The inside of a microwave always seems to get worse than you remember, splatters from last week's soup, a crusted spot from a bowl that boiled over, a smell that lingers no matter how many times you close the door.
Scrubbing at dried food usually just moves it around instead of removing it. What actually works is steam, and it takes almost no effort on your part.
Here is the whole process, most of it hands off.
The Steam Trick
Fill a microwave safe bowl with about a cup of water. A splash of white vinegar or a few slices of lemon in the water helps cut through grease and leaves a cleaner smell behind, though plain water works too if that is all you have.
Put the bowl in the microwave and run it on high for two to three minutes, until the window is fogged up and you can see steam. Leave the door closed for another few minutes after it stops so the steam keeps working on the walls and ceiling.
That steam softens dried on splatters everywhere inside the microwave, not just near the bowl, since it fills the whole space.
Wipe, Don't Scrub
Open the door carefully, since the bowl and the air inside will be hot. Take out the bowl and set it aside.
Wipe down the inside walls, ceiling and floor of the microwave with a damp cloth or sponge. Stuck on spots that used to need real effort should now come off with light pressure, since the steam has already done the hard part.
If a spot is still stubborn, close the door for another minute or two to let more steam reach it, rather than pressing harder with the cloth.
Don't Forget the Turntable
The glass turntable and the plastic ring underneath it collect just as much grime as the walls, but they are easy to skip since they are removable.
Take both out and wash them in the sink with warm water and a little dish soap, or run them through the dishwasher if they fit. Dry them before setting them back in, since a wet turntable can leave water spots on a freshly cleaned interior.
The Door, Handle and Buttons
The outside gets touched constantly with hands that have just cooked, so it collects its own layer of grease, especially around the handle and the buttons.
A cloth with a little dish soap and warm water handles this part. Pay extra attention to the seal around the door, since crumbs and splatters like to hide in that groove.
Avoid spraying cleaner directly onto the control panel. Spray a cloth instead and wipe with that, so liquid does not seep in around the buttons.
If a Smell Won't Go Away
Some smells, like burnt popcorn or fish, stick around even after the walls look clean. Baking soda is good at pulling odors out of the air rather than just wiping them off a surface.
Leave an open box of baking soda, or a small bowl with a few spoonfuls mixed into a little water, inside the microwave overnight with the door shut. By morning, most of the smell should be gone.
If the smell is fresh, running the steam trick again with extra lemon in the water can help right away, while the baking soda works more slowly on whatever is left behind.
A Cleaner Microwave, Barely Any Work
The whole process, start to finish, takes about five minutes of actual effort. The rest is just steam sitting and doing the work while you do something else in the kitchen.
Doing this every week or two keeps buildup from ever getting bad enough to need real scrubbing. A microwave that only takes five minutes to clean is a lot easier to actually keep clean.
