by Carmel Brulez

Created on: November 27, 2009

Cleaning a microwave can be a nightmare, especially if it has not been cleaned for a long time and the dirty, grease and particles of food have built up and become encrusted like crabs clinging to a rock! URGH. It is important to keep your microwave clean because you place food inside it and must be sure there are no germs or bacteria there, but it is also important because as well as being unhygienic and dangerous to your health it looks awful to open a microwave and see a lot of grime and dirt inside it. Another reason why it is important to keep your microwave clean is because of the smell, which is horrible. Even if it was somehow healthy to put up with the looks and smell of a dirty microwave it would put you off your food.

The first time you give your microwave a thorough clean it might take longer because you have to get rid of the build up that has accumulated over a period of time. When you clean the microwave in the future it will be a lot easier and quicker.

You need the following items...

Hot water

The juice of a lime or lemon.. you can buy lemon juice

A microwaveable heat proof container

2 clean cotton absorbent cloths

a scouring pad

a small dinner knife

A few drops of disinfectant if desired

Heat the water so that it is as hot as possible and put into the bowl with the fruit juice and disinfectant. You can leave out the disinfectant if you want to use totally natural products or you do not have any available, but it does help. Place this into the microwave oven on the turntable. Close the microwave oven door and set the programme so that it cooks at the highest temperature possible for fifteen minutes. When the programme has run its course open the oven door and you should see that a lot of the grime, dirt, grease and crud has lifted from the inside of the oven. If the oven is very dirty and greasy and has never been cleaned before, or has not been cleaned for a long time, and there is a big build up you may need to repeat this process at least one more time. You may now need to remove some parts of crud which are particularly difficult using the scouring pad and small dinner knife. The steam from the water and fruit juice help to disinfect the oven and remove the dirt and grease. Now using the remaining clean cloth wipe down the sides and bottom of the oven to dry it. Take the turntable and use some water and a few drops of fruit juice to clean this before replacing it.

It should now be possible to keep the microwave clean by wiping down with warm water and a few drops of lemon or lime juice each time you use it, rather than having to repeat this long process on a regular basis.

It is advisable to place a dish over foods which splatter, especially beans and eggs, which explode. This will help to keep the microwave clean.

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