OUT IN THE WASH
I’m a scientist, here’s why your Tupperware containers are always wet after being in the dishwasher
A POPULAR scientist has revealed why your Tupperware containers are still soaking wet after being in the dishwasher.
Aussie legend Doctor Karl gave a clear-cut explanation for the science behind the seemingly unusual situation where items in a dishwasher are dry once it's finished.
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Yet plastic Tupperware items still have water droplets clinging to them.
Doc Karl, talking to ABC Australia on Instagram said: “Two reasons. So a bit of background first.
“The dishwasher, as it sounds, washes everything but at the end it throws in a heating cycle.
“Everything inside heats up to about 50C, and that stored heat is supposed to evaporate away all the water.
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“Now, the plates over there and the glass they store huge amounts of heat because they’re very massive.
“They’re heavy, that’s a fancy word, and they also have a high specific heat."
He added: “Whereas this thing [a Tupperware container] is very light, doesn’t weigh much and it’s got a low specific heat.
“So those guys there, the plates, they are loaded with heat, and they evaporate, evaporate, they get rid of their heat.
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“And part of the way through the cycle, all the water has gone off.
“This guy here [the Tupperware container] has got hardly any stored heat and used it all up and there’s still droplets left behind.
“The plates are made of ceramic and they love water and the water spreads out to a thin film and evaporates off from the surface really easily because you’ve got a large surface area."
The expert continued:“This [the Tupperware] is made from oil, fossil fuels and oil and water don’t mix.
“So it hates water. The water, instead of spreading evenly goes into these little tiny droplets everywhere.
“And they’ve got a low surface area for the relatively high mass and so they just sit there.
“So that’s why you end up with water droplets on your ‘plasticky’ things.”
He adds that to get it dry, simply shake the water off into the sink and then wipe it over with a kitchen towel.
The post has already picked up more than 10,000 likes in just a few days.
Many commentators were thankful for an explanation.
One wrote: “That’s why it does that.”
Another said: “OMGI literally had just the same thing. Put it in the drainer to dry off.”
A third person added: “Yeah, but is there a solution? Please!”
It comes after people were shocked they had been loading their dishwasher wrongly.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Last month, it was revealed the five things you should never put in your dishwasher.
The same month, it was also revealed the little-known dishwasher setting that could save you money.
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