ResearchCleaning Your Microwave With Ease
Cleaning your microwave is something that is fairly simple, but we are all probably guilty of letting too much time pass between each cleaning. Don’t worry; if your microwave is splattered with spaghetti sauce, popcorn oil, and some unknown substances, you aren’t alone. It’s too easy to simply close the door on the mess after you are done cooking and forget about the mess until you open the door again. Luckily, there are some really simple ways to keep your microwave a lot cleaner so that you don’t open the door to a mess every time you need to heat something up.
One thing that you should think about is that your microwave probably is not healthy the way it is now. The food that is left on the walls of your microwave can grow mold and other bacteria and contaminate everything you eat. If you don’t clean the microwave because it looks gross, do it because it is gross, and could actually make you sick!
Stay on Top of the Problem
We all intend to stay on top of the mess, especially when the microwave is new. But, before we know it the microwave is a mess and we don’t know what to do. Prevention is the key. This doesn’t mean that you’ll have to stop and clean the appliance each time you heat something up, but it does mean you’ll clean more regularly.
Each week you probably give your kitchen a good once over, right? Meaning you clean all of the countertops, you do the dishes, and you just make the place look presentable. You should make cleaning your microwave part of that process. If you don’t allow yourself to leave the kitchen until the microwave is wiped out, you’ll find that you don’t have to look at any huge messes each time you go to heat something up.
You can also create a schedule for yourself so that each month all of your appliances get a good cleaning. Think about it, your refrigerator, oven, coffee pot, microwave, and even your toaster could use a good cleaning at least once a month. When you couple your monthly cleaning with the weekly cleaning you’ll find that your microwave is not nearly as nasty as it was before!
How To Clean Your Microwave
First, if you do see something splatter all over the walls or top of the microwave and you have a free moment, you can wipe it out. The sooner you attack the problem, the better. A wet rag or a sponge will usually take the mess right off because most microwaves are made with a Teflon like surface so that they wipe off relatively easily. Because most of us don’t do this, there are other remedies that will help you get your microwave clean without exerting yourself.
The first thing you can do is take a sponge with soap and water and scrub the walls of your microwave. This might take a bit of time, but in less than 15 minutes you’ll see a huge difference. If this doesn’t work so well or if the baked on mess intimidates you, there is something really simple that you can do to help cut the scrubbing time in half. The trick is to put a cup of water with a lemon in it in the microwave and heat it up for about a minute. Then, let the cup of water sit in the closed microwave for ten to fifteen minutes. After that time has elapsed you will be greeted by a great citrus smell and the baked on mess will wipe right off. The steam from the water will loosen the mess and the smell will help make the task more tolerable.
As you can see, there are some simple ways to keep your microwave clean and safe so that you can use it without cringing. As easy as it is to just shut the door on the mess, it’s a better idea to take care of it as soon as possible, or at least once a month along with your other appliances. Take care of your microwave, clean it out!