHY it works?
IANA materials chemist but IRC you cannot have a totally solid surface adhere to another solid surface without some kind of malleable adhesive surface either as a property of of the sticky surfaces or a coating applied to them. At lower temperatures the material be more solid than it would at room temperature making it less able to adhere.
I find this amusing, because Saran Wrap was marketed as the better plastic wrap that is guaranteed to stick to it’s self. Some brands were never good at this and the cheeper ones don’t all cling well. The ones that don’t stick, don’t charge up with a static charge very well. I don’t know if clingier wraps have anything on or in the material that is adhevsive now a days. The major factor used to be that the plastics produced static electricity better. The wrap will almost instantly get a small amount of water on it when the air hits it cold. Water kills static so less cling. Wetted plastic wrap never sticks to itself or a bowl either do to the excessive water being a lubrication…
I was refering to the charge disapating with a small amount of moisture in the first statement. I was refering to larger amounts of water so it’s visable in the second statement. The slickness of a plastic also affects the abitity to stick to a bowl. I worked in a molding facility for a long time. I could tell which one of two brands of plastic were used for making some parts, because of the slickness or lack of in some parts. One brand was super slick, and the other skid restistance to sideways motion under downward pressure.
