A couple recorded how their microwavable heating pack nearly exploded. Thankfully, they were able to stop it before the door of their appliance was blown from its hinges.
The Chamblee Family (@thechamblees) recorded the near-disastrous scene in their kitchen as they prepped for Thanksgiving dinner. Their viral clip accrued over 2.6 million views. What seemed most troubling to the duo was the relatively short time it took them to have an emergency on their hands.
“Thanksgiving prep gone wrong,” a text overlay at the top of the video reads. The opening scene starts on a bizarre note. A massive, engorged mass of red plastic is bubbling up inside a microwave.
“It said to microwave the insert!” a woman insists, seemingly shocked at what the appliance’s heat did to the hot pack. Next, a man says, “Hey that thing is melting.”
“Is it?” the woman replies. “It’s really shiny,” he says. Next, he points to the timer on the microwave’s display. “At that rate, it will be gone.”
Following instructions
The woman recording the video wrote in its caption that she was sure its instructions informed her to heat it up.
“I mean how else are you to interpret it?” she says, then the man repeatedly taps the top of the bag to test how hot it is.
“There’s no way that’s right…” the woman says again. Immediately, the man in the clip agrees with her, stating there’s “no way” the inflation was normal. She says the bag’s directions called for a 5-minute warm time. However, she had it in the appliance for a fraction of that time.
The TikToker tagged the brand Pyrex, along with the term #casseroledish. Pyrex does indeed sell Hot/Cold packs, like on Amazon, and on Corelle’s website.
The Pyrex offerings on both of these, however, don’t look like the one in the TikToker’s video. Moreover, there also doesn’t seem to be any Pyrex branding on the hot pack in the Chamblee Family’s clip. In fact, according to an Amazon item listing, the brand seems to be Vesture.
Are they supposed to do that?
Understandably, the couple in the video was stunned to see the microwave pad turn into this classic movie villain. What’s more, is that the instructions on the hot pack clearly said to microwave it for up to 5 minutes.
However, the directions printed on the plastic of this Amazon heating pack are much more nuanced. The brand recommends users microwave the pack for 1 1/2 minutes. If the pack hasn’t expanded, the instructions state, then users should keep heating it up in 30 second intervals until it finally does.
Revo Coolers which sells these Dubler Microwave heat packs, also referenced heat pack swelling as being normal. The item’s description reads: “Microwave heat packs until they begin to swell then quickly stop heating. (Could be 2 to 5 minutes depending on strength of microwave.) Over-swelling can cause a leak. They are not warrantied for that. Be careful handling the heated pack.”
Additionally, the description for this item states that its contents are non-toxic. The heating materials are ultimately made of cellulose, or the same thing plant cell walls are composed of.
@thechamblees I promise the instructions said to microwave the hot pack 😂 #pyrex #casserole #casseroledish #thanksgiving #thanksgivingfail #fail #funnyvideo #hilarious #microwave #blownup #thanksgivingdinner #thanksgivingvibes #thanksgivingrecipes #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #fypage ♬ Thanksgiving Theme – Vince Guaraldi Trio
TikTokers were shook
One person who watched the video was shocked to learn that it was a heating pad. “I literally thought it was a hat at first!” they wrote.
Someone else said their heating pack became distended from overheating as well. However, unlike the Chamblee Family, they didn’t get to it in time. “This happened to me years ago, except mine popped. I didn’t see anything about intermittent heating!” one said.
One wrote, “The directions tell us to microwave ramen noodles in styrofoam. My trust issues started then.”
But at least one user pointed out something the Chamblees might’ve missed. And it’s that its directions clearly state that users should stop heating the pad immediately upon expansion: “‘Stop heating pad immediately if pack expands.’”
The couple replied, “We did the second we saw it Lol.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Pyrex, Vesture via email and the Chamblees via TikTok comment for further information.
Update: Dec. 8, 2024
In an email to the Daily Dot, a spokesperson shared the following statement:
“These products do have a shelf life and over time the interior liquid solution will dry up/evaporate out. This is a vacuum-sealed package, so when that happens the only reaction when heated is for it to balloon just as if any air-filled vacuum package would when heated,” they wrote.
They continues, “These products are great and they’re still used by millions of people every day for keeping food warm during transit, but they do not last forever.”
In a comment on the TikTok, the creator did share that the product used to belong to their grandmother, so it seems the shelf life had expired indeed.
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