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One of my favorite home, and to-go mugs are my Yeti mugs. While they are some of the best, most versatile, and reliable coffee mugs that I have, they have one big draw back. They can’t be microwaved.
Why can’t a Yeti mug be microwaved? Yeti mugs are made from 18/8 stainless steel, and as I am sure you have heard many times, you shouldn’t microwave anything made of metal due to the fact they are great conductors of electricity. Will it be bad every time? Probably not. But its not worth the risk of ruining not only your mug, but also your microwave.
More about why you can’t microwave a Yeti Mug
Have you ever seen those lightning rods on the top of buildings? They are there, because lightning likes to hit the highest, and lowest resistance point that it can. When lightning rods (that are made of metal), are the closest thing for the electricity to hit, it does that.
Metal is a conductor, and has freely flowing electrons in it that like to flow more-so.
Now, you can think of your Yeti mug as a mini lightning rod on the inside of a microwave. When the microwave is using the electricity to heat up your coffee that you have in the mug, it again wants to find the path of least resistance, and in the case of your mug, it is the lightning rod, and attracts too much electricity causing a spark. Then that spark can damage either your mug, or the microwave itself, and even cause a fire.
So that, is why you shouldn’t put your yeti mug in the microwave.
Other mugs that can’t be microwaved
Yeti mugs aren’t the only mugs you can’t microwave though. Any mug that uses metal should not be put in the microwave, as they will have the exact same issue. Some common mugs that I can think of are the Carter Everywhere Mug, Bodum French Press Travel Mug and even Otterbox’s Elevation mugs.
What mugs can be microwaved?
So, you just have to microwave your coffee to heat it up? You should be keeping an eye out for some mugs that aren’t made of metal. This would include mugs that are made of glass (here are my favorites), ceramic, or really any other material than metal.
However, for goodness sake, never put an Ember Mug in the microwave… that would be a nightmare.
Alternate ways to heat up your coffee
Alright, so you need to either heat up your coffee in some way, or keep it warm. It’s a paint that coffee cools down, and you don’t want to waste it. So what do you do? There are actually a couple different options.
You can either find a way to not allow it to cool down by using a thermos, or to-go mug, or you can use something like an Ember Mug that keeps the coffee warm.
Alternatively, if you coffee does get cold, you can heat it up with a hot plate, heat it up in a pot on the stove, or microwave it (however as we have found, not all coffee mugs allow this).
To find out which one might work best for you, I would highly recommend you watch the below video, as it does an awesome job talking through each.
You should also check out the rest of his channel, as there is so much to learn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put a yeti in the stove?
We would highly not recommend you put your yeti mug into a stove to reheat it. Mugs are not meant for this, and you can easily damage your mug, and the paint that is used on the outside wall. You wouldn’t want to ruin your nice, expensive mug would you?
How to know if something is microwave safe?
The best way, is to check the material, if it isn’t metal, it likely can be microwaved somewhat. Once you have determined it isn’t metal, put it in the microwave with nothing in it for a 30-60 seconds and stop. If the mug is hot, then you probably shouldn’t use it in the microwave as it is conducting some heat and can crack from it expanding.
What to do if you accidentally put a metal mug into the microwave?
Thankfully, metal doesn’t always spark and damage anything. However for those off-chances that it does, make sure to unplug or turn off your microwave as quickly as possible. Then check for fire, and if necessary, use a fire extinguisher if there is a fire.
Conclusion
In this article, we learned that Yeti mugs should not be microwaved, along with all of their metal material colleagues. However we also learned about some other options like ceramic, metal, and even plastic mugs that can be microwaved.
I really enjoy my Yeti mugs, and use them a ton! Just don’t put them in the microwave.
