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Cleaning A Microwave: How To & Tips
Dried, crusty insides of a microwave are voila! a problem no more with these easy cleaning methods. Here are a few tips to easily clean the grunge from inside your microwave:
How To Clean A Microwave
Tip #1
- Place a bowl of water in the microwave (with a non-metal object such as a wooden spoon or stir stick in the water*) and heat for 3 – 5 minutes, depending how hard the crud is really stuck on. When microwave stops, keep the door closed to give the moisture and steam the heated bowl of water generated to have time to work. Remove bowl (careful, it’s hot) and take a moist, warm cloth to the inside of the microwave. The crud bits should wipe off easily.
Tip #2
- Add a couple teaspoons of baking soda to a bowl of water and place in microwave. Follow same process as above. The added baking soda will act as a deodorizer. If you’re brave, you can use the hot baking soda water to clean the insides of the microwave, but be careful–it is HOT water. Use a thick sponge and make sure to keep water away from your fingertips. You could also add a splash or two of cold water to bring the temperature down.
Tip #3
- Mix 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water in a bowl, place in microwave. Follow the same procedure as Tip #1. The vinegar also acts as a freshener and deodorizer. You can also use this water when wiping down, but again–the water is very hot. Be careful.
Tip #4
- Soak a thick, clean sponge with vinegar and water (you can also use a hand towel instead of a sponge), set microwave on high for 3 minutes. Let the microwave sit closed for a few minutes once heating is done–allows moisture and steam to work into all the crust bits and splatters. Open microwave and use the sponge to wipe down insides. The sponge will be hot, so wear rubber gloves to help protect your skin from the heat.
Another option:
- You can throw a few slices of lemon in a bowl of hot water and then heat as above. This will help freshen things up as well.
Try it, with these tips cleaning the inside of your microwave has never been easier 
.
*ETA: Read comment section below. Water by itself placed in a microwave can ’superheat’ and cause serious burns by erupting.
*Originally published December 13, 2006
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placing a bowl of water in the microwave can be dangerous, google – microwave water – and the top links will show what I mean. So tip # 1 is a bad idea.
Now that’s interesting Steve, thanks for that warning. Here’s the link I found:
truthorfiction.com
I did some more digging and it looks to be legit, water can indeed superheat in a microwave, but frequently cited as a rare occurance. Here’s something from snopes:
Snopes
I’m going to adjust the first tip, thanks Steve!
I wish I had read the warning about superheating first. I heated a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and tap water for about 5 minutes in my microwave. It didn’t seem to have boiled so I heated for another 2 minutes. Well, one minute into that second cycle, the liquid erupted, the bowl went flying against the door, and the door popped open. The liquid did thoroughly wet the walls of the microwave this way, but I don’t recommend it. I was about 3 feet away from the microwave and it gave me quite a start. Lesson learned – pass it on.
I use the 50/50 of vinegar and water and I only put it in for 3 minutes and it is plenty. Microwave was easy to wipe down.
Placing a bowl of ammonia in the microwave and leaving it overnight works well. You can also microwave the ammonia for a few minutes and leave it hot inside for a while and then clean, but the heated ammonia is pretty nasty. I managed to quickly clean an old microwave that hadn’t been used in years this way…..felt like I had snorted the ammonia, but worked really well.
I’ll have to post this at work. We don’t have a kettle so we microwave our water for teas, soups, flavored coffees and whatever for hot water needs. Nothing has happened in the ten plus years I’ve worked there, but this is good to know. Thanks for the info!
Came back to tell you this was my Saturday job To Do and YOU ROCK! My microwave looks brand new again, THANK YOU!!!
This isn’t A Comment,but Rather A Question….how can I remove “burnt popcorn smell from my microwave?”.
pinkzodiac37 use one of the cleaning methods above to give the microwave a good clean. If the burnt popcorn smell is still there:
What I would do is cover a large plate with fresh coffee grounds (a generous layer), put it in the microwave, close the door and let it sit closed for a few days.
You could also try method #1 on this page.
This is not a comment but a question.
How can you get the smell of rotten chicken which has been defrosted and forgotten to take out of the microwave. I’ve tried the bicarb and lemon ideas but the smell is still there. I’ve even wiped around the microwave and the cupboard with eucalyptus oil and still the smell lingers. Any suggestions?
lol! I have done that before, its NO GOOD! I got rid of the microwave all together!!
We have two thin dark brown streaks on the wall of the microwave. No sure what happened, never ocurred before.
How can you get the streaks off? Neither “soft-scrub w/bleach” or :brillo pad” worked.
Thanks
Can somebody suggest the way to get rid of cockroaches settled in the space between the two frames of the lid of a microwave. The microwave was not in use for quite sometime.
Roaches are going to be attracted to the microwave no matter you do. They’re drawn towards the energy field caused by most electical appliances. So if you already have one roach there, I suggest tossing the microwave, bug bombing your place, and then buy a new one.
I found that if you clean your microwave with the following method, it leaves your kitchen smelling fresh for days.
small microwavable bowl
water
vanilla or lemon juice
place a couple of drops of vanilla (artificial is fine) or lemon juice (ReaLemon works) in a small bowl of water (do not fill to brim) and cook for 2 minutes. Take a damp sponge/cloth and wipe microwave clean.
This may need to be repeated, depending on how dirty your microwave is. Just keep cooking the water for 2 minutes at a time. If a lot of elbow grease is required, you may dip the sponge/cloth into the water (careful, it will be hot) and wipe again.
I have found that the best way to remove crusty stuff and odors from the microwave or regular oven is to fill an ordinary spray bottle with plain water and add either vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, or vanilla extract and just spray it all over the inside. Then heat up the oven with a pan (regular oven) or cup of water. Let it sit when done for 10 to 15 minutes and just wipe it out with a paper towel or cloth. It always has always come right off easily.
My microwave cleaning tips are simple. Clean your microwave right after every use, let it cool down for awhile leave it open. Then if it’s cool enough, you can start cleaning it from the inside use only sponge and a little bit of water and dish washing liquid, don’t scratch too hard and don’t use any steels to take off the stains, it will damage the surface of the microwave and will surely affect it’s heating performance. Just right after you clean it make sure to wipe it with a dry towel. Use only soft materials when cleaning your microwave.
Awesome site, thanks for the microwaving tip it worked! I also added the lemon drops to the water too.
I have worked in many a restaurant and the method often used is just to wet a kitchen towel, fold and place on the bottom of the microwave to cover the entire bottom, heat for 45 seconds and then everything inside wipes off with the same, now warm, towel.
I used the tip with the cut up lemon in the bowl and it worked like a dream!
I did the method with the wet towel and it worked GREAT! Yippee! I’m glad that’s finally done! Just in time for Spring Cleaning too!