How to Keep Your Microwave Smelling Fresh

How to Keep Your Microwave Smelling Fresh

A microwave is an essential kitchen tool in most homes. You can use a microwave for lots of different things. For example, for defrosting frozen food, reheating left-overs, cooking new dishes, and sterilising baby bottles. The small space inside the microwave can quickly get dirty though. Additionally, microwaves can also get smelly with unpleasant odours sometimes lingering for a long time. In this article, we’ll look at how to properly clean your microwave and how to keep your microwave smelling fresh for a long time.

How to properly clean your microwave

A great hack for cleaning your microwave easily is to put some water in a heatproof bowl and heat this up in the microwave. The steam will loosen anything that’s stuck inside the microwave and make it easy to wipe off. You can add some vinegar, lemon juice, or a few drops of washing up liquid to the water before heating it up if you want to.

Leave the steam to do its thing for a few minutes, then wipe the microwave down using a Swedish dish cloth or a sponge. You can use a bit of dish soap or other multi-purpose kitchen cleaner for extra cleaning power too.

To prevent your microwave for getting dirty, it’s always a good idea to use a microwave plate cover. This will catch splashes and you can simply wash is by hand or in the dishwasher when necessary.

The number 1 hack to keep your microwave smelling fresh

Now your microwave is clean. Next, there is one simple thing that you can do that will help keep your microwave smelling fresh. Specifically, that is to leave the door to the microwave ajar whenever it’s not in use. Turn the microwave off at the plug to not waste energy and leave the door slightly open. This will make a massive difference. The reason for this is that it will prevent the steam from the food getting stuck inside the microwave. Leaving the door ajar will reduce the risk of build-up, thus reduce odours.

Should I leave my microwave door open?

Once the steam has dispersed, keeping the door ajar can help reduce any smells. We keep our microwave door ajar (not fully open) at all times. Since doing so, we’ve not had any problems with smells at all, nor with moisture build-up. Plus, we only need to clean the microwave if something spills or explodes whilst warming up. Some people say leaving the door open can damage the hinges on the microwave. However, we have not found this to be true at all.

Keeping your microwave clean and odour-free is super easy with the above simple tips.