The Best Way to Clean a Microwave
Your microwave gets super dirty, but it can be easy to ignore; you can shut the door when you’re not using it, thus hiding all the grease, splatter, and crumbs left in there. That said, out of sight might be out of mind, but it doesn’t translate to being out of the woods. Food and grime can attract pests and/or make your microwave (and food) smelly and gross. It’s time to clean your microwave. Here’s how.
Step one: Steam your microwave
To start, you should steam the inside of your microwave. That bad boy has all kinds of splatter caked and crusted on the interior and steam is going to loosen it up. Steam is a powerful tool for cleaning, as is citric acid, so this one is a no-brainer. Around the internet and CleanTok, you’ll find suggestions ranging from doing this with a half cup of water to a full cup, a half lemon to a whole one, and for three minutes to five minutes, with five minutes or 15 minutes left over for the steaming. That can all get complicated and annoying, which I discovered today. Due to a recent incident in my microwave, mine was looking exceptionally bad inside. Here’s the lemon-infused protocol I followed to get the ball rolling:
I cut a lemon into quarters and put two of them in a microwave-safe mug with one cup of water. (You can also use a bowl but I had a mug handy.)
I microwaved on high for three minutes, checking to see if steam was forming toward the end. If you don’t see any steam, give it another minute (my steam is visible on the cupboard above the microwave, which is how I knew it was working).
I let it sit with the door closed for five minutes.
When you open the microwave, you should see that what was once crusted onto the walls and ceiling of the machine is now kind of soggy and should be easy to wipe up with a sponge. I used a Clorox wipe to remove mine, just for added disinfecting power. Plus, it always smells nice and lemony. Be warned that this may take a few rounds: In the past, I’ve noticed the crust and splatter near the top was much easier to remove than anything on the bottom, since the steam travels up, but on my most recent attempt, it was the gunk at the bottom that came off easier after one round of steaming. Oh, and if your turntable is removable, take it out and soak it in warm water while you wipe out the interior, then scrub it with a sponge.
You can see in the image at the top how much success I had just from one round of lemon-steaming and a wipe-down.
Step two: Clean the exterior of the microwave
The way you clean the exterior of your microwave depends on what’s stuck on there. If it’s greasy, use a mixture of one part vinegar and one part water to gently scrub. If it’s splattered but not greasy, try a mix of one part rubbing alcohol and one part water. You can also use a damp sponge dipped in baking soda for heavier-duty messes, but be sure to follow that up with plain water.
I do this part in multiple steps. First, I use the mixture of rubbing alcohol and water to remove any easy stains or residue, then reevaluate to determine if anything left over is stuck on. Using a soft cloth, I buff some baking soda over that (which is streaky and messy) and then use plain water to remove it. If there are still streaks, then I go in with my vinegar and water, which is a streak-killing combo.
You don’t need specialty products beyond what you have around the house already to get the inside and outside of your microwave gleaming, but you do need the know-how and a bit of time.
