# How often do you use your/a microwave?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 12, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321 "2013-07-12T14:50:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/1 "2013-07-12T14:50:23Z")
Feel free to clarify what you’re using it for…to cook things, reheat things, or just thaw things out.
---
### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/2 "2013-07-12T15:02:36Z")
I voted 1-2 times a month. I don’t own a microwave but when I, say, go spend the weekend at my parents’, I’ll certainly use theirs. Someday, I’ll have my own microwave but first I need more counterspace or to find an attractive sideboard that could hold one.
---
### Author:  [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/3 "2013-07-12T15:03:27Z")
I typically reheat leftovers, cook vegetables, warm up soup, make popcorn and melt things like butter.
I do not use it to defrost things it’s too uneven for me.
---
### Author:  [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/4 "2013-07-12T15:03:32Z")
Madame Pepperwinkle cooks. I microwave. Princess Pepperwinkle cooks when she feels like it, otherwise microwaves.
---
### Author:  [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/5 "2013-07-12T15:14:33Z")
We use ours to reheat refrigerated food, especially for the kids. I voted “several times per day”, but “at least once a day” might be more accurate.
---
### Author:  [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/6 "2013-07-12T15:14:40Z")
If the SD was a normal US population, then probably about 90% of the votes will be for the first option.
I am guessing by the number of various options of infrequent use that the OP anticipates that there will be a significant number of votes for these.
Then again, the SD is not a normal US population.
---
### Author:  [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/7 "2013-07-12T15:16:36Z")
I give my renal-failure cat 180ml of saline twice a day, and pop the syringes into the microwave to take the chill off. Just 30 seconds, not enough for any chemicals to leach out into the saline (or so my vet assures me).
Plus, my microwave and oven are one and the same, so it gets a fair amount of use.
---
### Author:  [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/8 "2013-07-12T15:22:45Z")
A large portion of my meals are heat and serve, so the microwave fills the bill usually. Also, as a regular drunk, it’s the safest way to go.
---
### Author:  [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/9 "2013-07-12T15:38:10Z")
Our microwave is in used many times during the day, almost exclusively to heat up leftovers for breakfast or lunch. We’re fond of making a large batch of whatever (chili, spaghetti, etc) for dinner and then eating it reheated during the week for breakfast, lunch or snacks. My 6ft tall, 14 yo son eat a lot and it works for us to have leftovers for him to snack on, too.
---
### Author:  [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/10 "2013-07-12T15:44:09Z")
We cook and use ours just to heat up leftovers - so I put 1-2 times per week - although depending how lazy I am after work and deciding to re-heat leftovers, it does occasionally get used that third or fourth time.
---
### Author:  [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/11 "2013-07-12T16:00:05Z")
I make a big pot of coffee in the morning and then microwave by the cup until it’s gone. Since I use good beans ground just before brewing and since I don’t let the coffee sit on the coffeepot burner and - uh - burn, it never stops being delicious. We also frequently use the micro to reheat leftovers and to partly thaw the ice cream to make it easier to scoop.
Why yes, we do eat a lot of ice cream.
---
### Author:  [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/12 "2013-07-12T16:01:15Z")
Cooking, defrosting, re-heating, boil water, heat non-food items, pretty much 7-10 times a day.
---
### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/13 "2013-07-12T16:28:47Z")
Heating coffee usually twice a day, often for breakfast, sometimes for popcorn, and even more often on the weekends when heating stuff for lunch.
---
### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/14 "2013-07-12T16:54:35Z")
I use it daily to take the chill off the dog’s food, and I often use it to melt the cheese on my sammich, defrost things, and actually cook stuff. I chose “At least once a day” to cover the rare occasions where I just warm the dog’s food, and the rest of the time, we eat cold or takeout.
---
### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/15 "2013-07-12T18:32:07Z")
I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who microwaves the dog food.
I use the one at work to heat soup or chili for lunch, or for heating water for tea. At home, I’ll sometimes use it for dinner if I’ve brought home a cold chicken or I’m doing veggie burgers. More often, it’s for reheating my coffee, warming the baby for a few seconds, or some recipe task like melting butter.
---
### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/16 "2013-07-12T18:40:48Z")
I use it to defrost meat.
Note: I do not actually activate the microwave to defrost the meat. I simply put the meat inside for a few hours until it defrosts. The microwave is to protect it from the cat.
---
### Author:  [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/17 "2013-07-12T19:07:23Z")
I don’t have a microwave of my own. I’d love to have one, but the way my counters are laid out, I had to make the choice between a microwave and a toaster oven–no room for both within easy reach of an outlet. I use the microwave at my office virtually every work day.
---
### Author:  [@nachtmusick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nachtmusick)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/18 "2013-07-13T00:12:51Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#):
>
> I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who microwaves the dog food.
>
> I use the one at work to heat soup or chili for lunch, or for heating water for tea. At home, I’ll sometimes use it for dinner if I’ve brought home a cold chicken or I’m doing veggie burgers. More often, it’s for reheating my coffee, **warming the baby for a few seconds** , or some recipe task like melting butter.
I’m calling social services.
---
### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/19 "2013-07-13T00:14:26Z")
Boil water for tea, or for pasta. Gotter have me cuppa!
---
### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321/20 "2013-07-13T00:22:28Z")
Reheating food, making bacon in a hurry, popcorn, boiling water for general purpose cooking, corn on the cob, frozen vegetables. On a average more than once a day. When I’m not home my wife uses it a lot, she doesn’t know any other way to cook.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-use-your-a-microwave/663321.md?page=2)