How to clean a microwave: actionable tips and hacks to clean your microwave quickly and get perfect results every time.
The microwave gets a good workout in our home. We use it to heat up coffee, soups and leftovers and we often turn to it to quickly defrost frozen goodies from the freezer.
This extensive use means that our microwave needs a good clean more often than not, especially now that the kids have figured out how to use it, with the consequent increase in spillages you can imagine!
However, cleaning a microwave is not hard. It has nothing in common with the awful task of cleaning a full oven and it is actually a chore that you can do quickly and with great satisfaction in a matter of minutes.
These are our tips for cleaning the microwave quickly and easily.
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How to clean a microwave inside
Microwaves are made of 3 main parts inside: the main tray or turntable (removable), the base and sides and the electrical coil.
The turntable is usually easy to clean: our favorite way is to simply wash it in hot water and washing liquid like a normal dish, with the help of a scourer if needed.
This only takes a minute and is the best way to get rid of any spills and stuck on food.
To clean the inside of the microwave we love this quick hack that uses simple ingredients you are likely to already have in your kitchen.
1. Take a microwave resistant bowl and mix one cup of water with some freshly squeezed lemon.
2. Put the bowl in the microwave and turn to high power for a few minutes: how long this will take depends on the power of your microwave and the amount of water used. Basically, you want the water to get hot enough to start to evaporate: the vapor will coat the inside of the microwave with a lemon smelling mist that will help clean and deodorize the microwave.
3. Once the water has done its job, let it cool, then unplug the microwave (for safety), open the door, remove the turntable and wipe clean with a clean sponge.
4. Wash the turntable as described above, put it back into your clean microwave and you are done! Now you can move onto the inside door and gaskets.
How to clean microwave doors and gaskets
The inside of the door of your microwave will benefit from the water and lemon hack described above. However, it will sometimes need a little extra attention, especially around its gasket.
The best way to clean a microwave gasket is to use a soft kitchen sponge with a little water and baking soda or white vinegar. Dampen your sponge in the water + baking soda solution and lightly clean the whole perimeter of the door: all the grease will come out with the sponge in no time!
Top tip: Make sure your sponge in not soaking wet or dirty greasy water will drip on the floor or the counters as you go!
How to minimize spillages in the microwave
As easy as it is cleaning a microwave, kitchen maintenance would be easier if we could minimize spillages and burn smells to begin with. Thankfully, there as several products that can help with that. These are our best finds on Amazon.
We hope you found this how to clean your microwave tutorial useful. Happy homemaking!
Don’t forget to check out all of our kitchen cleaning & organizing tips here.
