How Often You Should Be Cleaning Your Microwave, Really - Tasting Table

"Although it is one of the worst kitchen items to clean, regularly cleaning your microwave can prevent icky odors and drips that could affect the quality or taste of your food. You can also lower the risk of bacteria buildup and mold growth. Plus, after a while, letting messy residue accumulate in and on your appliance can even affect its performance and lifespan."

"You should also adjust your cleaning schedule if you use your microwave daily. If you have a big household and everyone regularly uses the microwave to nuke foods and beverages, it's more likely to get messy very quickly. If that's the case, increase your cleaning frequency to twice per week. On the other hand, if you only use your microwave once per week, you can probably get away with a light monthly cleaning."

"Before you start cleaning, familiarize yourself with the dos and don'ts of cleaning a microwave. In addition to cleaning the inside of the appliance, removing and cleaning the glass turntable, and dusting and cleaning the outside, you should also read the appliance manual. This will give you helpful info like whether you need to unplug the appliance to clean certain parts of it, and when and how to clean the grease and charcoal filters installed in the microwave."

Regular cleaning of a microwave prevents unpleasant odors, drips that affect food taste, bacteria buildup, mold growth, and potential declines in appliance performance and lifespan. Clean the microwave at least once a week, increase to twice weekly for heavy or shared daily use, and perform a light monthly cleaning for infrequent use. Remove and clean the glass turntable, dust and clean the outside, and clean the interior after large spills immediately. Read the appliance manual for guidance on unplugging and on cleaning or replacing grease and charcoal filters. Avoid using harsh chemicals such as bleach.

Read at Tasting Table