Laura McKenna’s In The Kitchen Tip: Cleaning Microwaves Without Chemicals


September 17, 2024 1:06 PM CDT
By: Laura McKenna
Supported by
There’s nothing nastier than a microwave with caked on gunk from one too many sauce explosions. Eww!
First, keep it from happening by getting yourself one of those domed microwave covers. It’s easy to throw those in the dishwasher or rinse them off in the sink (compared to scrubbing out the microwave after every plate you heat). They’re cheap and so worth it!
But in the meantime, let’s get your gross microwave sparkling clean with NO CHEMICALS (or hard work) REQUIRED.
Take a microwave safe bowl or glass and fill it with water. Heat it up in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. What that will do is create steam in the microwave that softens all the caked on crud that has splattered all over.
Remove the glass/bowl and with a wet rag, easily wipe away all the (now softened) splatters! Easy!
Want a fresh clean smell that’s not made from toxic cleaners, too? Add a couple squirts of lemon juice to the water before you heat it. Now you’ll have a lemony clean scent without lemony scented cleansers.
If you have a really grimy mess, just heat the water again and those splashes and splatters should wipe off with the second go. Rinse your rag between wipings and that will help too so you aren’t smearing around the same goop.
And that’s it! It’s so simple. Because otherwise you’ll be spraying cleaner and wiping and spraying more cleanser and complaining and your microwave still might not be spotless. Plus, the less chemicals near your food, the better!
Want to contact Laura McKenna about In The Kitchen cleaning tip or anything else that’s on your mind? Email anytime, she’d love to hear from you: [email protected]
And tune in weekdays starting at 10am to St. Croix Country & WCFW!
More Articles By Laura McKenna

03.17.26
In The Kitchen with Laura Mckenna Recipe: Drunken Irish Cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients-1 cup Guinness beer (what you do with the rest of the bottle is up to you!)-1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature-3/4 cup processed cocoa-2 cups flour-2 cups sugar-1 1/2 tsp baking soda -3/4 tsp salt-2 eggs-2/3 cup sour cream Ganache Filling Ingredients-8 oz. bittersweet chocolate-2/3 cup heavy whipping cream-2 TBSP butter, at room […]
Read More >

03.16.26
Movie Monday: I love being sooooo wrong about this Oscar win!
I was so excited to hear that my girl, Amy Madigan, got an Oscar nomination this year. Much to my surprise, she actually won last night for BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS! First, the show started way earlier than I thought it would so I missed the category entirely! But imagine my shock to find out that […]
Read More >

03.10.26
Laura McKenna Book Club: The Power Couple
I picked this book off the shelf without knowing anything about it- I just literally judged a book by its cover. I thought this one looked interesting and with only a few chapters left, the cover did not lead me astray. I can’t put it down. If you’re looking for a good thriller with some […]
Read More >

03.09.26
Movie Monday: Oscar winning actress teams up with James Patterson for a new legal thriller novel
I love a good book. Even better when a great book gets turned into a really good movie. It doesn’t always happen. Usually the book is always so much better than the movie but I can think of a few that really did it well: Water For Elephants. Gone Girl. The Shawshank Redemption. The Green […]
Read More >




