Pinterest Tested: Easy Microwave Cleaning

Lately, I've become a little obsessed with all pins related to cleaning. Any trick or tip that makes my cleaning life easier... well, I'm all for it!

I was so disappointed with my last Pinterest Tested project, How to Clean Your Dishwasher. TOTAL FAIL.

And, my dishwasher still isn't completely clean. A friend told me about a new trick (using Tang as a cleaner in the dishwasher), and I'll be testing the theory soon. But for today, my microwave was in desperate need of a little TLC.

No judgement here, ok?

The "before" 

So, so gross.

I'm sure this has happened to all of us once in a while. And if it hasn't, please don't tell me. I like my fantasy world just the way it is.

Someone obviously nuked up a bit of spaghetti in here without covering the dish. The result is icky disgustingness (that's a word, I promise), which is impossible to clean off without serious scrubbing.

I don't like scrubbing. I also don't like people who forget to cover their dish, but that's a story for another day.

What's a girl to do?

Pinterest to the rescue!

I've seen many pins about cleaning your microwave the fast and easy way. Some say to use lemon and baking soda. Some say vinegar. Some say a combination of both. Even the times of each pin vary.

I decided on the simplest method to start. Nuking up a bit of vinegar and water, then wiping clean. Easy peasy. 

I used 1/2 cup white vinegar to 1 1/2 cups water. To keep it simple, I just left it in the measuring cup, like so:

I love my purple measuring cup. Just saying.

Anyway, I added the cup with vinegar and water to the microwave and set my timer to 5 minutes, on high power:

And then I walked away (after hitting start, of course).

There was a slight vinegar smell as the microwave was running, but it dissipated within a few minutes once I finished cleaning. The liquid will boil during that 5 minutes of cooking, and may even overflow.

Don't worry about it. That's how the magic happens.

My microwave still looked the same after the timer beeped, except there was condensation on the walls. I tried to take a picture, but it looks an awful lot like the 'before' photo:

Humor me and pretend you see the condensation.

So, I removed the cup of vinegar/water, grabbed my sponge, and prepared to scrub.

EXCEPT... 

No scrubbing was needed! I didn't even use the rough side of my sponge. Wipe, swipe, and then repeat.

And what was I left with?

A sparkly microwave, without the fuss of heavy cleaning.

The "after"

Total Pinterest SUCCESS. 

Yay!

The yuckiness inside my microwave was pretty caked on and dried out, so I think this method would work for almost an mess. If yours is especially bad, perhaps consider running the microwave a bit longer (maybe 7 or 8 minutes), or doing two cycles.

Have you tried other methods that worked or failed? Or maybe you've tried other pins and you'd like to share your wisdom... please email me, I'd love to see you as a guest blogger for Army Life!

Happy pinning!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com