
When it comes to cleansing, your microwave often is the equipment you overlook most frequently. Over time, meals, filth and grease construct up, making it tougher to wash or simply wipe away any spills or splatters. For those who’ve had sufficient of your smelly and dirty microwave or are uncertain of tips on how to get it again in tip-top form, comply with our simple information beneath on tips on how to clear a microwave.
Carolyn Forté, govt director of the Good Housekeeping Institute House Care & Cleansing Lab, and Jodhaira Rodriguez, House Care & Cleansing Lab opinions analyst, share the very best methods to wash stuck-on meals. You should utilize on a regular basis cleaning products, like dish cleaning soap and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, or go for extra pure elements, like baking soda, lemon and vinegar. “Vinegar works properly on grease,” Rodriguez says. “The lemon-water technique for the inside helps steam up the within and loosens up any meals that’s caught.”
We even share ideas for every type of microwaves — assume over-the-range, built-in and countertop fashions. Plus, you’ll learn to rid your microwave of disagreeable smells (lemon will help right here!), and we’ll share tips about washing over-the-range filters and turntables.
So, go forward and comply with our detailed instructions to make the microwave cleansing course of as simple as doable.
The right way to Clear the Within a Microwave With Lemon and Vinegar
Splatters can go away your microwave wanting unhappy. To focus on your microwave’s inside – turntable included — take into account this step-by-step:
- Mix 1 cup water and lemon, lime or orange slices (squeeze juice from the fruit slices into the water) in a microwave-safe bowl. Or, if in case you have white or apple cider vinegar available, mix a number of tablespoons and 1 cup of water in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Place the bowl within the microwave and switch it on excessive energy for a number of minutes till the combination boils and the window steams up.
- Let it cool for 5 minutes earlier than opening the door, then take away the bowl and wipe the within clear with a sponge.
The right way to Clear Greasy Microwave Doorways With Dish Cleaning soap and Baking Soda
It’s not simply the within that counts: Take away smudges and grease from the microwave’s exterior with the following tips and methods.
- Clear the whole door — edges, each side and the place it seals the oven — with a sponge dampened with water and dipped in just a little baking soda. Wipe with a humid material or sponge to rinse.
- Clear a greasy window with a 50/50 combination of vinegar and water. Rinse and wipe dry.
- For heavy grease build-up and stuck-on splatters, wipe your microwave door down with an all-purpose grease-cutting cleaner (like Mr. Clean Deep Cleaning Mist ) or a sudsy mixture of dish cleaning soap and water. Apply the cleaner with a material or sponge to stop the cleaner from stepping into the vent holes. Scrub with a non-scratch pad (similar to Scotch-Brite), if wanted. Equally, to keep away from harm, by no means spray digital controls immediately with the cleaner. At all times apply the cleaner to a material first, then wipe the controls.
The right way to Clear a Microwave Filter
When you have an over-the-range microwave, clear the filter a minimum of month-to-month. The filter is supposed to catch grease, so leaving it uncleaned will result in a sticky mess on the filter and partitions. “These filters are just like those in kitchen vary hoods and will be eliminated and washed within the sink in heat, sudsy water,” says Forté. Hold it submerged for a minimum of 10 minutes. If the residue continues to be there or is immune to scrubbing, add 1/4 cup of baking soda to the water and soak it once more. Additionally, make sure you all the time comply with your microwave producer’s cleansing suggestions.
The right way to Get a Burnt Scent (and All Smells, Actually) Out of the Microwave
When cooking one thing smelly within the microwave, the scent comes again as quickly as you flip the oven again on. Which means it’s finest to eliminate the stench straight away.
- For mild odors (spicy meals with a powerful aroma, for instance), air out the oven by leaving the door open, or place a bowl of baking soda inside with the door closed to soak up smells.
- For robust odors (assume: burnt popcorn), clear any leftover residue and place an odor-absorbing gel, like Fresh Wave, inside till you run it once more.
The right way to Take away Caught-on Meals from the Microwave’s Inside
To eliminate dried-on meals, use Good Housekeeping Seal Star Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Place the turntable within the dishwasher or wash it by hand with sudsy water and a non-scratch scrub sponge.

Amanda Garrity is a life-style author and editor with over seven years of expertise, together with 5 years on workers at Good Housekeeping, the place she lined all issues house and vacation, together with the newest inside design developments, inspiring DIY concepts and reward guides for any (and each) event. She additionally has a mushy spot for feel-good TV, so you’ll be able to catch her writing about in style reveals like Virgin River, Candy Magnolias, Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Coronary heart and extra.
Assistant Editor
Mariah Thomas (she/her) is an assistant editor for Good Housekeeping, the place she covers house and life-style content material. Mariah has greater than 4 years of editorial expertise, having written for TLC, Residence Remedy, Ladies’s Well being and Avocado Journal. She acquired her grasp’s diploma in journalism on the Craig Newmark Graduate College of Journalism and printed her first ebook, Heart and Soul: Poems of Thoughts and Emotions, in 2019. She’s additionally the founding father of RTF Community a platform for creatives of coloration to attach, be taught and showcase their work.