How to Steam Clean Your Microwave in Just 5 Minutes!

Learn how to have a clean microwave using steam and vinegar. This is an easy way to clean with vinegar, water, and steam.  Using this green cleaning method, you’ll have a clean appliance in a matter of minutes.

How to Clean Microwave with Steam and Vinegar

Have you ever had something explode in the microwave? A bowl of soup? Pasta sauce? What a mess! I try to cover most of my food, but sometimes the paper towel comes off, or food sneaks through anyway. Using just water and vinegar, you can clean in a matter of minutes.

Did you know you can easily clean your microwave with just vinegar and steam? It only takes 5 minutes to clean your microwave oven and I was amazed at how great it worked.  Yes, vinegar is amazing.  In fact, there are more than 50 other uses for vinegar.

What you will need for steam cleaning:

• a small bowl
• 1- 2 cups of water
• 2 Tablespoons of
  vinegar (deals on vinegar)
• optional – a drop or two of essential oil to diminish the vinegar smell.  I used lemon oil. (deals on essential oils)
• optional- toothpick

Can vinegar explode in a microwave?

****Caution – Please do this at your own risk.  It worked fine for me, but everyone’s microwaves are different.  Always keep an eye on the microwave and remember contents will be hot. Because liquids can get superheated and explode, know that vinegar can explode in the microwave. Although this is uncommon, you will still need to keep a close eye on the vinegar.

How to Steam Clean Your Microwave

1. Microwave the water, vinegar, oil, and toothpick* for 5 minutes.
2. Keep the microwave door shut for 5 more minutes allowing the steam to do its work.
3. Carefully open the door and remove the bowl of hot liquid.
4. Use a sponge or cloth to wipe the inside of the microwave.

You will be amazed at how easily the food particles are removed.

*The toothpick is to keep the liquid from exploding.  In certain containers, the liquid can get superheated and “explode”. Trust me, I know.  It made a big boom the first time I tried this.  Thankfully, the glass bowl and microwave were fine, but the noise was quite scary.

Instead of using a bowl to steam clean…

Amazon sells these cute little angry mama kitchen gizmo microwave cleaners.  You just add vinegar and water and microwave for 7 minutes. Then, steam comes out of the head to softens dirt and stains for easier cleaning.  Conveniently, they are on sale for $12.89 though prices change often.

In addition, you can use a similar method to clean your sponge.  Soak a sponge in the vinegar, water, and oil mixture and microwave the sponge for 2 minutes.  This creates a small amount of steam and works well for simple cleanups and disinfecting your sponge.

Last resort for a clean microwave oven?

Well, you could just buy a new microwave. If you are looking for deals on new microwave ovens, then Amazon has microwaves here.

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