I've been meaning to blog about this for some time. Several months ago, I saw a random post on Pinterest about using vinegar and water to essentially steam-clean your microwave. I tried it. And it worked! It's incredibly easy, and super cheap.
The pics above are old ones from a few months ago, but scroll down and you can see what my microwave looks like after a bowl of beans in tomato sauce explodes all over the roof. Of course, what the pictures can't convey is the stench of reheated fish that permeated the microwave after heating up leftovers yesterday...
But fear not! All it took was a bowl of water and vinegar and about 2 seconds of wiping things down and it was shiny and pretty inside again. And no more fishy stench...
It's really very simple. In a bowl, mix about 1/4 - 1/2 cup white vinegar with 1/2 - 1 cup water. Pop it in the microwave for 3-5 minutes, until water starts boiling. Let it sit for about a minute, for the steam to loosen all the gunk on the microwave walls, then wipe everything down with a damp cloth.
See? Easy.
If you really dislike the smell of white vinegar (like my husband) you can just dump out your vinegar water after using it, add 1 cup plain water and a couple of drops of scented oil (today I used pine), and run it in the microwave for a minute or two. It will help disperse the vinegar scent.
I'm a huge fan of cleaning with vinegar and baking soda. Strong chemical smells can cause allergic reactions (I discuss this in detail in my book Living with Oral Allergy Syndrome ), so using natural cleaners is less likely to aggravate the immune system.
If you're looking for other natural ways to clean appliances, check out my other cleaning posts:
Do you use vinegar to clean?
Have you checked out my gluten free pasta book Recipes for Unusual Gluten Free Pasta: Pierogis, Dumplings, Desserts and More! ? Get yourself a copy and start making GF won tons, pierogis, dumplings, and orzo today :)
Yes, I love this method! It works so well.
ReplyDeleteIt does a great job!
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