apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Okay. This is going to sound weird but that picture of the microwave and the background looks like my dad's house. The cabinets are the same as is the gas stove.

Does the person who took the picture happen to live in Gresham Oregon?

hey siggy-
unfortunately (fortunately?) that picture came from good ol' orange county, CA.... i guess some things are pretty standard throughout the country...

That picture has Aliso Viejo in the OC written all over it. It is the Beige Box capital of Orange County. The apt. complexes there are most incestuous with their suppliers.

What's even more eerie about the picture is the gummy vitamin bottle with the yellow cap. My dad has those at the house for the grandkids.

Ha! That's exactly the same microwave I have in my kitchen. I call: "Plate of Shrimp."*

*(Please refer to the movie Repo Man for this reference to the "lattice of coincidence.")

Great tip, btw.

Fun comment thread! I love analyzing Internet photography! Oh wait, what was the original topic again? Ha.

I once heard about microwaving a wet soapy cloth (a clean dishtowel, maybe?) until it's warm, not hot, and then using it to wipe the inside -- the steam would perhaps loosen the gunk that's affixed to the insides. But I don't have the precise recipe.

Traditional oven cleaning tips are what I really need. Mine is gunky and I've been putting it off because I dread the fumes. I just got some "Easy Off, no fumes, no lye" formula, but is it for real? If I actually get around to using it, I'll report back.

I read somewhere that boiling a cup of white vinegar inside a microwave does the trick.

Missy's got it right. The Queen of Clean recommends putting your dish sponge (saturated with soapy water) into the microwave for 45 seconds. LET IT COOL, then use the same sponge to wipe out the interior. You've also disinfected the sponge.

Be careful when boiling water in the microwave. On occasion it can become superheated, meaning the water gets hotter than the normal boiling point without actually boiling, and then explodes when you disturb it:

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/superheating.html

Yeah. Really should have checked the post referred to at the beginning, huh? All I can say is that never leaves stinky sponge smell in my microwave, but it's a teeny one without much power.

How do I get ants (who seem to have nested inside) outta my microwave?

It is new and barely been used and I have kept it as clean as possible.

The ants seem to get their food elsewhere in the kitchen and then hideout inside the microwave.

Ok, easier tip. Cut a lemon in half, Microwave, and scrub the interior with the lemon and then wipe down.

-Jeff O'Hara
http://blog.zemote.com
http://vlogchicago.com

Dhalsim, how to get ants out of the microwave: switch it on! ;-)

If you have a plastic high cup and fill it three quarters with water, then boil it long enough, it will explode the water and you'll have an automatically cleaned microwave. No scrubbing necessary.

Try mixing some baking soda and water, then use a sponge to clean it using the water/baking soda mix as the solution. The baking soda will raise the pH and create a basic solution. It's an excellent and cheap way to clean. Works great for cleaning the fridge too =)

I also use bicarbonate of soda solution. It is safe and does not have any smell. Sometimes I have used the soda almost in a paste form if stains prove stubborn. There used to be a small aerosol cleaner but it does not seem to be manufactored anymore. Anyway bicarb must be the safest.
Dee 22.10.06

WE HAVE AN AMANA RADAR RANGE (MICROWAVE) 33 YEARS OLD, ONE OF THE FIRST I THINK. I WAS IN OUR HOME THEN IN OUR RV IT HAS TRAVELED THE US 4 TIMES AND STILL WORKS LIKE A CHARM. MY HUSBAND SAYS IT LOOKS LIKE A 1954 BUICK, ALL THE CHROME.

I USE 1/4 CUP VINEGAR TO A CUP OF WATER, LET IT BOIL THEN SIT FOR 15 MINUTES, ALL THE GUNK COMES OFF. ALSO LOOKING FOR A MICRO-GO-ROUND OURS DIED.

Just bought a new microwave & poped popcorn for the first time & I burned the popcorn. It left a light black mark. How do I remove it?

Feeling pretty bad. Please help.

Thank you,

Elizabeth

Should you clean the microwave after or before it has been used? And Why?

My son has poped popcorn in the microwave and everything is yellowish-orange and smells like burned popcorn. How do i get the smell and the color out

Hey out there to anyone who has delt with the removal or has uninstalled an Amana Radar Range.
Are these things attached to the wall at all or are they free standing? My mother is replacing hers and we are puzzled as to how to get the thing out of the kitchen.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

I burned a bag of mini microwave popcorn and can not get the burnt smell out of the micro. It seems to have yellowed the interior. Anyone know how to clean and "brighten" my 2 year old microwave.

This may be a tricky one> I had gobs of ants in the microwave so made the mistake of spraying it with Raid Ant Killer. Is there a way to clean the Raid remnants out of the Microwave so that it is safe to use for preparing meals again ? Thanks for any tips (and yah, it was a foolish thing to do).

Please don't do the wash-cloth thing, I burnt mine to a crisp!

I threw a couple of bay leaves in there (mind you I actually LIKE the smell of bay leaves). You could not smell anything else after that.

I use a bowl with water and a little drop of Mrs. Meyer's dish soap. (usually lavender or lemon) micro for 4 min. Check on it, then maybe another 4 min if stuff is really dirty. It makes the micro smell good and the crusty stuff wipes right off.

I posted last week regarding household cleaning tips about microwaving a small bowl of water with a few teaspoons of lemon juice for a few minutes. This disinfects and loosens stuck on food to be wiped off.

Well, this isn't about how to clean a microwave - but you can also clean up a sponge by throwing it in the dishwasher.

You probably already know this but make sure you don't use an oily cleaning product or an oily dish if you're microwaving water till it boils (lest surface film make it possible for the water to explode). I have a mild phobia of this!

The exploding water thing is only if you have a cup of pure water, which you are unlikely to get from a tap. But if you're concerned, add a drop of pretty much anything, even a couple grains of salt, and the danger is gone. They did a Mythbusters about it.

I don't know about ants in the microwave. That sucks. They do like electronics, don't they?

That's just American ants. European ants would rather spend their money on theatre tickets...

I have always used a damp paper towel instead of a damp sponge - no stink problems here!

i came up with this solution on my own in college! one of my more ingenious moments...i was quite proud of myself.

do you know what would work even better? one of those shark steam cleaning tools. ooh, at should have a giveaway for one of those...

Clean it once a week. I boil 1 cup of water, let it sit in the microwave 5 minutes, then wipe all the surfaces. Cleaning it on a regular base makes all the difference on how easy or difficult the job is.

Whenever I overheat a cup of coffee (warming it up in the microwave) and then put creamer in it only to watch it fizz up and get all over the counter, I always call it "my science experiment."

I highly recommend going to the site mentioned by M. It's really a very interesting topic.

I haven't got a microwave, but I saw this tip in a magazine a couple of years ago and in the next edition a firefighter had written in saying it's a dangerous thing to do, he'd been called out to a fire that started that way?

Maybe I'm just weird and completely out of touch, but when I make a mess in the microwave I CLEAN IT UP! I don't let stuff bake on and become crusty.

I've been using microwaves for at least 25 years and I've NEVER had a problem cleaning one out because I clean up after myself. It never gets yucky or smelly.

I used to clean up the microwave after used. so rarely I have a sticky dirt in my microwave. Most easiest is use a damp cloth with a little soap and wipe it. That's it. you got a clean an shine microwave.

For details you can see the video on How to clean a microwave