<p>I'm going to be a sophomore at the University of Maryland next fall and I'm trying to figure out what to do about food. I really can't stand the diner food (only about 4 vegetarian options) so I'm planning on making as much of my food in my dorm as I can. However, I wasn't able to get into an apartment so I won't have a lot available to me; there's a microwave in the lounge of my dorm (2 floors down so not super accessible) but that's about it. </p>
<p>The problem is that UMD doesn't allow us to have anything but a fridge in our dorm rooms. Last year I had a kettle that I'm pretty sure is technically against the rules but it wasn't a big deal to have it in there. I'm planning on bringing in as many appliances as I can sneak in so that I can do cooking on my own, but I'd love to hear from people who have experiences with this which ones are easiest/hardest to have in dorms that may not allow them. </p>
<p>Here are some appliances I was thinking of, but I'm open to suggestions:
-kettle (already have it, could be used to make pasta if I get a colander)
-panini press
-microwave
-toaster oven</p>
<p>Would a microwave or a toaster oven be too difficult to hide? I have a single so I could easily keep them out of sight, but do you think the sound or smell would be too noticeable?</p>
<p>I'm also open to any suggestions about the best way to cook in dorms!</p>
<p>Thanks for any advice you can give :)</p>
<p>Toaster ovens are banned in most dorms anyways as they are a fire hazard, so I wouldn’t recommend going for one of those.</p>
<p>There is a reason why those appliances are often not allowed in dorms, especially if you are in an older building. Those appliances, especially microwaves, can 1) use too much electricity and cause short circuits, outages, etc. 2) malfunction and start a fire, etc 3) affect the health of a hall mate who might have a pace-maker or other electrical implanted device (yes, even children and young adults can have pacemakers, you never know…
How would you feel if someone else who thought the rules were made for everyone else decided to bring in a microwave, and it caused an electrical fire that ended up damaging your belongings? You’d be pretty ****ed, right? So why not obey the rules and just don’t do it? Cook in the microwave the school has supplied, since they take liability for it. I can guarantee that if any sort of problem develops as a result of your having an appliance you shouldn’t have, your own insurance won’t pay since you broke rules, and you could be liable for the health, safety, and well-being of others and their possessions. I sure wouldn’t want to risk that!
Many schools have a kitchen on campus that students can use for various reasons. Why not try to transfer to a dorm with a kitchen, or see if an apartment opened up, etc.? Or, just keep a lot of salad on hand in your dorm fridge, yogurts, etc.</p>
<p>I used a crock pot in my dorm all the time. I don’t think they have any safety risk, but soup would definitely give off aromas.</p>
<p>Low voltage mircowave (under 1000 watts). Everything else might take too much power. Hopefully you have a good hiding spot. Don’t your dorm have a kitchen area where you can cook your own meals?</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! @teachandmom I didn’t realize that microwaves could have health effects so I’ll definitely stay away from those. But it’s definitely not that easy to just switch to a dorm with a kitchen - I spent a semester trying to line that up but there are just very few of those available so I feel like UMD has left me with no options but to figure out how to cook in my dorm. I will use my fridge but I’d like to occasionally eat warm food so I’m just trying to figure out my options. </p>
<p>So it sounds like microwaves and toaster ovens could be too dangerous… would a panini press be ok since the heat is very contained and I don’t think it would take up that much energy? Are there any other cooking appliances that you would recommend for this setting?</p>
<p>Some schools allow a micro-fridge (which is a combo microwave fridge unit designed to use very little electricity) - find out if you can replace a mini-fridge with one of these instead.</p>
<p>I kept my appliances in the boxes they came in, wrapped in brown package paper. They were hidden in plain sight-- if you saw them they just looked like I’d gotten some packages in the mail. I mainly lived with nothing but a microwave (which was legal in my dorm) and a rice cooker (which was probably legal), used to cook pasta, hot dogs, soup, and of course rice. I also had a toaster and toaster oven, and the toaster did get used, but the toaster oven rarely did and wasn’t really worth the trouble.</p>
<p>Smell is an issue, you can’t cook anything people will smell. I lived off of canned soup and plain pasta with marinara for a long time. If I were you, I would use the microwave provided – inconvenient but doable-- and get a rice maker, and maybe a panini press if that’s something you’d get a lot of use out of. The toaster is up to you, that one is risky.</p>
<p>Is there a kitchen anywhere in your dorm? I know most of my dorms (even the all guy ones) had a public kitchen with a fridge that anyone in the building could use. Hardly anyone did because it was in the basement, and people tended not to treat stuff well, but I remember various people making cookies or other snacks at various times.</p>
<p>^^thanks, I think I agree with you that a toaster would be too risky</p>
<p>^haha there should be but i’m literally in the oldest dorm on campus next year (like they’re tearing it down after next year because it’s in such bad shape) so our kitchen isn’t actually functional. i will have access to kitchens at some of my friends’ houses, but i’m looking for options where i can make things conveniently</p>
<p>Nobody will know unless you leave the door open showing off your new microwave. You can bring in whatever you need, just try not to blow up the fuse box. </p>
<p>Microwave has to be less than 800 watts. Panini and toaster’s use too much power. (most are around 1200 watts)</p>
<p>I would say just wait it out for a week or so and see how laxed the rules are before making a decision on what to bring for the year. You may live in a hall where the RAs don’t enforce rules like that and you would be able to have a microwave. Similarly, other people may have already brought items that you can just use if you befriend them.</p>
<p>Something to look into is a hot water maker (not sure what it is called). But it basically is a little pot of water that you plug into the wall and it heats up water for tea. Works great for ramen too! You should be able to bring that into your room.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Bring your panini press and kettle (use the microwave in the lounge) and use the lounge to prepare all of your food. It may be a little inconvenient to go down the stairs, but it’s better than being kicked out of on-campus housing or being fined</p>
<p>These rules are for safety.</p>
<p>Violating safety rules is extremely inappropriate and inconsiderate.</p>
<p>Do not bring any cooking appliances that are outside of the rules.</p>