Today’s Works for Me Wednesday post:
How to remove burnt odors from a microwave.
But first some parenting advice:
When your tween child asks you how long to warm a Quaker oatmeal bar in the microwave, it would behoove you to be 100% focused on him when you answer.
(Okay, I was just looking for an excuse to say “behoove.”)
“Mom, how long should I put it in?”
“Mmm?”
(I was in the middle of helping Hannah register for a new kids’ website and doing battle with our Internet filters.)
“Moooommmm! How long? Three minutes?”
(Yes, my son has apparently inherited my ability to pull numbers out of the air.)
“Mmmm, yeah.”
And the rest is history.
(FYI: the package says five SECONDS.)
Eight open windows, one wiped-down microwave, and five sets of watery eyes later, I was online looking for solutions.
Good news! I found tons of home remedies, video tutorials, and encouraging suggestions for solving the problem.
In other good news, I now know all the home remedies that don’t work.
***
I think a WFMW by me on this subject would have to be very short:
Buy a new microwave.
The end.
***
So I’ll have to do a What Does Not Work for Me Wednesday (WDNWFMW).
Here are the remedies you can skip if this ever happens to you:
- Tea leaves in water, boiled and left in oven for 10 minutes or until you remember it’s there. No change. Now I’m just craving a cuppa.
- Bowl of baking soda left in oven overnight. Microwave is laughing at me.
- A teaspoon of lemon juice concentrate in about a cup of water, boiled and taken out quickly because you’re impatient. No change. Oooh! Tea with lemon! That sounds delicious!
- A tablespoon of vanilla (What? They said it’d smell wonderful.) in 1 cup of water, boiled and left for an hour. A change! Unfortunately, now the oven smells like burnt caramel corn. Suddenly I want to go to a county fair.
- The juice of half a fresh lemon in 1 cup water, boiled and left for HOURS. A teeny tiny bit of progress. Now when I open the microwave, I flashback to an early job as a dishwasher…
My microwave now smells like: lemon-fresh dish soap, caramel corn, burnt nastiness, and a hint of coffee (from all the times we warm up a cup throughout the day).
Verdict: What had the biggest effect on our microwave odor?
Reheating at least ten cups of coffee in it. And the passage of time.
I think a trip to Walmart is in my future.
***
No, really, you’re too kind. I’m just here to help. You’re welcome.
For REAL Works for Me Wednesday, visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.
26 responses so far ↓
1 Megan@SortaCrunchy // Jan 14, 2009 at 2:48 am
Hee hee hee! This is so funny and so true. I also have found that really only time can cure those bad smell yucks.
2 Jo@Mylestones // Jan 14, 2009 at 2:52 am
LOL. Imagine the disasters and messes we'd avoid if we simply paid attention the first time. My 4 yo recently came running out of the bathroom yelling "emergency, gotta get my firefighter gear!", and I ignored him at first, chocking it up to pretend play. I didn't clue in until he literally tugged me away from the laptop and said, "C'MON, it's a REAL emergency." Turns out the gear we needed for this emergency was a plunger, some chlorox and lots of towels. Little good his firefighter gear did me that day!
3 Nicole // Jan 14, 2009 at 3:00 am
HAHA! That is so funny. I mean sad for you but funny for the blogosophere. Taking mental note to not waste time on home remedies. Thanks for the wisdom.
4 Helen // Jan 14, 2009 at 3:06 am
The only one I know is the lemon and water one. Sorry it didn't work. It works pretty good for a fishy smelling microwave (as in, I microve tilapia sometimes).
5 Annie K // Jan 14, 2009 at 3:39 am
That happened to my microwave – can't exactly remember what it was. I bought a new one. I'm lazy that way and I figure I'm helping the economy.
6 Lorie // Jan 14, 2009 at 3:48 am
Bwahahaha! Thanks for sharing! I would stick it outside for a big!
7 Steph // Jan 14, 2009 at 3:56 am
Jo- I have so discovered that I can no longer multitask. I tell the kids it's because birthing them killed my brain cells.
Helen-I had high hopes for lemon and water. It did make the biggest difference, but I think I'll need to do it more than once.
Nicole and Megan-Yeah, I think whether you spend a week trying home remedies or a week doing nothing, the results would be very similar.
Annie K- I seriously want a new microwave. This one was handed down from my sister to us seven years ago. And it was old then. It probably leaks radiation like a sieve.
8 Nick the Geek // Jan 14, 2009 at 4:27 am
Fortunately my kids are young enough that the microwave is strictly off limits. I've never had to deal with burnt in nastienss, but I know a couple of good things for cleaning the microwave include:
-Boiling a cup of vinegar diluted in water using the microwave. Leave it uncovered and all the goodness will cover the surface of the microwave and soak into the gunk. This softens most ick and lets you wipe it up without too much elbow grease, but leaves your microwave smelling sour. I don't know if it will also smell burnt, nasty.
-To remove the sour smell mix baking soda into water until it won't hold anymore, hot water will hold more so start with hot water. It takes a couple tablespoons or so depending on your water. Then use the microwave to bring it to a boil and let it hang out for a while. You might need to repeat a couple of times. This takes care of the sour smell but I'm not sure how it works on burnt nasty.
We do the above every so often because even covering the food you get plenty of splatters over the course of a month or two and it is cheaper than a lot of the cleaning products that work half as well.
9 Nick the Geek // Jan 14, 2009 at 4:29 am
My wife says that when you are pregnant your brain visits the baby and afterward not all of it comes back. Four kids later …
10 @ngie // Jan 14, 2009 at 4:35 am
Dear SSBBBFF,
You know what made me laugh the most about this post (well there were various outbursts) but the loudest one was over this: WDNWFMW.
I love long abbreviations that make no sense! Hilarious absurdity all summed up to a jumble of letters.
It is like a radio announcer that forgot his call letters and just spouted out a bunch in hopes of getting the right combination crammed in there somewhere. Ha!
Love,
(What was the last thing you called me…?)
Angelita??? Angelina??? Angieloo???
I seriously don't know how to sign this increasingly long comment.
11 katdish // Jan 14, 2009 at 4:50 am
You are so "in the zone" lately! Incidentally, it's a good idea the remind your 11 year old son who should know better that leaving a metal spoon in the easy mac when it's in the microwave is not a good idea.
12 Cassie // Jan 14, 2009 at 5:22 am
I know I should be sypathetic to your poor microwave…but this is FUNNY!
13 Helen // Jan 14, 2009 at 5:41 am
I vote for a new microwave, since it is a radiation hazard anyway.
14 Mulled Vine // Jan 14, 2009 at 6:53 am
If you needed to use a vacuum cleaner that would make you a behoover.
15 GiBee // Jan 14, 2009 at 8:18 am
Well… I've used an open container of fresh coffee grinds which takes out smells by absorbing them … but then your micro might smell even worse………
16 Carol // Jan 14, 2009 at 10:47 am
I'd recommend wiping it out with a vinegar & water solution, but I'm afraid it could end up smelling like burnt douche and you'd come hunt me down.
Try it at your own risk. How's that?
17 Steph // Jan 14, 2009 at 11:04 am
Nick- I like your wife's interpretation. And I considered doing the vinegar, but then I remembered that I don't want my house to smell of pickle.
Helen- I like your vote. Off to check the budget for $100.
@ngie- Dear ATMIBWLTGMRAN (Angelita the missionary in Bolivia who likes to give me random acronym nicknames)… Glad I could make you laugh.
katdish- Creating a "Metal + Microwave = Explosion" sign. Wait. That wouldn't be a deterrent. I'll have to rethink.
Cassie- It's okay if you don't sympathize with my microwave. I don't either. I hate its guts. I've been looking for an excuse to replace it.
Mulled Vine- Love that! Yes, I remember my first trip to the UK and hearing my host refer to hoovering the carpet. It made me smile.
GiBee- Coffee grounds… Well, that'd just add to the coffee smell that's already permeated it. Might try that one.
Carol- Two words: burnt douche. Ewwwwwww! I will never erase that mental image for as long as I live.
18 sherri // Jan 14, 2009 at 11:14 am
If you keep responding to the comments, you'll never get out the door to Wal-mart!
Now go!
19 Heather Lessiter // Jan 15, 2009 at 1:00 am
I found you through WFMW and you are so funny! I particularly empathize with you on the whole "needing therapy after watching Jaws at a young age" thingy (((shudder))).
20 Steph // Jan 15, 2009 at 1:12 am
Heather, Thanks for your visit and comment. I'm glad you found me! (And that you found me funny.)
It appears that Jaws created phobias for an entire generation. 
21 thedomesticfringe // Jan 15, 2009 at 2:12 am
LOL! Sorry, but ya, I'm laughing. I'm sure I'll be there one day. My son has discovered the joys of microwave cooking. I'll have to get an extra microwave to keep on hand.
-FringeGirl
22 Steffj89 // Jan 15, 2009 at 3:52 am
it wasnt even the kids…i was distracted and stuck micro popcorn in there….not realizing it was single serve bag rather than full serve bag…put it on for the norm limit….
yes you guessed it caught on FIRE in my micro
a brand new micro btw less than a year old….my dad told me to put a few peices of charcoal in there and a cup w/ like full cup of water in it…
it wasnt perfect, but the micro did recover
as far as budget…target has had several cool micros on sale in recent weeks for 60 and 70$ so there are definitely optinos there….
steff
23 Michelle at Scribbit // Jan 15, 2009 at 8:08 am
Do you know how many times Lily has cooked her oatmeal in the micro and forgot to add water? What an unholy stench!
24 Mom // Jan 15, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Advice from mom. Put a bowl of vinegar in the microwave overnight. The vinegar
smell will go away. I have used this trick many times for smells in most anything
from tupperwear to refrigerator smells. Dad hates the smell of vinegar and everytime I
use it, he freaks out and I have to remind him the smell is temporary. Very hilarious and entertaining post!
Mom
25 katdish // Jan 15, 2009 at 3:24 pm
These are all such great ideas and I hope one of them works for you. But it occurred to me, after reading mom's comment, that you might want to try putting a large rooster carcass in there for a couple of days.
26 JennCallingHome // Jan 15, 2009 at 5:30 pm
My daughter once put a bag of popcorn in for 10 minutes. I believe a flame had even started. It was bad. So I can totally relate. I am happy to report that the smell no longer lingers (it has been a few years) and the microwave continues on (21 years old!). Just lucky, I guess.