Getting burned smell out of microwave -- thoughts?

[lhamo]

Last week our helper was trying to make some roasted hot pepper flakes and ended up with a smoldering mess in our microwave -- and we practically had to abandon the house for about an hour, as it was as if someone had set off a can of mace! We recovered, but the microwave still smells strongly of burnt peppers. Does anybody have tips for getting rid of the smell? I can live with it, but if there is a way to get rid of it I'd like to try.

Thanks for any tips!

lhamo

[Mrs-M]

Hi Ihamo. My concern is the plastic interior of the microwave. Plastic has a way of retaining odour really bad. How about placing a small dish of household ammonia inside the microwave and closing the door for several days? Ammonia is fantastic at removing odours. If that fails try leaving the microwave door open for a few days to help air it out. Bam! Just thought of another idea, how about one of those fridge odour eliminator scent boxes from Arm & Hammer?

[Rosemary]

Here's what I would try: microwave some water until it's boiling, to get the inside of the microwave really steamy. Scrub it with baking soda paste. Maybe leave the paste on for a while, and then rinse off thoroughly. Repeat as needed.

[redfox]

Ditto for leaving a paste of baking soda on the inside walls...

[Float On]

I can't stand microwave popcorn but I have a 13 year old who buys it with his own money. To clean out the microwave I cut a lemon and put it in a big glass measuring cup with water and turn it on for 4 minutes and forget about it. Next time I'm in the kitchen it has steamed nicely and I just wipe it out and leave the door open for awhile. No more popcorn or burned smell. Then I dump the lemon down the disposal to clean it. Kind of a 2 for 1 task.

[Mrs-M]

I love the baking soda paste and lemon ideas! I second not liking the after-smell of microwave popcorn FO.

[Kat]

I was thinking vinegar might work, too. But maybe not if the smell is embedded in the plastic itself.

[TMC]

Good luck with this, I had a 10 year old learning how to cook and he put a frozen chocolate croissant in the microwave and didn't carefully read the instructions, he turned it on for the oven time, not the micro time, I was in the very next room and by the time I realized it the croissant was a smoldering black brick.

It didn't burn the microwave but we never could get the smell out of the microwave and I tried everything. Luckily I was able to get the smoke smell out of the wood kitchen cabinets which were right above the micro, but the micro had to replaced.

[Mrs-M]

Came across this thread again and thought I'd resurrect it. How did you make out Ihamo?

[lhamo]

Oh -- sorry I didn't post an update!

I used the steaming lemon water a couple of times, and it seemed to help. Its been awhile now and there is still a faint smell, but not too bad. Our microwave is a Chinese type that also has a grilling/roasting function and there are little holes in the top and sides, so I didn't want to experiment with the baking soda scrub technique for fear that would get trapped in the holes. Otherwise I would have tried that. But the lemon and water seemed to have an effect.

Thanks again for all the tips!

lhamo

[Mrs-M]

Well that's great news! No sweat on the update, life is busy and hectic these days but when I came across the thread topic again I though- "gee, I wonder", so I thought I'd ask. :)