Today is the Spring Cleaning Tips edition of Works-for-Me Wednesday, and I’m hardly an expert cleaner . . . but I actually went on a little kitchen-cleaning binge last night and utilized a tip that I want to share! I believe I originally saw this in “Hints from Heloise.”

When the interior of your microwave oven is splattered with cooked-on food, simply place a cup of half white vinegar and half water in the microwave and heat it to a rolling boil. (2:22 is the right amount of time in my microwave. Watch it through the window until you see significant bubbling.)  Then turn off the microwave, wait about 5 minutes, take out the cup (careful, it’s hot), and use a cloth to wipe the interior of the oven.  The vinegary steam does an excellent job of loosening the gunk! Most of it will rub right off; some will need a little scrubbing.  You’ll probably need to rinse and wring out your cloth every so often.

In 15 minutes or less, you will have a nice, clean, deodorized microwave.  There’s no need to worry about residue of this cleaner getting into future food, since vinegar is a safe food!  This technique costs only pennies, creates no harmful fumes or environmental pollutants, won’t scratch surfaces or damage paint, and uses a versatile household product that’s also great for killing germs, deodorizing smelly laundry, and washing your hair!

And then when you’re done cleaning the microwave, you have this nice cup of warm vinegar-water all ready for cleaning other things!  It’s great for the outside of the microwave, refrigerator shelves, and similar areas where bits of old food form a gummy residue.  I worked on our stove top last night, and while I didn’t manage to remove all the burned-on yuck under the gas burners, it looks about 70% better than it did.

Happy spring!  Check out the cleaning tips at Mums Make Lists!