Pin Busters! Clean Your Microwave the Easy Way!

This is another Pin that I saw from Jillee over at One Good Thing. It's a simple way to "steam clean" your microwave using white vinegar and water. I've heard of this before, but never tried it.


I'm pretty sure that our microwave is about 16 years old. I think it's the original one that was put in when the house was built. So it's a little outdated. But it works, so we've never changed it. Lulu is 21 and her boyfriend is 26 - they use the microwave a lot. Buddy is 22, and he has a lot of friends who are always here - they use the microwave a lot. I don't think any of them ever cover the food they cook/reheat.

Here are the before pictures:


One of Buddy's friends tried to make Kraft mac & cheese in the microwave. She forgot to add water. It burned. Then she did it again. Yes, folks. Twice in one night. At 4 in the morning. It woke everyone up. We thought the house was on fire. It took forever to get rid of the smell. She is no longer allowed to use the microwave. As a secondary precaution, I also hide the mac & cheese when she comes over.



The verdict: Pin-worthy! Most of the gunk came off easily, but there were still a few spots that I had to scrub a bit. Maybe if I had put the solution back in for a few more minutes it would've loosened it? Or maybe there are just some things that are more difficult to remove. Either way, this is simple enough to do, and if it was done on a weekly basis, it would probably be easy to stay on top of the gunk.

The one thing that I didn't like was the vinegar smell that permeated the house for quite some time afterward. I think next time I will try using less vinegar and maybe adding something else to make a more pleasant smell. When I get a chance to try this, I'll do an update.