Your microwave is not impervious to stains. In fact, it might be the one appliance in your room that sees the most stains and messes. It takes a single burnt bag of popcorn or a spill of leftover food to turn the otherwise pristine interior into a big mess. It goes without saying that you need to stay on top of microwave oven maintenance and cleaning, or else it will not be in a very good condition.
Ideal Microwave Oven Cleaning
Removing stains and other messes from within is not an easy task, especially if you don’t know how to do it efficiently. The good thing about cleaning the microwave is that you can do it with ordinary everyday cleaning products found in your pantry – baking soda, vinegar and dish soap. You don’t really need to use bleach, or any heavy-duty chemical-based cleaning solution.
Remember, it is important to address stains sooner, rather than later. The more you let them sit, the harder they are to clean. Therefore, the next time you splatter tomato sauce all over the microwave oven, you are better off cleaning it by using some of the following methods.
Cleaning the microwave interior
It is bad enough that splatters ruin the otherwise perfect-looking interior of the microwave oven, but there is also the issue of it developing a nasty smell. In order to address the problem, you should take the following steps:
- Mix 1 cup of water with lime, orange or lemon slices in a microwave-safe bowl. First squeeze the juice from the fruit in the water, then toss in the remains. You can also include a few tablespoons of white vinegar.
- Place the bowl inside the microwave and turn it on for several minutes. The mixture should start boiling up and steaming.
- Let it sit for about 5 minutes, and then wipe the interior. The steam, powered by the citrus fruit and vinegar will soften the gunk inside the microwave and make it very easy to wipe off with a damp cloth.
Cleaning the microwave door
Sometimes, splatters occur on the microwave door, mostly on the inside part of it. You can easily remove any grease and smudges from the exterior of the microwave with these tips:
Dip a sponge in baking soda and clean the entire microwave door
Edges, both sides and the seals where it closes. Wipe with a damp cloth afterwards to remove baking soda residue.
If the window is greasy, you should use a mix of one part vinegar and one part water.
If the greasy build-up is a little too much, you can employ a mix of water and dish soap. Use a cloth to apply the cleaning solution, targeting the most soiled areas. Don’t spray electronic controls, because you can damage them.
Removing a bad smell from the microwave
If you have burned food in the microwave, you know just how bad the smell can be. One reason is because your microwave is probably sitting on your countertop, and so there is no place for it to vent properly. In order to remove the stench, you can use this guide:
For light smells
Most of the times you can just air out the smell as you leave the microwave door open. Put a bowl of baking soda inside the oven, since it has nice odour-absorbing qualities.
For strong smells
Remove any residue from the inside of the oven and use an odour-absorbing gel. This kind of product can easily deal with strong smells, leaving the oven feeling like new.
