How to get rid of the Smell of Food from the Microwave

Over the past 20 years, microwave ovens have become commonplace in our kitchens; they can replace normal electric cooking ovens with a considerable saving of time and electricity. They are essential for defrosting foods while maintaining their organoleptic characteristics, and in 30 seconds, they heat the milk and coffee for breakfast.

But on any appliance used to mince, knead or cook food, the aroma of the food remains. Let’s see how to eliminate the smell of food from the microwave.

In the meantime, we clean all the internal walls of the microwave from food residues, removing the accessories present inside it; these can be washed normally with degreasing detergent for dishes or in the dishwasher. For the inside of the oven, we will use only natural products; thus, we will avoid that, if residues of chemical agents remain, heating up repeatedly can harm our health.

Now clean the walls with a sponge on which we have put some baking soda. This will soften any encrusted stains; to finish, we go over the whole interior with a damp cloth. To remove the burnt smell, the use of coffee powder, or better still, coffee grounds, is particularly suitable.

We proceed as follows: add 2 teaspoons of coffee grounds to a cup of water and mix well, put it in the microwave and heat it at maximum power for 3 minutes, remove the cup, and any bad smell will be gone, completely absorbed by the coffee powder. It is advisable to periodically repeat one of these operations, with a frequency appropriate to the use made of the microwave.

We put in a glass or ceramic container, which can use in the microwave, equal parts of water and concentrated vinegar, or distilled white vinegar, which is not the normal wine vinegar used in the kitchen, but a cleaning product that derives from the oxidation of a distilled drink, and which can be purchased in specialized stores.

In the same container, we put a lemon cut in half or the juice of a lemon. We place the container in the microwave at maximum power for 3 or 4 minutes, then let it cool for about 20 minutes without opening the oven door. The vapors released inside the appliance will eliminate any bad smell, while the lemon will leave a good smell.