With the advent of microwave ovens, cooking and warming up food has become much easier and faster. However, the additional appliance in the kitchen has also increased the time spent on general cleaning of the kitchen.
After all, the microwave is not the most convenient appliance to wash and clean: the sides with heating elements are not easy to clean, and the enamel surface can easily be damaged, and the microwave oven gets dirty almost as easily as a conventional gas and electric stove.
However, there are ways and tricks that will not take you more than 15 minutes to clean the inside walls of the microwave.
Create a steam bath.
If you don’t want to painstakingly and meticulously scrub away every piece of dried food and every greasy spot by hand, create an “atmosphere” Inside the microwave oven.which will completely cover all internal areas, “eating away” the dirt so that you just have to wipe everything clean with a damp sponge.
A steam bath with a variety of acids will create this effect. And the enclosed space inside the microwave will prevent the acids from escaping. It is these vapors and will carry out almost the entire process of cleaning for you. You will only have to wipe off the dirty layer with a damp sponge and sweep away dried food fibers. So, at your disposal are some effective solutions for the bath in the microwave.
These recommendations will help you save money when ordering a cleaning service for your apartment. For example on the page Maid in Your Hometown such service as: wash the microwave inside will cost you 249 UAH.
1. How to clean the microwave with lemon.
This recipe is good for light to medium soiling. And not really suitable for a microwave with an enamel interior (citric acid will damage the enamel if applied regularly).
In an open, preferably ceramic bowl, pour 400-500 grams of water, add a tablespoon of citric acid or 4 tablespoons of the usual juice squeezed from lemons to it. You can also put the crushed parts of the lemon in the water.
Put the reservoir with the lemon solution in the microwave oven, set to maximum power and time 4-5 minutes. After turning it off, let the oven cool for 5-15 minutes. Then take a damp sponge or cloth and wipe all the inner walls. Dirt that has not evaporated can be removed by soaking a washcloth in the same lemon solution.
2. How to clean the microwave with vinegar.
This solution is effective in removing a thick, greasy layer from the walls. Also, do not abuse it if the inside of your microwave is coated with enamel. Be sure to open a window while creating such a steam bath.
Pour 400-500 ml. of water into a bowl or cup, dissolve 2 tablespoons of 9% vinegar in it and add 1 teaspoon of 70% essence. Following the same scheme, put the container with the solution in the oven, turn on the maximum mode and set the time based on the degree of contamination from 2 to 5 minutes. After cooling, wipe the surface with a sponge or washcloth.
3. How to clean the microwave oven with baking soda.
A great alternative to lemon solution can be baking soda. This option would work if you’re out of citric acid.and you like to use real lemon in its natural form.
Pour 1 tablespoon of baking soda in 400-500 ml. of water. Put the bowl with the solution in the stove for the usual 2-5 minutes. The task of the soda solution is to evaporate and condense the soda on the walls of the microwave oven. The condensate should dissolve and “eat away” the dried remains of food and grease. After cooling down, scrub the internal surfaces again with a sponge soaked in the same liquid, if necessary.
Additional tips:
- Some foods are particularly eager to “explode” while reheating in microwave oven and masterfully contaminate all its walls. Therefore, containers with them must necessarily be tightly closed. We are talking about all kinds of liver, seafood, hard cheeses.
- When washing the inside of the microwave oven Do not use metallic sponges or sponges with a hard metallized surface. Metal particles may break off during cleaning and remain inside the appliance. And during the next heating it can cause a spark or even a fire inside the microwave oven.
- If you often bake apples in the microwave oven, don’t lose the opportunity to clean and shine the inside of it after cooking them. The apple acid vapor that will remain on the surfaces after baking will be enough to remove minor dirt and grease. So when you take out the baked, ruddy apple slices, don’t be lazy to go over the walls with a damp sponge after the microwave has cooled down. You’ll be amazed at how sparkling the appliance will be!
- It is recommended to clean such an oven at least once a month, unless, of course, there is some unforeseen intense contamination.
