Everyone’s been there. You’ve left your popcorn in the microwave one second longer than you should and you smell something burnt. If you don’t know how to get that burnt smell out of microwave ovens, here’s not one but six effective methods for you to try.
Clean the Inside of Your Microwave
Before you do anything else, you first have to clean the inside of your microwave. First, make sure that there are no pieces of burnt food inside the microwave. Then, put one cup of water in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it on high for 3 minutes. The steam will help loosen up anything stuck on the walls.
Wipe the microwave with a soft cloth dipped in water mixed with a little dish soap. Finally, rinse the microwave with clean water and wipe it with a dry cloth. You shouldn’t use your microwave for the next 2-3 hours. Make sure to leave the door open so it can air out.
Steam Your Microwave with Lemon Juice or Vinegar
Lemon juice or vinegar may be the best natural cleaners, known for their power to eliminate unpleasant odours. If cleaning with water and dish soap didn’t remove the burnt smell completely, try to steam your microwave with lemon juice or vinegar.
After removing any burnt food particles, put one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a microwave-safe bowl and add one cup of water. Heat the liquid for 2-5 minutes. After that, wipe your microwave with paper towels or a dry sponge.
Deodorize Microwave Overnight
If the burnt smell persists, you should deodorize the microwave overnight using baking soda. If you don’t have baking soda, you can use activated charcoal instead. Whichever you choose, put it in an open bowl and leave it in your microwave for 8 hours.
Don’t forget to remove the baking soda or any other deodorizer from your microwave before using it. Make sure to let your family or housemates know what’s inside the microwave so that they don’t use it before you remove the deodorizer.
Vanilla Extract and Water
If you don’t like the vinegar smell, you could use vanilla extract instead. You can also use this method as the final step of your cleaning process to get rid of all smells. Mix vanilla extract and water by adding four teaspoons to one small cup of water. Then, put it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for 3-4 minutes on high.
Then, leave it in the microwave for half an hour to absorb the smell leaving your microwave smelling brand new. All you have to do is wipe it with a soft dry cloth.
Deodorize with Coffee
If you don’t have baking soda, you can deodorize with coffee. Put your dried used coffee grounds in an open bowl and leave them in your microwave overnight or at least 7-8 hours. Make sure to warn others about the coffee in the microwave.
Used coffee grounds have amazing odour-absorbing properties, and when you open your microwave in the morning, there shouldn’t be any burnt smell left.
Find What Works for You
You can try these methods separately or you can combine two or more to get even better results. If you want to know the best way to deep clean your microwave, make sure you check out our How to Clean a Microwave blog post. You’ll find some useful tips and tricks there!
