How to Clean a Microwave
Soften dried splatter with 5 minutes of vinegar or lemon steam, let it stand for 5 more, and wipe the inside clean with a damp cloth.
You will end up with a clean cavity, door, turntable, and exterior with very little scrubbing. A bowl of water with vinegar or lemon, heated for 5 minutes and left to stand for 5 more, fills the microwave with steam that softens dried food splatter so it wipes off with a damp cloth. For everyday splatter, nothing stronger than dish soap is needed.
If spots are still stuck after the first cycle, run a second one instead of scrubbing harder, as step 2 explains.
A microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Water. White vinegar or a lemon (both work, the lemon smells nicer). An oven mitt. Dish soap. A clean cloth, sponge, or paper towels for wiping.
Prepare the steam solution
Fill a microwave-safe bowl or large measuring cup with about 2 cups of water. Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, or cut a lemon in half and squeeze both halves into the water, then drop the squeezed halves in. Leave soap out of the bowl, because soap does not evaporate with the steam. Use the vinegar or the lemon rather than plain water. Whirlpool adds vinegar for extra cleaning power, but the bigger reason is safety. Water heated on its own can superheat, which means it passes boiling point without ever looking like it is boiling. The FDA has reports of serious skin burns to hands and faces from hot water erupting out of a cup after being overheated in a microwave, set off by nothing more than picking the cup up. It happens when water is heated by itself in a clean container, and the FDA says adding something like instant coffee or sugar before heating greatly reduces the risk. The vinegar or lemon puts something in the water too, but a reduced risk is not zero, so leave the bowl to stand in the closed microwave for the 5 minutes in step 3 and lift it slowly with an oven mitt.
Microwave on high for 5 minutes
Place the bowl in the center of the microwave and run it on high power for 5 minutes. The water will boil vigorously and fill the interior with hot steam. The steam condenses on the walls, ceiling, turntable, and door and softens the dried food splatter on them. For a badly neglected microwave, wipe down after this cycle and then run a second one rather than pushing a single cycle longer. If your microwave's manual gives its own steam-cleaning time, use that instead, because the FDA's advice on overheated water is to stay within the heating times the manual gives. GE's cleaning instructions, for example, heat 1 cup of water on full power for 3 minutes.
Let it sit closed for 5 more minutes
When the microwave beeps, do not open the door yet. Leave it closed for another 5 minutes, the standing time GE's cleaning instructions give. The trapped steam keeps softening stubborn spots, and the water in the bowl starts to cool before you lift it out. After 5 minutes, the interior should be visibly dripping with condensation.
Good to know: Start wiping from the ceiling and work downward. Drips from the ceiling fall onto surfaces you have not cleaned yet rather than ones you already wiped.
Remove the turntable and wash it
Carefully open the door, because hot steam will escape. Remove the bowl using an oven mitt or towel. Unplug the microwave now, because GE's cleaning instructions say to unplug it before any cleaning to minimize the possibility of electric shock. Lift out the glass turntable and the ring it sits on, and leave the turntable until it is cool to the touch, because Whirlpool warns that a warm or hot turntable may shatter if put in water. Once it is cool, wash the turntable and the ring in the sink with dish soap and water. Dry them and set them aside. You will put them back after wiping the interior.
Wipe all interior surfaces
Using a damp cloth or sponge, wipe the interior ceiling first, then the walls, then the floor of the microwave. The steam-softened food comes off with light pressure. If you encounter a particularly stubborn spot, hold the damp cloth against it to soften it further, then wipe. For the door interior, pay attention to the edges and the area around the seal where food particles accumulate. Wipe the entire door surface including the window area.
Clean the exterior and controls
Dampen a cloth with warm water and a drop of dish soap. Wipe the exterior surfaces, including the top (which collects grease and dust), the handle, and the control panel. For touch-sensitive control panels, use a barely damp cloth to avoid liquid getting into the electronics. Dry with a clean cloth. Replace the turntable ring and turntable. Close the door and plug the microwave back in.
If brown or black marks are still there after two steam cycles, treat them as burned on. Scrub them with a paste of baking soda and water on a plastic scrub pad, both of which GE's cleaning instructions allow on painted metal and stainless steel interiors. To keep splatter from drying on, cover food while it heats with a microwave-safe lid or a damp paper towel, and wipe fresh splatter right away. Our guide on how to clean an oven uses the same baking soda and water, left overnight, for the bigger job.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
Once a week, which is Whirlpool's rule of thumb for a microwave in regular use, and right away after any large spill or splatter. Fresh splatter wipes off with a damp cloth. Dried splatter needs the whole steam process.
Not in the bowl, for the reason in step 1. Soap belongs on the cloth instead. GE's cleaning instructions recommend a mild dishwashing liquid and a damp cloth for the interior, so put vinegar or lemon in the bowl and a drop of dish soap on the cloth for any greasy film the steam leaves behind.
Run the full steam clean first. If the smell is still there afterward, use Whirlpool's overnight method. Pour about half a cup of baking soda onto a plate, set it inside the closed microwave before bed without running it, and take it out in the morning. Keep everyone from using the microwave while it is inside, and do not cook with that baking soda afterward, though it is still fine for cleaning. If the smell is still there after both, wipe the door seal and the vent openings with the vinegar solution.
Yes, diluted. Whirlpool's own cleaning instructions use 1 tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water for this steam method, the same ratio as step 1 (2 tablespoons in 2 cups). Do not heat straight vinegar, because its acetic acid fumes irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. The diluted mix leaves only a faint vinegar smell that fades once you wipe the microwave and leave the door open.
Because it attacks the surfaces. GE's cleaning instructions say not to use commercial oven cleaners, abrasive cleaners, or cleaners containing ammonia or bleach on any part of the microwave, noting that those can make the plastic brittle. Oven cleaner is built around sodium hydroxide, which is corrosive, and a microwave cavity is painted metal or stainless steel with plastic parts rather than the heavy enamel of a conventional oven. It also leaves residue behind in a space you put food into. The steam method uses nothing you would not already eat, and the FDA says a special microwave cleaner is not necessary in the first place. Water and a mild detergent are what it recommends.
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How to Clean a Microwave
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