Yesterday I shared how I tend to forget to regularly clean the hidden areas of my kitchen – mainly inside my refrigerator, freezer and microwave.
Years ago, I hated cleaning inside my microwave because plain old water and a dishrag didn’t do the job. So I tried all-purpose sprays and paper towels, but I ended up using at least five paper towels and a lot of spray.
The sprays didn’t smell good – even Nature’s Source Natural All-Purpose Cleaner. A year ago I was happy buy it at a great bargain. The label said it was natural, and it wasn’t artificially colored. It had to be safe, right?
Wrong. In fact, it’s received an F from the Environmental Working Group in their Guide to Healthy Cleaning. The spray’s stabilizer may affect human development, as well as endocrine and reproductive systems. The spray’s cleaning agent is toxic to aquatic life. And the spray’s fragrance, a non-specific ingredient, may irritate allergies and skin and may affect respiratory and nervous systems.
Safe, homemade methods
There’s an easy, effective way to clean your microwave with water and lemon juice. Simply mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with 1 cup of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the bowl for 90 seconds. Wipe the inside of the microwave with a soft cleaning rag.
Be careful with this method, though. While it’s a chemical-free way to clean, there’s a risk of getting burned with the boiling hot water.
What I use in my home
Instead of accidentally burning myself with burning hot lemon water (trust me, I’ve done it before) or inhaling a bunch of fumes from all-purpose sprays, I’ve started cleaning my microwave very quickly and safely with Norwex microfiber.
Like all other areas of my kitchen, I wet my Norwex EnviroCloth with warm tap water, wring it out and wipe out my microwave – there’s no odor, no mess. When my EnviroCloth gets dirty, I rinse it out with tap water and keep cleaning.
Sometimes, when I have a lot of stuck on gunk in my microwave, I use the Norwex Scrubby Corner Cloth. (The scrubby corner is helpful when it comes to scrubbing, and the rest of the cloth is the same as an EnviroCloth.)
If you have a microwave, how do you safely clean it?
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Ruby Brewer says
Really great tips! I love cleaning with Norwex cloths. They are wonderful cleaners!