An efficient microwave is a great thing to possess, but only if it’s easy to clean and maintain. Half the fun of having a superb unit goes if you’re going to spend more time cleaning the machine than using it. Furthermore, a dirty microwave is not something you’d like to cook or heat your food in. After all, that would hardly be a hygienic start to your meal.
So how do you go about cleaning your microwave of all those spills and splatters, and also of course the stuck-on grease and the sickening smell of old food? Since the microwaves invention cleaning them has been a real chore for home owners. Here are some wonderfully natural and easy ways to clean a microwave.
Quick and easy ways to clean your microwave
There are several quick way to clean your microwave, including;
- Put a few wet paper towels inside the machine and run it on high for 3-5 minutes, causing the steam to loosen all that grime stuck on the sides. Once the dirt peels off and the microwave cools down, just wipe the sides clean with towels.
- Rinse a cloth in cold water, squeeze out a bit of the water and place the damp cloth in the microwave, then heat for 2 minutes. Use the hot rag (be careful not to burn your hands) to wipe the insides clean.
- Microwave a bowl of water on high for 2 minutes, and then letting it stand for another two, also works well to steam off all the muck stuck on the sides, making it easy to wipe it clean.
Natural ways to clean a microwave
Additionally, there are some cool natural ways of keeping your microwave spick and span.
- The lemon trick is one of the simplest and most natural ways of cleaning the microwave. Lemon juice squeezed into water along with rinds is a perfect cleaning technique for a dirty microwave. Boiling the lemon water in the microwave causes condensation on the sides of the machine, helping peel off the dirt and food particles, which you can then just wipe out with a clean towel. Stubborn stains can be removed by dipping a corner of the towel in the lemon water and scrubbing the stains clean with it. The lemon also works as a deodorant to rid the microwave of the smell of food.
- Vinegar is another effective cleaning agent. All it needs is 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1-2 cups of water, with a drop of an essential oil (if you don’t want your microwave to smell of vinegar). Add the vinegar and oil to water in a bowl, microwave for about 5 minutes, let it stand for another 2 minutes to steam the dirt off the sides, and then wipe the unit clean. Just ensure that the bowl doesn’t overheat as that can cause the liquid to explode inside. You can also float a toothpick in the water to prevent it from exploding.
- You can follow the same process with vanilla essence in water. A few drops of the essence in a bowl filled 3/4ths with water needs to be heated for about 4 minutes and then allowed to sit for another two. The dirt can then simply be wiped clean with paper towels.
- Another way to clean with vinegar is to pour a teaspoon of vinegar on a wet sponge and microwave the sponge. That’ll work quite well if the microwave is not too dirty. You can use this method to clean the unit’s interior as well as its exterior.
- You can also use baking soda to clean the floor or turntable of all the spill-overs. Baking soda and water made into paste in the ratio of 2:1 can be applied on the grime to soften in. It’ll take 5-6 minutes to work and you can them wipe the paste away with a wet cloth or sponge.
Cleaning specific parts of the microwave
Cleaning certain parts of the microwave can also be fairly straightforward.
- As for cleaning the turntable, it can easily be done in the washing sink, like you do with your plates and glasses. Just take care not to break it by putting the hot turntable under cold water. You can also use a glass cleaner to make the turntable shine, as with the door of the microwave.
- Now what about the grease on the outside of the machine? After all, the microwave is lying around in the kitchen and is bound to get a lot of grime on its exteriors too? You can scrub the exterior with a terry towel dipped in dishwash cleaning liquid and wipe it clean.
- For the outside, you can also use the multi-purpose kitchen spray. Apply it on the unit, especially the buttons and handles where dirt tends to get trapped, and wipe it clean with a paper towel, across the entire machine, from the top to the sides.
- The spray can, in fact, be used to clean the insides too. Spray the interior and then wipe with a soft damp cloth repeatedly, reaching into the corners, the inside of the door, the plate and the walls. Finally, use paper towels to dry off the walls and the plate etc. A bathroom foam cleaner also works as a good spray for this purpose.
These are exceptionally simple cleaning techniques, which are easy to apply and cost virtually nothing. But prevention, as they say, is better than cure. So you can actually keep your microwave quite clean by wiping it with a towel or kitchen cleaner every time you use it. That would help to ensure that your microwave doesn’t get painfully dirty, thus preventing any elaborate and tough cleaning in the future. You can also prevent grease from sticking on the microwave by sprinkling salt over it, even while the cooking is still in progress.
