How to Clean a Microwave (Pro Tips)

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

Fill a microwave-safe bowl about halfway with water.
Take a lemon out of your refrigerator and cut it in half.
Squeeze half of the lemon into the bowl and set the lemon in the bowl.
Put the bowl inside your microwave.
Run it for 5 minutes.
Carefully remove the bowl from your microwave.
Wipe the surface with a paper towel or microfiber cloth.

A microwave is one of the most frequently used appliances in your kitchen. With everything that you heat up in your microwave, food, dirt, and grease accumulate over time.

If you don’t clean it shortly after heating up your food, it hardens and become much more difficult to clean. Not only that, but bacteria will grow inside and your kitchen will start to smell without consistent cleaning.

You can avoid all this with our proven strategies on cleaning your microwave. Check out our step-by-step guide below.

Take a look at this video below, which shows you how to clean a microwave in under five minutes!

What You Need

1 microwave-safe bowl
One lemon
A couple of cups of water
Paper towels or a microfiber cloth

How to Clean a Microwave with Lemon

1. Fill a microwave-safe bowl about halfway with water.

2. Take a lemon out of your refrigerator and cut it in half.

3. Squeeze half of the lemon into the bowl and set the lemon in the bowl.

The acidic nature of the lemon juice will help break down dirt and grease on the inside.

4. Put the bowl inside your microwave.

5. Run the microwave for 5 minutes.

As it heats up, the lemon juice and water will produce steam that will attach to the surrounding areas, cleaning your microwave.

6. Carefully remove the bowl from your microwave.

After 5 minutes, this bowl will be very hot. So put on some oven mitts or use a hot pad to remove the bowl from your microwave.

7. Wipe the surface with a paper towel or microfiber cloth.

Wipe the surface while it is warm; the food and dirt will come off much easier.

Now that the water and lemon juice has had a chance to evaporate and loosen up the baked-on food and dirt in your microwave, you should be able to wipe the inside of your microwave clean easily.

Don’t forget the microwave door and the outside of your microwave, too. You can even dip your towel into the lemon juice and water mixture to wipe the outside. Just be careful as it will still be hot.

Click on this link to purchase a microfiber cloth from Amazon; it will work wonders on your microwave.

The method above is just one effective strategy of many. If you don’t have a lemon handy, here are some different methods for you to try out!

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How to Clean a Microwave with Baking Soda

You can also clean your microwave with baking soda. The first way to do this is very similar to cleaning a microwave with lemon. The only additional ingredient you’ll need is, of course, baking soda. Here’s how you do it:

Fill a microwave-safe bowl halfway with water.
Add about two tablespoons of baking soda to the bowl.
Place the bowl in your microwave and run it for three to five minutes.
Remove the heatproof dish from your microwave (caution: it will be hot).
Wipe away the grime on the inside.

That’s it! Now, dip your towel into the bowl and wipe off the microwave door and exterior.

If you don’t need a deep clean, there’s a quicker way to use baking soda.

Simply sprinkle the area with baking soda and scrub the baking soda into the dirt to break it down. A scrubby sponge – like this one from Amazon – works great here to remove the tough stains.

Once you’re done, be sure to remove the excess baking soda from your microwave.

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How do you clean a microwave with vinegar and water?

If you don’t have baking soda or a lemon, vinegar and water is a third effective way to clean your microwave.

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The ratio of vinegar to water is more or less up to you. Just be sure to dilute your vinegar with some water to decrease the strength. For easy stains, one tablespoon vinegar to one cup water will likely do the trick. If this doesn’t work for you, add more vinegar.

You can go all the way up to a 2:1 ratio of vinegar to water (⅓ cup water to ⅔ cup vinegar) if the stains just won’t budge. But, this is most commonly used for tough grease and mold. One to one, or more heavily diluted solutions, are much more popular options to clean your microwave.

How do I clean my microwave without vinegar?

To clean your microwave without vinegar, you can always go with the traditional method: dish soap and water.

I use this Dawn dish Soap from Amazon to clean mine.

Squirt a small amount of soap on the affected area, let it sit for a few minutes, and then scrub away!

If you need something stronger, you can also use a kitchen degreaser; we put our 15 years of experience in kitchens into our review of eight of the best degreasers in this detailed article here.

If you’re not one to put in the elbow grease, try out our techniques with the lemon or baking soda first.

What is the best way to clean the inside of a microwave?

The best way to clean the inside of a microwave is with lemon. It only requires one lemon, a heat-resistant dish, some water, and a cloth! The microwave does all the work for you, so all you have to do is wipe.

That being said, whether you use lemon, baking soda, vinegar, or dish soap to tackle tough stains, follow the tips in this article and you will be left with a super shiny appliance.

How to Clean the Outside of Your Microwave

You have countless options to clean the outside of your microwave. It’s really easy; in fact, you can use exactly what you used for the inside. Here’s are a few different methods:

Dish soap and water
Vinegar and water (2 tbsp per cup up to a 2:1 ratio for maximum strength)
Lemon juice and water (1-2 tbsp or ½ - 1 lemon for a medium-sized bowl of water)
Baking soda and water (2 tbsp per cup)
Kitchen degreaser (click here to check out our complete reviews)

How do you clean a really dirty microwave?

To clean a really dirty microwave, combine vinegar and water, lemon juice and water, or baking soda and water in a heatproof bowl. Then, heat the mixture for three to five minutes. Let it sit a bit before your wipe it out. This way, you avoid scrubbing and your microwave breaks down the tough stains and grease for you.

How often should you clean your microwave?

Clean your microwave once a week to once every three to four weeks to keep the bacteria build-up and strong smells down in your kitchen. If you heat a lot of messy foods like sauces or gravy, you may need to clean it more often. Or, if you rarely use it, you can go longer than a month without cleaning it. Just don’t let the grime sit for very long.

How often should you replace your microwave?

Most microwaves are manufactured to last up to 10 years. But, yours will only last that long if you maintain it properly and clean it frequently.

What is the most reliable microwave brand?

Three of the most trusted microwave brands are Toshiba, Panasonic, and Farberware. I found three reliable products on Amazon with hundreds or even thousands of five-star ratings. Purchase yours below.

That’s it for our guide! Thanks for reading. Do you have a clean microwave yet?

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