Without microwaves, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the luxury of having dry, warmed food. I didn’t use my microwave for two days, and when I wanted to warm my taco up later, I found some mold on it. It was pretty disgusting. If you’ve experienced something like that, you’ll probably wonder how to clean mold out of your microwave.
To clean mold out of your microwave, you’ll need to wipe its interior clean with a mild detergent or vinegar solution.
Do you want to know precisely what causes mold to grow in your microwave and the step-by-step procedure to eradicate them? If yes, please keep reading as I’ll be explaining these in this article.
What Causes Mold to Grow in Your Microwave?
Mold grows on your microwave basically because they exist and because of the food in your microwave. Let me explain.
Everywhere you go, there are tiny microorganisms in the air. Of course, the only exception to this microbial population is highly sterilized environments like specialized labs. However, we don’t live in those. So we have a lot of microorganisms on us.
Not only do these microorganisms settle on our bodies, but we also breathe them in. Luckily we have immune systems that fight the microorganisms we breathe in and take them out of our systems. Nevertheless, they still cause illnesses in us.
For our food, it’s even more terrible. For example, even the freshest apples have a substantial amount of mold spores on them when plucked. As a result, the mold slowly feeds on it and destroys it in the process.
Because we don’t live in sterile houses, mold can easily fall on all our food substances and grow on them. You may think that microwaving will get rid of all microorganisms. But, sadly, it doesn’t work with fungal spores of mold.
So, when you warm food into your microwave, the radiation doesn’t kill off all the spores on the food. Also, when you use your microwave, tiny particles of food can be left behind. Therefore, if you don’t clean your microwave every time you use it, these particles will accumulate.
The mold will keep growing on the little leftover food. Sadly, your microwave isn’t designed to be completely sealed from microorganisms. So, more mold spores will seep in and grow on the subsequent food particles you’ll leave behind.
From there, they’ll keep spreading and growing thin in areas where the food particles are relatively more minor. If you don’t use your microwave when this happens, it will probably come as a shock to you.
So, did you open your microwave to heat something and you found mold on it? Are you wondering how to get rid of it? Then please keep reading as subsequently, I’ll be answering this.
What Are the Dangers of Mold Growing in Your Microwave?
To understand why you need to get rid of mold in your microwave, apart from its sheer disgusting nature, you’ll have to know the harm it causes to you.
Mold is known to cause respiratory issues. Breathing in mold spores in your microwave could lead to allergic reactions. These reactions include uncontrollable sneezing and excessive phlegm discharge. It could also cause your airways to close which leads to impaired breathing.
Also, if you have asthma, inhaling mold spores could make you experience terrible episodes. Moreover, it also causes cough and sore throat.
Sadly, the worst thing about these effects is that you cannot see the spores in the air that you breathe. And anytime you open your microwave, these spores will be discharged in the air and will grow in different places in your house.
So, how exactly do you get rid of this menacing problem?
How to Clean Mold out of Your Microwave?
To clean mold out of your microwave, there are specific steps you should follow. Fortunately, I’ll be listing them out. So, if you want to clean your microwave, you should:
- Take all safety precautions first:
- Switch off the microwave at the socket.
- To be extra sure, unplug the microwave from the switch.
- Detach the glass plate from your microwave if it’s detachable.
- Keep it safe.
- Clean the microwave:
- Get some mild liquid detergent and dissolve some in a bowl of water.
- Using a sponge, small towel, or any absorbent material of your choice, soak up a little detergent solution.
- Use the sponge to clean out the patches of mold you can see.
- When you’ve taken out the mold, clean the entire interior of the microwave.
- Stop only when you’re satisfied with the neatness you see.
- Rinse off:
- Get some clean water in a bowl and a clean towel.
- Dip the towel into the water and squeeze a substantial amount out.
- Clean out the inside of the microwave gently until you’re sure it’s spotless.
- Dry the microwave with a clean, dry towel.
- Wash the glass plate you detached earlier and rinse it off. Then, reattach it to the microwave only once it’s dry.
While this method described above is suitable, it isn’t entirely adequate when doing an intensive and thorough wipeout. In addition, if you left your microwave unused for quite an extended period, let’s say a month, the mold growth will be incredible. So you may need a more effective cleaning method.
For more effective disinfection of your microwave, you need to:
- First, take the preventive measures I mentioned above.
- Prepare a white vinegar solution. Anything with less than 50% vinegar will not work well. So, it would be best if you made a solution of less water and more vinegar.
- Dip a clean sponge, small towel, or any absorbent material of your choice into the solution and use it to wipe off the mold.
- Clean the entire interior of the microwave to ensure that there’s no area left untouched.
- Leave the vinegar solution in the microwave for about 30 minutes so it can kill off all the spores it comes in contact with.
- Using clean water and a clean rag, wipe off the vinegar in the microwave.
How to Prevent Mold from Infesting Your Microwave
It’s common knowledge that prevention is better than cure. You probably won’t want to wipe off disgusting mold again after you do it once.
So, to prevent mold from growing on your microwave, it would be best always to clean your microwave’s interior after use. When cleaning, use a mild detergent or vinegar solution. Never use bleach to clean the interior of your microwave, as it could cause the plastic to break easily.