Spring 2025

For many years, Rav Moshe Heinemann shlit”a instructed STAR-K to advise consumers that electric appliances which require tevila – such as toasters, waffle makers and hot water kettles – can be toveled and left to dry for three days. I have given this advice probably thousands of times and never once had a call back that the appliance was ruined.

There are, however, appliances that have both electric and electronic components. Electric devices convert electrical energy into other forms of energy, while electronic devices control the flow of electrons to perform tasks. Once exposed to water, damage to electronics begins within seconds – and the longer the exposure, the worse the damage.

Printed circuit boards consist of a laminate containing fiberglass and copper-clad epoxy, which forms the circuit’s wiring. This creates the perfect environment for galvanic or two-metal corrosion. Water contains minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and salt, which accelerate galvanic corrosion.[1] Keurig- and Nespresso-type appliances have circuit boards and screens which cannot be safely toveled because they almost surely will not work afterward.[2]

A kli that contains electronics that will be destroyed if immersed does not require tevila according to Rav Heinemann.[3] The logic behind this ruling is that even though there is a positive commandment of tevilas keilim, that mitzvah is only fulfilled if the kli remains usable after the tevila. If toveling will ruin the kli, the mitzvah was not fulfilled. In that case, one is considered an onus, unable to perform the mitzvah, and the kli therefore may be used without tevila.

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[1] See https://blog.acsindustrial.com/circuit-board-repair/can-your-water-damaged-circuit-boards-be-repaired/.

[2] I once had the pleasure of disassembling and reassembling a Nespresso machine with Rav Heinemann (it took almost two hours!) to confirm that there was indeed a metal water heating tank inside that would require tevila.

[3] For more details, see “Getting Into Hot Water: Urns and Pump Pots in Halacha – Tevila and Workplace,” by Rabbi Zvi Goldberg.