My son cooked Easy Mac in my microwave, but forgot to add water. Now my microwave really reeks! How do I get that horrible smell out?
Lori from New Castle, PA
Hello, I did use water with baking soda to get rid of an odor put it in cup and let it cook for about 2 minutes. However since then I have found if I put a cup of water in with popcorn or what ever in bag while cooking I do not get the odor.
Hope this helps. (08/15/2006)
By Glenda
Try the juice of a lemon in a cup of water and heat until it boils. I usually leave it until the water is about half gone, then wipe the moisture out and voila! It is bleached and smells good too. (08/15/2006)
By Judith Pier
Try putting a bowl of vinegar in there and zapping it for a while. That should help. (08/16/2006)
By heather
The best thing I have found is to put a small amount of fresh coffee crystals in a small bowl. Shut the door and let it stay overnight. It has taken out burnt popcorn smell and cooked bacon smell. (08/16/2006)
By Michele
Wait to put your seasonings on your baked potato until after you cook it. (09/15/2006)
By badwater
It is dangerous to take apart a microwave oven since there is a high voltage capacitor that can deliver a fatal shock. Try using the lemon boiling method several times as needed. (02/08/2007)
By Joe
I took advice to take apart the microwave and clean the grease from the inside mechanical parts and fan with vinegar. I did not touch any wiring or high voltage pieces, only the outer vents from the cover and all the plastic mechanics ie. the fan--DO NOT EVER DO THIS! It worked on the smell for the most part, but it was still faint. When I used the microwave after cleaning out the guts with vinegar, it made a loud noise and I could see a fire starting thru the vents. I quickly unplugged it and put it right on the curb. I really liked that microwave. Why did I have to be the dummy who believes what they read on the internet. (02/23/2007)
By Dummy
OK, so before I found this discussion thread, I thought we were the only ones in the world with this problem. Apparently NOT. There should be a 12-step support group for folks like us. Anyway, I tried four of the suggested methods listed in this thread: coffee, lemon/cloves, acetone and vinegar/water. Not sure which of them worked, since I was desperate and did not have the patience to test them using an empirical scientific model, but SOMETHING helped, and now the smell is hardly detectable. One thing I have NOT tried, nor have I seen listed as a possible odor-removing aid, is a product called "OZIUM", a medical-grade odor neutralizer in aerosol spray form. If I remember correctly, this product is even used in hospitals (and morgues) to remove....ahem....those undesireable cadaver odors. Since the only thing that I now consider worse than burned popcorn smell would be rotting corpse, I would give Ozium a try, if I could find it easily at a store near me. (Yes, you can order it on the Internet, but did you notice that patience is not one of my strong suits?). Good luck, my fellow microwave popcorn survivors! (03/31/2007)
By N. Distefano
I just tried the tea bags for an hour-occasionally nooked it for 30 secs to keep it steaming and think it really helped-thank you for your post! I am trying the vanilla nooked to give a more pleasant smell! My husband was really upset and said we needed to replace the microwave-thank you for your posts-might have saved me! (05/17/2007)
By
Don't ever try to "roast" garlic in the microwave! I've tried a combo of lemon juice, baking soda and water which didn't work. I also sprayed orange scented 409 and microwaved for 1 minute which didn't work. I'm trying the vanilla and water or tea bags in water as my husband also says the micro is ruined!
(b)Editor's Note: (/b) Try a bowl of vinegar, heat it until its steaming and let it sit for a while. (07/02/2007)
By Burnt in Seattle
I win the prize. I read on the Internet that zapping a stuffed animal in the microwave would remove a musty smell from a stuffed animal. Oh no it doesn't ! The animal burnt and now I have a horrific smell that I can't get rid of. Definitely do not believe everything you read on the Internet! (07/31/2007)
By mlewis
For reasons I won't go into, my microwave reeked of moldy paperback book and smoke. I tried many of the suggestions found here -- lemon, vinegar, coffee, etc., but the smell still returned. I experimented and discovered that a non-toxic solution called Zero Odor (they have a website) seemed to work best for my situation.
I poured a small amount into a bowl, microwaved it for 2-3 minutes on high and let it boil and steam. I also sprayed Zero Odor into the ventilation intakes as it was running to help clear them out. I repeated this a few times and it reduced the smell significantly. (09/18/2007)
By Nick
I am trying the vinegar thing. My son's friend cooked Easy Mac in the microwave in a butter dish no less, and cooked it like forever.I came in and smoke was everywhere, so hopefully the vinegar will work. (10/10/2007)
By Angel
(10/19/2007)
By lalala...
Supposedly a tiny bowl of VINEGAR will get rid of most any bad smell. They even say to keep a small bowl of vinegar next to you on the counter when you fry fish... Now if it works for fried fish, How can you go wrong! S
Stay away from HARSH unnatural cleaners (like 409) when cleaning a microwave. They could migrate into your food! I find that by just microwaving a cup of water, then waiting 5 minutes, even the most disgusting, crusty-est stuff will just wipe right off. Why not add a few tablespoons of vinegar to remove the smell at the same time! (10/19/2007)
By Cyinda
I always use the boiling water method, put a few drops of essential oil (I usually use lemon or grapefruit) in a couple of cups of water, and cook for 4-5 minutes (enough to let it boil for a while). Then let sit. This should get rid of just about any odor, and any baked-on gunk will just wipe away. (10/20/2007)
By tholtz
I'd say first, your son needs to be doing the cleaning.
A large mixing bowl (micro safe) about 1/2 full of water. Baking soda in it works, vinegar, just not together without a reaction. If you do it before putting it in the MW, o.k.
When putting other things in the MW, put a wet/real damp dish cloth in with vinegar on. NEVER PAPER PRODUCTS--will burn.
Again, the child should be helping, they may never do it again! (10/22/2007)
By Grandma J
I just put 1.5 cup of water in a bowl add Cinnamon & Vanilla and let it boil and set for a while...works like a charm! (10/24/2007)
By Tiffany Smith.
I burned a bag of micro popcorn last night. The day before we were having 20-25 friends over our house for a gathering. I was mortified. I am happy to report however that after a day long expedition 6-8hrs the majority of the odor from the microwave is gone.
I used different combos and always let each batch sit for 20-30 minutes in microwave. All had good amount of water and combos of vinegar, baking soda, vanilla. lemon slices, cinnamon stick, and tea bags. I just kept making up combos with the different smells I liked.
As for the odor that permeated my house I put pots of water on the stove with combos of vanilla, cinnamon sticks, lemon slices, allspice, apple pie spice everything except the vinegar and baking soda. It worked wonderfully.
Then I mixed the microwave batch that was steaming inside of it (last batch did not have vinegar or baking soda) with all the stove top pots into a large hurricane jar it looked great to with a slight tea color from the tea bags and lemon slices and allspice cloves and cinnamon sticks I used it for decoration and it still smelled great. Thanks for all the great tips (11/10/2007)
By R.Kidd Akron, OH
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