We have a small kitchen, and not enough cabinet space. It makes it really hard to keep it neat, and things get placed all over, stacked here and there, and...
Well, I have one personal pet peeve about it, and that's that things shouldn't be put on the stove. Particularly paper, but anything, really, unless it's a hot water kettle, or something that's being used. When I go into the kitchen and see something on the stove, I take it off. And whenever I say something to Havah, she goes on the offensive about what a mess the kitchen is, and how there's nowhere else to put things.
And it's true. I'm a slob. So's she, but she cares a little more about it. But I don't see how that relates to the simple fact that you don't put things on a stove.
Right now, I'm choking on fumes, because she went to heat some water, and set a plastic mixing bowl and the lid from our food processor on fire.
Fact: Baking soda really works on fires. Provided that you have enough of it.
Fact: You can use water to put out a burning piece of plastic -- it's not a frigging grease fire, after all.
Fact: It's so bloody cold right now that one of the windows in the kitchen is frozen shut.
Fact: Poisonous fumes rise, and I work upstairs, and I think we'll go with metal mixing bowls this time around.
Gah. The only up side is that I think I may have won this argument.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Oy! Although for the sake of the relationship, this is a good time to hold your tongue on the "I told you so". You can bet that it won't make her love you more.
Your smug silence will be loud enough.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Oh my goodness! Is everybody okay? The plastic tops the only casualty? Then give thanks! It could have been worse.
For my money, I like metal mixing bowls better anyway. When I'm making frozen desserts, you can put the metal bowls in the freezer for an hour or so before you begin, and it helps keep everything nice and cold while you're mixing it.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
::is hoping he gets either a chef's knife one of the cheap but good Fribrox ones) or a set of metal mixing bowls tomorrow::
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
Everyone is okay, thank God. It was kind of exciting. She was trying to beat on it with a bath towel, and it wasn't doing a lot of good.
You know, they have people so paranoid about using water to put out fires in a kitchen that it took us a while to realize that it was okay in this case. Even even after I pointed that out, I still wasn't 100% sure.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
Glad you made the burning plastic logic leap. :-)
And: the smell of burning plastic is the worst (other than the smell of burning lint).
Posted by Liz B (Member # 8238) on :
Glad you're all OK!
We've never had an actual fire, but my husband is constantly melting things on the stove. (Unintentionally.) It's a very bad smell.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Thank goodness everyone is okay!
We managed to torch the phone cord once.... whoever thought next to a stove was a good location for the ONLY phone extension in an apartment was some kind of idiot. I didn't realize that the (very long) coiled cord had spilled over from the sliver of counter onto a burner, and then managed to turn on the wrong burner when preparing dinner. Since I had an electric stove, water was NOT about to be used on-site... I managed to unclip the cord from the phone base and dump the cord and handset into the sink to be extinguished. And I completely agree about the smell of burning plastic. Thank goodness mine took place in a warmer month. Needless to say, we immediately went out and bought a cordless so we didn't have to worry about THAT particular complication again.
Posted by NotMe (Member # 10470) on :
Since when does burning lint smell particularly bad? I can understand the negative association if it's burning inside your dryer, but otherwise it isn't that bad. I use it to start fires all the time, and it doesn't come close to the smell of some plastics or hair or even most foods.
Posted by Starsnuffer (Member # 8116) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: Fact: Poisonous fumes rise
What about phosgene? That sinks. That's poisonous.
-Just being difficult, and eliminating ambiguity. Sorry if I piss you off, but what you said is inaccurate.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Well, the good thing is that you are alright. And won the argument.
Can anyone clarify when you *shouldn't* use water to put out fires in the kitchen, 'cause I always use water for that purpose, and it happens about three times a year. I'd rather not make it worse.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Well, if you have a grease fire and you throw water on it, the flaming hot grease will splatter dangerously. That's why they recommend either plunking a lid down on the pot to suffocate the flames, or to dowse the flames with baking soda, which will also suffocate the flames, without the dramatic and dangerous splattering.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Starsnuffer:
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: Fact: Poisonous fumes rise
What about phosgene? That sinks. That's poisonous.
-Just being difficult, and eliminating ambiguity. Sorry if I piss you off, but what you said is inaccurate.
Thanks. What kind of fire would give off phosgene? I know mustard gas sinks, too, but do either of them count as fumes?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: Well, if you have a grease fire and you throw water on it, the flaming hot grease will splatter dangerously. That's why they recommend either plunking a lid down on the pot to suffocate the flames, or to dowse the flames with baking soda, which will also suffocate the flames, without the dramatic and dangerous splattering.
Flour works on grease fires too.
Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
"Flour works on grease fires too."
You can eat the results. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
It can more than spatter,the grease is too hot it, so it actually explodes when water hits it, causing a huge fireball.
You shouldn't use flour either. Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Kwea, cool beans!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Google tells me there is some debate on the flour issue. I was taught that if baking soda is not easily available, dumping flour on the fire is a good alternative. Small amounts could make it worse, but dumping the contents of your flour bin seems unlikely to do so.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
If it is flung in, it can catch fire in the air and explode similar to a grain fire, which is not good.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
quote:What kind of fire would give off phosgene?
Any fire where chlorine is present, but in particular exposing freon to an open flame,
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
quote:Small amounts could make it worse, but dumping the contents of your flour bin seems unlikely to do so.
The issue isn't how much, but how finely divided the particles are. If you throw it on, it will disperse and entrain air before it reaches the flame, at which point it's highly combustible. If you choose to use flour, you should dump it on thickly, so that the mixture has no room for oxygen to get access to the particles.
I'd use baking soda, salt, a big lid, another pot, or a wet rag before I'd use flour. Then again, I have a 5 lb fire extinguisher in my kitchen. I've burned a lot of flour/water mixture professionally, so I've got some respect for the fuel value in flour and other foods.
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