5 Best Way to Clean Microwave: Step By Step Guide

by Ada Parker — 2023-01-04 in Kitchen Appliance / Microwave

Every modern home should have a microwave oven. But do you know the best way to clean microwave?

Here’s how to clean a microwave in just 7 steps:

Water should be placed in a bowl that can be heated in a microwave.
Grab a lemon from the fridge and cut it in half.
Set the lemon in the bowl after squeezing the juice from half of it.
Enter your microwave with the bowl.
Run it for 5 minutes.
Remove the bowl from your microwave with care.
Use a paper towel or microfiber cloth to clean the surface.

One of the kitchen appliances that you use the microwave the most is. Food, grime, and grease build up over time with everything that you heat up in your microwave.

If you don’t clean it right away after heating up your food, it will harden and become much more challenging to clean. Additionally, if your kitchen isn’t regularly cleaned, bacteria will start to grow there and it will begin to smell.

By using our tried-and-true microwave cleaning techniques, you can prevent all of this. See the detailed instructions below.

Table of Contents

How to Clean a Microwave With Lemon?

1. Water should be placed in a bowl that can be heated in a microwave.
2. A lemon should be cut in half after being removed from the refrigerator.
3. In the bowl, place the lemon after squeezing out half of it. Lemon juice’s acidity will aid in removing internal grease and dirt.
4. In your microwave, place the bowl.
5. For five minutes, run the microwave. The steam created by the water and lemon juice adhering to the surrounding areas will clean your microwave as it heats up.
6. From your microwave, carefully remove the bowl. After 5 minutes, this bowl will be very hot. To remove the bowl from your microwave, put on some oven mitts or use a hot pad.
7. Use a paper towel or microfiber cloth to clean the surface. When you clean a warm surface, food and dirt will come off much more easily.

You should be able to easily wipe the inside of your microwave clean now that the water and lemon juice have had a chance to evaporate and loosen up the baked-on food and dirt.

Also remember to check the microwave’s exterior and door. Even better, use a towel dipped in the lemon juice and water mixture to clean the outside. Just be cautious because it will still be hot.

To buy a microfiber cloth from Amazon, click this link. It will work wonders on your microwave.

The approach described above is just one of many sensible tactics. Here are some alternative techniques for you to try if a lemon is not nearby.

How to Clean a Microwave With Baking Soda?

Baking soda is a great cleaning agent for your microwave. The first method is very similar to cleaning a microwave with lemon. Of course, baking soda is the only other component you’ll need. Here’s how you do it:

Half-fill a bowl that can be used in the microwave.
Add two tablespoons or so of baking soda to the bowl.
The bowl should be in the microwave for three to five minutes.
Remove the heat-resistant dish from the microwave (be careful, it will be hot).
Remove the internal dirt by wiping.

Finally, dunk your towel into the bowl and clean the microwave’s door and exterior.

There is a quicker way to use baking soda if a deep clean is not required.

Sprinkle baking soda on the area, then scrub it into the dirt to dissolve it. To get rid of the stubborn stains, a scrubby sponge, like this one from Amazon, works fantastically.

After finishing, make sure to clean your microwave of any leftover baking soda.

How to Clean a Microwave With Vinegar and Water?

A third efficient method to clean your microwave if you don’t have any lemon or baking soda is vinegar and water.

The best vinegar for this household task is white vinegar; get yours from Amazon here.

You pretty much get to decide how much vinegar to add to the water. Just make sure to water down your vinegar to lessen its strength. One tablespoon vinegar to one cup water should work well for small stains. Add more vinegar if this doesn’t work for you.

If the stains just won’t go away, you can use a 2:1 vinegar to water ratio (1 cup water to 2 cups vinegar). But tough grease and mold are the two things this is most frequently used for. One to one or more dilute solutions are much more frequently used to clean microwaves.

How to Clean a Microwave With Dish Soap?

You almost certainly always have dish soap on hand, making this one of the best methods for cleaning a microwave. Simply follow the instructions for Hacks #1 and #2, but instead of using white vinegar, lemon, or baking soda, use dishwashing liquid.

If you prefer a more hands-on approach, follow these steps:

Warm water and a few drops of dish soap should be combined in a bowl. Until the water in the bowl is sudsy, soak and squeeze a dishwashing sponge in it.
The turntable and interior glass plate should be removed. Use your sudsy sponge and dish soap to hand-wash the glass plate in your kitchen sink as you would your regular dishes.
After that, scrub the microwave’s interior with the soapy sponge. To prevent having to wash the same section twice due to food or grease falling, start at the top. Coat the floor, walls, door, and ceiling of your microwave in a circular motion. Every square inch should be covered in suds. Make sure to take care of your microwave by not letting water get in the vents.
Repeat the process until your microwave is spotless.
Using a damp paper towel, wipe up any remaining sudsy water before cleaning your microwave once more with a dry paper towel or rag.
Switch out the glass plate and turntable.

How to Clean a Microwave With Melamine Foam Sponges?

A melamine foam sponge—better known by the brand name Magic Eraser—truly feels like magic. Though you may think you should avoid putting it in the microwave, think again! An excellent microwave cleaning tip is to use this sponge.

Simply dampen the sponge a little to activate the melamine foam after removing the glass plate and microwave turntable. After that, wipe the interior of your microwave and the glass plate with small circular motions, being careful not to get any moisture into the vents.
Replace the turntable and glass plate if the grime on your microwave is so difficult to remove that it seems like your Magic Eraser isn’t working. Next, microwave the melamine foam sponge for five minutes on high after soaking it in water.
Use the sponge to remove any remaining traces of food and grime after letting it cool. Cleanliness and freshness are important in your microwave.

Safety Reminders & Tips

Unless you need to use the heat to clean your appliance, properly shut off and unplug your microwave before cleaning to prevent any unfortunate mishaps.
Never use your microwave with anything metallic inside. Avoid cleaning your microwave with tools like metallic brushes.
Use water with caution. When using water to clean your microwave, be especially careful because these are electric machines and you risk damaging them if you are not careful.
Your microwave’s turntable needs to be cleaned and taken out occasionally. It is completely safe to put it in the dishwasher or to wash it by hand with soap and water like any other plate. Just make sure to completely dry it off before using it again. Remember to put it back before letting someone else use the microwave, too.
Use lids whenever you microwave food or beverages. The amount of time between your next unit cleanup is increased because it decreases spatter incidents.
Use your microwave on a low setting whenever you can to lessen the likelihood of burning or splattering food. To make cleaning easier and to prevent accidents in the kitchen, use your microwave properly.
When cleaning your microwave, stay away from strong chemicals. Keep in mind that while using your unit to heat food or beverages, you don’t want to unintentionally consume any chemicals.
No amount of cleaning will be able to fix a microwave’s internal problem. If your machine fails unexpectedly, you should probably call a professional. However, cleaning your machine on a regular basis does help to keep it functioning optimally.

Final Words on Cleaning Microwave

So there you have it, a straightforward yet efficient instruction manual for cleaning a microwave. If you don’t have the time to keep your kitchen and microwave clean, we offer routine cleaning services so you never have to worry about it again.

For more information on all things kitchen cleaning, read our posts below:

FAQs

How Often Should You Clean Your Microwave?

Cleaning your microwave once a week to once every three to four weeks will help keep the amount of bacteria and pungent odors in your kitchen at bay. You might need to clean it more frequently if you frequently heat messy foods like sauces or gravy. You could also wait longer than a month to clean it if you don’t use it often. Just don’t leave the dirt to sit for too long.

How Often Should You Replace Your Microwave?

For the most part, microwaves are made to last up to 10 years. However, only if you take good care of it and clean it frequently will yours last that long.