Merciful God, You are great in compassion and Your tenderness for us is without measure. We ask You to give us today our daily bread, and also provide for the needs of all of Your hungry children around the world. Through Christ Your Son and Our Lord. Amen.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Cleaning the Microwave

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I found a television series on BBC that I've been enjoying lately -- "How Clean is Your House?" It's a very humorous look at dirty homes, and typical of reality TV, the homes they feature are really super filthy. What I enjoy the most is that the hosts (hostesses, if I may be sexist) give some great tips on cleaning, especially with natural products.

A few weeks ago I watched an episode where they used lemon, water, and dish soap to clean the inside of a really dirty microwave. I tried it last week and wanted to share -- it was such an easy clean, and so simple. My microwave wasn't nearly as dirty as the one they cleaned on the show, but it did have some splashes in it -- my husband and children just refuse to cover their food!

Place a cup or so of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Squeeze the juice of a lemon into the water (the lemon isn't crucial to the cleaning, but it does deodorize). Place the bowl in the microwave and heat on high for several minutes. I think I ended up doing it for about 6 minutes, but watch your water so it doesn't all evaporate. I just cooked it until it was almost gone.

After the water evaporated, take a soapy dish cloth (just regular dish soap) and wipe out the mess. Any splashes will have softened greatly from the water and should wipe right out.


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3 comments:

Crafty P said...

great tip! my mom bought us a plastic splash guard thingy that I leave IN the microwave- it has helped, but everyone once in awhile my husband forgets...

mylittlepatchofsunshine said...

I love that show! Made me feel better when I was spending 23 hours a day nursing and the house was a perpetual mess (but still not as bad as those on the show! LOL) But I also especially love that Kim always uses natural, inexpensive products to clean the filthiest, grimiest gunk! No need for expensive cleaners -- basic household stuff and elbow grease is her motto! (baking soda, lemon, vinegar, hot water and elbow grease seem to clean everything!)

Barb Szyszkiewicz said...

I've been using this trick for a long time. Last time I just took a Pyrex measuring cup, tossed in half a lemon that I had finished squeezing for some recipe or other, put some water in the cup to cover the lemon half and let it spin in the microwave. Worked great.