As a mom, I love my microwave, mostly because it can heat up dinner for my family in a jiffy. Sure, I acknowledge those who say there are risks when you use a microwave, but I also don’t stand in front of it and stare into the heat waves. I’m simply popping in leftovers for dinner or warming up a black cup of coffee from this morning for a mid-afternoon pick me up. The coffee may taste like tar, but the microwave does the trick and the tar is piping hot!
What I don’t like about the microwave is cleaning it. No matter how many times I tell my husband and children to “please cover that bowl of spaghetti with a napkin,” they forget. After one week, my nice clean microwave looks like a pizza bomb went off inside of it. Often times, I’m not sure what the caked-on hard splatter is. There are even times when I wonder if my children are doing this on purpose to see what they can make pop, explode and stick to the microwave door—good fun just to make mom’s life miserable.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll be cleaning a dirty microwave for the rest of my life. And I’m guessing you’re reading this because you’re in the same boat as me. Fear not—I’ve got a solution!
To make this job easier with little-to-no scrubbing and absolutely no smelly chemical cleaners, here is how to easily and naturally clean that dirty, gross microwave.
What you need:
1 cup of white vinegar
1 sliced lemon
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of baking soda
Directions:
*Combine the white vinegar, water and sliced lemon into a microwavable bowl.
*Heat on high for 5 minutes—this steams the microwave and loosens up the gunk that
is stuck onto your microwave walls, door and ceiling.
*After the 5 minutes is up, sprinkle the 1 tablespoon of baking soda onto a wet sponge,
paper towel or dish rag and wipe the inside of your microwave.
*You’ll notice the microwave smells good and the grime is wiping right off with ease.
*Now with a clean wet cloth, wipe the inside of your microwave one more time.
*It will be sparkling clean and smell good too!
Don’t throw out your vinegar, water and lemons!
They can also be used again to clean your garbage disposal—a two-for-one cleaning tip!
After you’ve finished making your microwave sparkly clean again, pour 2 tablespoons of baking soda into your garbage disposable, 1 cup of ice and the vinegar, water and lemon mixture. Run hot water into the garbage disposal and turn it on. You’re sharpening your blades and cleaning the inside of your garbage disposal at the same time!
Now you can sit down and enjoy a piping hot cup of coffee, because your microwave is clean and so is your garbage disposal. Plus, your kitchen will have a fresh lemon scent as an extra bonus. Just don’t let anyone else into your kitchen, or it’s time to proceed back to step one!
About the author
Sommer Poquette is a green and clean mom who writes green-cleaning tips for The Home Depot. Sommer’s easy-to-use tips will help keep your microwave in top shape using everyday household items. You can view Home Depot’s selection of microwaves online.
Have you made and used natural, green cleaners in your home?
What are your tips for “green cleaning” your microwave and garbage disposal?
Share your suggestions, thoughts and comments with us.
Photo Credit: Sommer Poquette
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We don’t use the microwave, but I love the tip on how to clean the garbage disposal as I find ours gets smelly once in awhile.
Hi Kimmy,
I love cleaning with lemon, vinegar, baking soda and other safe, nontoxic ingredients. The same ingredients that are good for cleaning the microwave can be used to clean other items. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it.
Great tips, I need to do this today! Thanks for sharing at Pin-Worthy Wednesday!
Hi Roxanne,
Yes, isn’t it amazing how safe and easy we can clean with a few items from our kitchens. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it.
Thanks for sharing this post. I use baking soda, lemon and vinegar for so much when I’m cleaning my home. Even toilets! =)
Hi Sommer,
I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with you and to discover your wonderful green blog. I also love making and using my own green cleaners with vinegar, lemon and baking soda. Let’s stay in touch! All the best, Deborah
I love how lemons have so many green cleaning uses. I often run them through the disposal in the sink. It keeps it from smelling stank.
Hi Maria,
Yes, I use lemons for so many purposes in my home as well. Great natural cleaners!
This is a wonderful green cleaning method. I’ve tried it before.
Thank you for your great advices.Lemons are a natural cleaning agent. They are awesome! I use baking soda to clean my microwave , too. It there are some stubborn stains it will remove them. Baking soda is a miracle. Happy cleaning 🙂
It all sounds great! I like using vinegar and baking soda as cleaners and in my opinion nothing can go wrong with this. I will try your idea. Thank you for sharing!
It’s useful tip for protecting microwave. Also, I know lemon has many functions such as cleaning hardwood flooring.
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