Microwaves can pick up odors from the foods that you cook, especially if they get burnt. It is unappealing to use a microwave that smells bad. This is a guide about removing odors form the microwave.
I do this once a week when I do my Friday cleaning. If I spill something earlier in the week, I clean that up immediately.
By Hester from Chesterfield, MI
I happened upon the idea one day while I was putting baking soda boxes into my fridge/freezer. And it dawned on me that maybe it would work in the microwave.
By Roberta S. from San Antonio, TX
If the smell continues, I make a paste with the juice and water mixture and baking soda and scrub the interior of the microwave. I let this paste sit for 10 minutes the wipe off and rinse. Then my microwave is clean and odor free.
If you leave the door open for a little while after you cook something, the smell will go away on its own also.
By Regenia from Richmond, TX
Source: A friend from my job taught me this trick.
By Josie Anne from DuBois, PA
By JodiT from Aurora, CO
Alright, my name is Haily. I'm 15 years old. So just recently, tonight, I got hungry and I really wanted macaroni and cheese. So, my mom got those little mac'n'cheese cups that go in the microwave. Well, being as stupid as I am, I put the cup in the microwave, forgetting to put water in it. I put it in the microwave for 2 minutes like they say. And well, it completely like melted, and burned the noodles to a crisp.
I was home alone, so my parents didn't find out at first, so I opened the windows and doors and aired out the house. But I'm worried about getting the smell out of the microwave. We have one of those wall built in things, and my parents said that if I couldn't get the smell out of the microwave that I'm paying with my own money to get it fixed.
Now I'm looking for help. Not comments from people telling me that I'm irresponsible.
So, please, help?
--xoxo
By Haily from Pittsburgh, PA
By LaShiquewa10/16/2011This is a really great trick that will take out the odor in no time. Take a bag of popcorn and open it up, dump the kernels into the microwave and turn it on. As the kernels pop, they will soak up the smell and you'll be fine. I wouldn't recommend eating the popcorn though, through it out after its been sitting fully popped in the microwave for five or ten minutes.
I burned a piece of coffee cake. (10 minutes instead of 10 seconds) I have read all the great ideas about removing burn odors, however they seem to involve heating a liquid in the offending microwave. Because the fan was involved, it caused the whole microwave to shut down and resulted in a repair bill. While waiting for the replacement parts, I would like to remove the odor so I can use it when it is repaired. The microwave is built in, so taking it outside is not an option. Thank you for any help you can give this old lady.
By Arlene
By frugalsunnie11/10/2011Another way to remove the burn odor from your microwave is to wipe down the interior with a half water-half vinegar solution.
Then pour a quarter to a half cup of straight vinegar into a shallow bowl, place it inside the microwave, close the door, and leave it at least overnight. You should wake up to a nice odor free microwave.
LOL, ask me how I know:)
I need to know how to get a smell out of my mircowave.
By Bea
By ladams122105/18/2011White vinegar will work, too. Place 1 cup each of vinegar and water in a 1 quart microwavable glass measuring cup and micro on high for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the container, it will be hot! Wipe down the walls with a dry cloth. The vinegar smell will be overwhelming, but will disappear when the surfaces have dried, leaving your micro odor free.
I burnt garlic in the microwave. I need help with the smell.
By Theresa B
By remedyguru04/11/2012Cut lemons into wedges and place into a bowl of water, turn on microwave and boil the water and lemons in microwave for 2 mins on high. The citric acid of the lemons soaks up the odors.
My 82 year old mother recently was baking potatoes in our microwave and put the timer on for a ungodly amount and burnt them to a crisp. The whole house smelled of burnt food, the cabinets and microwave. My mother decided to use carpet deodorizer inside the microwave to get the odor out.
She swears she "rinsed it all out good", but my husband and I have our doubts that it's even safe to continue to use the microwave with the carpet freshener smell inside. I Googled everything I could think of but came up with no answers. So I ran across this site when Googling smoke odors. Does anyone know if the smell will be dangerous to the foods we microwave inside? And if so can we still use something to get rid of it to make it usable again? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
By Gwen72 from PA
By danswife10/13/2011If the lemon method does not work, try vinegar. I heat a cup of vinegar in the microwave for 3 minutes and let cool for a few minutes before opening the microwave. It will loosen everything up and it should get rid of most smells, too. Good luck!
Is it harmful to keep using a microwave when food has been burnt and you keep smelling the fumes?
By Marilyn W.
My microwave was not being used for almost a year and now I've started using it, but it smells badly. I tried cleaning it using soda and then I heat on high lemon juice and then cleaned with lemon juice, it but didn't work. Please help
By Grace from Lilongwe, Malawi
By frugalsunnie04/08/2013You can try microwaving a measuring cup amount (or two) of vinegar-put the vinegar into a microwave safe glass container and set the timer for five minutes, ten if you use two cups.
If that doesn't neutralise the odor you need to consider the possibility that something has died in the concealed parts of your microwave. If you are at all 'handy' you can try carefully unscrewing the housing surround and visually inspecting the area for bodies. Mice are smaller than you'd think and have been known to squeeze into tiny places and die.
It happens, especially to stored things in a sub-tropical climate like Malawi's. You may need to replace the microwave.
To get rid of smells in your microwave, cut half a lemon up into several small pieces and place in a cup of water. Add a couple of whole cloves. Place this in the microwave and boil for 5 minutes.
By Lisa
By Robin
Lots of food smells linger in the microwave for a long time. To combat those odors and leave your microwave smelling fresh, use lemon essential oil. Just put a cup of water into a microwave-safe glass container and add 4 drops of lemon oil. Microwave the bowl on high for 2 minutes; keep the microwave door closed until the water is cooled a little, about 10 minutes.
By JodiT from Aurora, CO
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Removing Odors From the Microwave