Hi it’s Kim from A Real-life Housewife here to share a couple tips about cleaning your microwave. I don’t doubt that you know to clean the inside of your microwave as well as the front panel. These are the most obvious places to wipe down when it comes to cleaning the microwave. However, there are two more places that you’re likely not getting to – the exhaust grill and underneath the microwave. If you don’t have a mounted microwave, well then, you are not missing out on these two places! For the rest of us, let’s get started!
The Exhaust Grill
Your mounted microwave most likely has a built in exhaust system that blows air out of the top of the unit. Mine has a plastic grill that can be easily removed by taking out 3 little screws found on the top. The cupboard above the microwave makes a very convenient storing place for those screws! You may need to slide the grill a bit to the side in order for it to come loose.
If you are like me and have never cleaned this, you are in for some tough scrubbing. This thing is a grease trap! I used full strength Krud Kutter, a non-toxic, biodegradable degreaser (you can find it at Lowes). Spray, soak, and scrub over and over until the grease lifts. It can be done! I also used Q-Tips and toothpicks to get into tight areas.
To clean the vent, I sprayed a white terry cloth rag with Krud Kutter and wiped the dust away.
Once that’s clean, grab the screws from the cupboard and replace the grill!
Underneath the Microwave
The other place that often gets overlooked is underneath the microwave. If you thought the exhaust grill was bad, this is worse. It’s at the heart of grease splatters! You will see a filter and a light under your microwave, not to mention lots of grease! That message underneath the arrow pointing to the filter says, “Remove filter and clean once a month.” There you have it, add this to your monthly cleaning routine. It slides right out and is much easier to clean than the exhaust grill.
Soak it in hot soapy water and scrub clean.
While the filter is soaking, clean the glass light cover. Yes, that is a lifeless BUG stuck to mine. Let me know what you find in yours!
After cleaning the glass, replace the filter and you are finished!
And in case you need a little help with the inside of your microwave, check out how you can steam clean it!
Kim
Disclosure: I have included affiliate links in this post but if you purchase through them you will not pay a cent more than you would otherwise. Thank you for supporting Ask Anna!
Kimberly M. says
April 30, 2015 at 8:45 amI did know about the vent but did not know about underneath. Thank you so much for giving me lessons on things I didn’t know. You learn something new every day is so true.
Susan Sackmann says
September 11, 2018 at 2:16 pmThank you for the amazing info. I just got done cleaning the microwave vent, all the grease and grime underneath the unit, and easily replaced the vent (I didn’t lose any screws due to your helpful suggestion of stashing them in the cupboard) 🙂 I even cleaned behind the stove dials while I was at it! There was yuck there too.
Anna says
September 12, 2018 at 1:45 pmAwesome! I’m so glad we could help. 🙂