A microwave oven is an indispensable assistant for every housewife. Such household appliances make everyday life easier, simplifying the preparation of various dishes or quickly reheating frozen foods. But in the process of operation, various impurities appear in the inner chamber, so everyone needs to know how to wash a microwave oven. To do this, you can buy special household chemicals in the store or save money and use no less effective means from the kitchen cabinet.
Type of internal coating
Today on sale you can find microwave ovens of various types, which differ in the coating of the working chamber. Before starting to clean such household appliances, it is necessary to study the instructions, determine the protective sprays used, and only after that choose a specific means or method of removing dirt.
Currently, microwave ovens with the following types of internal coating are used:
- enamel;
- with antibacterial bioceramic protection;
- with heat-resistant spraying.
Models with an antibacterial and bioceramic inner coating are considered the most modern. These microwaves allow you to preserve their nutrients and taste in dishes, but such household appliances are quite expensive. The advantage of bioceramic spraying is the perfect smoothness of the surface, high strength, low thermal conductivity, resistance to scratches and preservation of the nutritional value of the prepared products.
The cheapest and simplest solution for the internal chamber in a microwave oven is enamel painting. Often, such household appliances are short-lived, which is explained by the mediocre resistance of enamel to long-term exposure to high temperatures. The only advantage of these microwaves is the ease of cleaning the inner chamber, as this coating has a perfectly flat surface without large pores.
Models of microwave ovens equipped with a grill often receive a heat-resistant coating made of stainless steel. This material is durable and can withstand high temperatures, but it needs proper care, including the use of soft sponges and complete rejection of abrasive powders.
Use of household chemicals
In hardware stores or specialized companies that sell kitchen appliances, you can find detergents designed for microwave ovens. Such household chemicals are produced in the form of liquid, spray or aerosols. It is necessary to choose similar means based on the features of the internal coating of the high-temperature chamber. Professional chemistry will allow you to wash off even calcium plaque well with minimal effort.
Cheap, simplest means will not be so effective, while they have a significant drawback, namely, a specific smell. After such a major wash, it will be impossible to use the microwave for several days while it is ventilated with the door open.
High-quality specialized sprays and creams are easy to use. All that needs to be done is to apply them for 10-15 minutes on the dirty walls, after which wipe off with a non-abrasive soft sponge. In the future, it is recommended to carry out careful wet cleaning, using for this purpose a rag slightly moistened in water. With the help of such products, even old stains can be washed off.
To wash very dirty stoves, housewives often use self-prepared products based on household soap or glass cleaners. Such compositions (provided that they are made correctly) are quite effective, allow you to cope with various pollution, are almost completely safe for household appliances, are environmentally friendly, but in the future you will also need to withstand a microwave oven with the door open for a long time to allow the unpleasant smell to dissipate.
Folk methods of cleaning
Many housewives refuse to use all kinds of chemicals for cleaning microwave ovens, using time-tested means and folk recipes for washing. For example, to solve problems with an unpleasant smell in the microwave, you can use an ordinary lemon. This steam treatment with citrus juice will also help in removing soot and fat.
Lemon and citric acid
To clean the microwave oven with lemon, you need to do the following:
- Fill a glass jar or bowl with a volume of 500 milliliters half way with water and dip slices of fresh lemon into it.
- Put the container in the oven, turn on the maximum heat and keep it like this for about 10 minutes.
- The water boils quickly, saturated steam appears, under the action of which the dirt quickly becomes wet.
- All that remains to be done is to walk the walls with a sponge or a soft cloth, easily removing the fat, and the lemon will also rid the microwave of an unpleasant smell.
When performing such self-cleaning and wet cleaning of the microwave, it is necessary to remember about safety, therefore, before wiping the internal container with a cloth, you need to pull the cord from the outlet. You can connect the device to the network only after it is completely dry.
Dense old deposits and plaque are best removed with the help of citric acid. Such cleaning is not particularly difficult, issues with an unpleasant smell are solved, fat deposits and calcium deposits are removed.
What needs to be done:
- Put a container with water and a lemon separated in it in the microwave chamber.
- Turn on the oven to the maximum mode for about 10-15 minutes.
- This steam treatment will be enough to clean the device from all fat deposits.
- You should wait about 10 minutes (for the camera to cool down), then immediately wash the surfaces from the inside and outside with a cloth or a soft sponge.
Importantly! It is not recommended to use vinegar or citric acid to care for a microwave that has an enameled chamber. This can lead to the appearance of unpleasant separations on the walls and cracking of the non-stick layer.
Baking soda
You can use ordinary baking soda to remove old dense dirt inside the camera and on the dirty lid. For such processing you need:
- Prepare a saturated solution of 500 milliliters of water and one tablespoon of soda.
- Put the glass container with the liquid in the microwave, heat it for a few minutes at maximum power
- Wait for it to cool, then wipe the camera dry with a sponge, which should also be soaked in a soda solution.
Vinegar
The easiest and fastest way to clean and freshen up an old stove, dealing with the impurities present in it, is to use heat treatment using a vinegar solution. Such means are especially effective in neglected cases, when household appliances have not been washed for six months or more. The smell of vinegar is not very pleasant, but it quickly evaporates, and the surface is easily cleaned of various impurities. Using this method, it is not difficult to remove both light plaque and old stains.
For such heat treatment, we do the following:
- You need to take a small glass container, fill it with half a liter of water and 1 teaspoon of 70 percent vinegar essence (or two tablespoons of vinegar).
- Put the plate with the liquid in the microwave and turn it on for a maximum of 5 minutes.
- Without opening the door, hold such a steam bath for 10-15 minutes, then wipe the oven with a soft brush or sponge.
The simplest life hacks
The optimal correct procedure for cleaning the microwave chamber is as follows: first remove the ring, glass plate, wipe the grate and the top wall, move to the side walls, and then clean the bottom and the door itself.
To avoid old dense dirt and soot from food, it is necessary to clean the microwave at least once a month. This will prevent the sticking of fat, which can eat into the existing spraying of the inner chamber.
To protect the microwave oven from dirt and splashes from food, it is recommended to use a special plastic cap, food film or high-quality transparent glassware.
When cleaning the oven, you should observe maximum accuracy. It is not recommended to use hard brushes or metal sponges. Getting foreign particles into the grid can lead to the flash of such household appliances.
It is strictly forbidden to use various abrasives for cleaning, which damage the case and leave scratches and chips on the inner protective coating.
Performing the simplest wet cleaning after each use of the stove, you can prevent the formation of old stains and whiten the protective coating in the chamber. Accordingly, it will not be necessary to carry out complex cleaning using different chemicals.
Most housewives, cleaning microwave ovens from existing contaminants, use proven folk remedies, which are almost completely safe for the used protective sprays, allow to eliminate traces of soot and dried fat, help to cope with unpleasant odors. It will be possible to eliminate old, strong plaque only with the help of special powerful chemistry. It is recommended to carry out such comprehensive general cleaning at home not once a year, but monthly, depending on the intensity of use of household appliances.