My husband forgets food if it doesn't beep (ADHD). I am hypersensitive to the loud screeching the microwave makes to announce food is done (autistic). We compromise by leaving the beep on and he either gets it before it starts another round or I flee to safety (or get it myself if I'm near it, but I'm usually not).
My husband forgets food if it doesn't beep (ADHD).
Same. I get other things done while the food is in the microwave, and would completely forget about it without the beep. Thankfully neither my wife nor I are sensitive to the beeping.
I forget the food and also hate the beeping. A no win situation! Usually I just stand there and stare at it, watching the countdown so I can stop it right before the beep and not forget the food.
Same, it's also the only clock in the kitchen, which wouldn't be terrible, but sometimes my hands are food prep cleaned or dirty and I don't want to have to wash my hands once or twice to see if I need to hurry up
If my microwave didn't have a mute function (and I couldn't return it to get one that did) I would take it apart and disconnect the speaker.
I had to do that to the dishwasher, because even though the dishwasher could be muted it insisted on beeping before the door auto-opened to let steam out.
I got a remote controlled ceiling fan that had a speaker soldered onto the motherboard. It beeped whenever it turned on or the fan speed changed. I took it apart and stabbed the center of the speaker with an ice pick until it died. Then I covered the hole with hot glue for good measure.
One angry day I removed the screaming from my electric kettle, my coffee grinder, and my espresso machine; all of which beeped one to three times every time a button was pressed, power was turned on, or they finished a task. It was a hellish robot symphony every morning before that.
Anyone can do it. Once you've learned to spot a piezoelectric buzzer, ripping them out of everything you own is just a matter of how willing you are to take the case off of your electronic devices and find the circuit board. You just grip the buzzer with pliers and pull at it gently. Most of the time the top of the buzzer will have a plastic cap that detaches and there will be a thin metal film you can just remove. But some buzzer units are fully sealed - just rip the whole damned thing off the board, it won't hurt anything else.
I hit cancel when it's under 3. I don't know exactly how far the microwave radiation from a dielectric heating element can travel but I'm not planning to find out.
Try to open a microwave door very slowly ... just a tiny crack ... and you will notice that, before any gap appears, electricity is cut off. Now wonder why this is so and how engineers have made it so ... then you will have your answer.
This means i made a mistake supposing that your microwave would do the same as mine ... and it also means that if i had your model i should do exactly the same as you are doing.
What I really like about my microwave is that the beep will immediately cut off off I open the door. Like if I catch it at millisecond 10, I only have to hear the first 10 milliseconds of beep. It's a relatively short single beep too. I can't tell you how much it aggravates me when a device has like a long 3 beep sequence and not cancelling in time will subject you to the whole damn sequence.
Respect for going straight to the door-opening. I never trust the thing to shut off before I get irradiated so I press stop and wait a moment before opening.
I replaced our microwave this last winter. Jokes on everyone, I can no longer hear the tones when it beeps. My hearing has lost that particular frequency I guess.
Mine plays a tune, and that’s incredibly inconvenient when I’m awake in the night trying to do a hot chocolate or wheat bag without waking anyone else up.
68 replies
Depending on the model of your microwave, there might be a silent mode. Mine has this and don't miss the beeping at all.
My husband forgets food if it doesn't beep (ADHD). I am hypersensitive to the loud screeching the microwave makes to announce food is done (autistic). We compromise by leaving the beep on and he either gets it before it starts another round or I flee to safety (or get it myself if I'm near it, but I'm usually not).
Same. I get other things done while the food is in the microwave, and would completely forget about it without the beep. Thankfully neither my wife nor I are sensitive to the beeping.
I have both and each side needs silence or beep. So far autism wins, I hate the beep so much.
As a user of a silenced microwave, I find setting an alarm/timer on my phone helpful. It can just be a vibrating alarm, too.
What about a model that makes that bell pling
I forget the food and also hate the beeping. A no win situation! Usually I just stand there and stare at it, watching the countdown so I can stop it right before the beep and not forget the food.
Get an old microwave with the bell instead of a beep. Doesn't repeat on its own and the sound is much more pleasant in the first place
Mine has the opposite. If the timer goes off, there's no stopping it. It's going to do the whole sequence of beeps whether you like it or not.
Yessssssss. Mine has this and it’s amazing.
sadly most don't have this. the manufacturers clearly hate humanity and seed needless suffering into this world
On the flip side, leaving time on the microwave is a damnedable act.
Why don't they just automatically clear the time if it's a small amount and it hasn't been used in much more time than is left?
I set mine to the maximum and then run it all out.
My wife leaves time on the microwave. I like things to be complete though, and time left on the microwave means the usage of it is incomplete.
Same, it's also the only clock in the kitchen, which wouldn't be terrible, but sometimes my hands are food prep cleaned or dirty and I don't want to have to wash my hands once or twice to see if I need to hurry up
Do you just mean people who leave time on the microwave and don't cancel it? Or all instances of leaving time on the microwave?
I thought we banished the last of the demonic time-stealing microwaves in the last great appliance war...
Lol. Sounds like a Dr. who plot.
If my microwave didn't have a mute function (and I couldn't return it to get one that did) I would take it apart and disconnect the speaker.
I had to do that to the dishwasher, because even though the dishwasher could be muted it insisted on beeping before the door auto-opened to let steam out.
I got a remote controlled ceiling fan that had a speaker soldered onto the motherboard. It beeped whenever it turned on or the fan speed changed. I took it apart and stabbed the center of the speaker with an ice pick until it died. Then I covered the hole with hot glue for good measure.
My devices will mute or I will make them mute.
Someone made this? You made this
Damn. You are like a dark comic book superhero. Like the punisher but for electronics. "The Muter" sound good to you?
Edit: oh just read other comments, I like "The Muteilator"
One angry day I removed the screaming from my electric kettle, my coffee grinder, and my espresso machine; all of which beeped one to three times every time a button was pressed, power was turned on, or they finished a task. It was a hellish robot symphony every morning before that.
Anyone can do it. Once you've learned to spot a piezoelectric buzzer, ripping them out of everything you own is just a matter of how willing you are to take the case off of your electronic devices and find the circuit board. You just grip the buzzer with pliers and pull at it gently. Most of the time the top of the buzzer will have a plastic cap that detaches and there will be a thin metal film you can just remove. But some buzzer units are fully sealed - just rip the whole damned thing off the board, it won't hurt anything else.
edit: Here's a video of someone else doing it. Seriously, have a blast. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6fdbq3
Will try it on the smoke alarms in my apartment, I hate it when those things beep.
They're almost as bad as carbon monoxide detectors - their damned beeping gives me a headache and makes me dizzy!
Antivaxxer logic.
There are times in public places I really want to do this. Like to the speaker blaring ads on a gas pump.
Mute through mutilation.
My new pc monitor still has and LED on when the pc is off, I now have nail polish on my monitor 💅
I performed surgery on my microwave to remove it's piezo for exactly this reason. Fucker was loud, and I was having fucking none of it.
I literally returned my last microwave because I discovered it didn't have a mute feature after I brought it him and set it up.
My current microwave's "done" sound doesn't piss me off, which is nice. It's a short tune.
Exactly. Why have four angry beeps when I can have one polite one?
No you gotta stop the bomb before it explodes
Wait you guys are in the same room as the microwave when it dings?
I wait by the microwave until it is done. Never thought of leaving the room.
Welcome to the future
It takes some gumption, but you don't even need to be in the same building if you try
lol.
My microwave is in my living room because my kitchen is maybe 3 square meters wall to wall
Ffs could they just make an option where you can tell it to beep once and shut the hell up/off?
Of course they could, but they won't. Mfr I'm not going anywhere for the 2 minutes I put this bowl of oatmeal in.
I set mine for 99:99 and wing it.
Vibe waving.
I hit cancel when it's under 3. I don't know exactly how far the microwave radiation from a dielectric heating element can travel but I'm not planning to find out.
Microwave is light. it drains at the speed of light. Way faster than whatever you do.
But the mechanical shutoff in the door might be slower than that.
Try to open a microwave door very slowly ... just a tiny crack ... and you will notice that, before any gap appears, electricity is cut off. Now wonder why this is so and how engineers have made it so ... then you will have your answer.
Not my experience
This means i made a mistake supposing that your microwave would do the same as mine ... and it also means that if i had your model i should do exactly the same as you are doing.
My apologies.
Same I stop it first (before zero) then open the door. I want to give the radiation time to drain.
i would, but that would require standing by the microwave and paying attention to it. i can handle a few beeps, it ain't making hospital noises.
Relatedly, adding an extra second to the microwave time so that you get the full cooking time and are still able to stop it early is also self care.
How much difference does an extra second in the microwave make?
To the food? Not usually much. To my brain, though?
You'd be surprised.
A lot if it's butter or pop tarts. Not much for most other things.
One is too risky you might miss it i do it between 5 and 3.
I do this.
What I really like about my microwave is that the beep will immediately cut off off I open the door. Like if I catch it at millisecond 10, I only have to hear the first 10 milliseconds of beep. It's a relatively short single beep too. I can't tell you how much it aggravates me when a device has like a long 3 beep sequence and not cancelling in time will subject you to the whole damn sequence.
Respect for going straight to the door-opening. I never trust the thing to shut off before I get irradiated so I press stop and wait a moment before opening.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm autistic because I have to wait for the entire duration of the time every time
I replaced our microwave this last winter. Jokes on everyone, I can no longer hear the tones when it beeps. My hearing has lost that particular frequency I guess.
Mine plays a tune, and that’s incredibly inconvenient when I’m awake in the night trying to do a hot chocolate or wheat bag without waking anyone else up.
My microwave is so damn loud. Is it to make sure I can hear if the kids are playing with it?
You can turn it off. My life improved massively after learning this.
If you have a fancy one I guess. I don't even trust mine to turn the magnetron off when I open the door
I only open the microwave 1 second early because I always wanted to be a bomb defuser... except I don't need to type 7355608 (iykyk)
move out, team
Easy peasy lemon squeezy
I must let the first beep, beep. If I open the door early, the microwave waits like 30 seconds and then makes a beep regardless.
Still going strong after 30+ years though