Q&A for How to Get Bad Smells out of a Microwave

Fill a microwave-safe bowl with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and half a cup of water and put the bowl inside the microwave. Turn the microwave on high for 5-minutes, and let the bowl sit for an additional 15 minutes. The steam will loosen up the debris and remove the odor in the microwave. You can then use a cloth to wipe the inside of the microwave.

You’ll need 1 US quart (or 0.95 liters) of warm water to use the baking soda method.

Try replacing the smell with something sweeter, like berries. Cover a bowl of berries with plastic wrap and heat it up for several minutes.

Try using baking soda to deodorize the microwave. Mix 5 teaspoons (25 mL) of baking soda into 1 US quart (0.95 L) of warm water to make a natural cleaning solution. Dip a sponge or rag into the mixture and wipe down your microwave to see if that will erase the smell of mildew.

You don’t need a specific wattage to heat up the coffee grounds. The wattage tends to indicate how powerful your microwave is. For instance, a 1500 W microwave is stronger than a 500 W microwave, so the 500 W mic would require more time to heat up the coffee grounds.

Try microwaving a mixture of coffee grounds and water for several minutes. This might help a new scent to circulate through your vents. Other nice smelling items, like vanilla extract, can work for this as well.

If no natural methods seem to work, try using a chemical cleaner designed specifically for the microwave, like Lysol or Pine-Sol.

Yes, it works the same, but you might need to use more.

It's better to use coffee grounds, as they have not been diluted and have not lost their power.

Place 4 teaspoons (20 ml) of white vinegar in a microwave-safe bowl with water, and microwave on high for six minutes. Leave the solution in the microwave to steam for an hour, then wipe the inside. Clean the microwave with soap and water.

No, cleaning the microwave with a cleaning agent strong enough to cut through the grease will do it. Get a washcloth, warm water, and dish soap. If the smell remains, leave an open box of baking soda inside the microwave for a few hours, then take it out; do not turn on the microwave while the baking soda is inside it.

Put a bowl of baking soda and lemon juice with a little bit of water and then microwave it for 10 minutes.

Vinegar is the recommended and most common way to deodorize a microwave, but there are others ways. You can put baking soda and water into a bowl and microwave it for a couple minutes - which not only cleans out the microwave itself, but cleans out odors.

Put a tablespoon of baking soda in a bowl filled with a cup of water. Microwave until boiling. Take a hot wet wash cloth and wipe out microwave. Repeat until clean.

Use a fan directed into the microwave or wave/waft an open newspaper in front of the opened microwave -- the smoke should soon go. As for the smoke smell, the cleaning instructions in this article should do the trick.

Leave it outside with the door open for a few days. If that doesn't work, you will have to buy a new one.

My friend gave me his microwave because he couldn't get rid of the burnt smell and bought a new one. I used all the regular methods of cleaning the walls, so I figured the smell was in the vents. It takes time to get rid of that smoke smell, but what I did was buy a small battery-operated fan at the dollar store and put that in the microwave and closed the door. I pulled the plug to the microwave and left the fan in the microwave until the batteries died. This circulated the air out of the vents, and eventually the smell disappeared.

To see if the wall plug is bad, check to see if it's hot. If it is, then that means the wall plug is bad and you'll have to replace it. If it's not hot, the best thing to do would to buy a new microwave or have it repaired professionally.