by Francis Jock

Created on: January 13, 2009

Microwave popcorn has become the most popular way to prepare popcorn in the world. Just unfold the bag, place it on the microwave oven's plate and press the Popcorn setting, if you have it. Usually, your popcorn will be completely popped, hot and steamy in about 2-1/2 minutes. Around our house, popcorn is a real treat, so just about every other night is popcorn night.

But sometimes, someone (who shall forever be nameless) will "nuke" the popcorn for an extra minute or two by mistake. Oh, the smell of burned popcorn! The stink is bad enough, but then again so is the piercing scream of the kitchen smoke alarm. Someone who shall not be nameless has a mess to clean up. Here's one way to get the smell of burnt popcorn from the microwave.

First, harsh chemical cleaners aren't necessary. You should always avoid using chemical cleaners to clean the inside of your microwave oven. Second, don't try to take it apart. Leave the internal workings alone, as only qualified technicians should ever open a microwave up for repair.

Clean your microwave when the inside is cold. A simple cleaning is easy using a 4-tbl spoon to 1 quart water mixture of baking soda and water. Don't use metal tools! These will scratch the inside surface and may cause your microwave to arc and spark. Just use a moistened paper towel or cleaning cloth to remove the crud.

Removing the smell of burnt popcorn, however, can be easily accomplished through the magic of an orange. As you probably know, citrus cleaners are natural cleaners that are great for cleaning up just about anything. Now, you probably don't want to wipe down the inside of your microwave with citrus cleaner, but you can effortlessly remove the order of burnt popcorn from your microwave with an orange.

Simply cut an orange into quarters, place the quarters in a small bowl and just cover with water. Place it inside the microwave and cook it on high for three or four minutes. The popcorn smell will disappear, and the inside of the microwave will easily wipe clean using only a paper towel.

Oranges are truly a cleaning miracle, and have many uses throughout the household. Now you know how to clean your microwave oven and remove odors using the power of an orange. Keep a few oranges on hand, the fresher the better, for popcorn night. Even better yet, teach the "nameless" popcorn burner how to clean up the mess using a handy, all natural orange.

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