[10cents]

The microwave is one of the kitchen appliance I tend to be careful with. I've learned that sparks inside the oven is caused by splatters and drippings of food. A simple wipe down after cooking usually solves the problem.

[HomeGirl]

About once a week I take my big pyrex measuring cup, fill it with water, and nuke it 'til it boils for a few minutes in the microwave.

When it's done 'cooking' I take it out and wipe down the inside with a dilute dish liquid solution. Sparkly, no sparks, no scrubbing, no chemicals to ruin yer cup o'noodles.

HG

[sinamin]

I agree about being careful with the microwave. It makes me very nervous when I see my mother use her microwave oven. She never wipes out the inside.

Whenever I go to her house, I put the glass turntable into a sink full of dish soap and water and make sure it is scrubbed nice and clean. Then I use a dishcloth and some elbow grease and scrub the interior of her oven.

If she used a lid or cover on her dishes, she wouldn't have such a mess to being with. Also, the food heats better with a cover.

[HomeGirl]

Originally Posted by sinamin

If she used a lid or cover on her dishes, she wouldn't have such a mess to being with. Also, the food heats better with a cover.

You know, as long as microwave ovens have been in existence, and now that they are commonplace in almost every household, you would think folks would have figured out by now about the lid thing - both for mess prevention and for better food-heating efficiency.

I know scads of people who still think it's normal to operate their microwave with a thick coating of fossilized ravioli sauce on its upper surfaces. Heh.

[Alan]

Whenever i use a wrinkled foil, i can see sparks. So i always prefer a new,smooth foil. similarly when microwaves react to gold paint on dishes, twist ties and other metallic materials sparks are caused. Whatever the cause may be, turning off the microwave is safe when we see sparks inside in it.

[sinamin]

Gosh I must be in the dark ages when it comes to microwaves. I didn't know that you could use aluminium foil in there. (I assume you meant aluminum foil).

But then again, technology moves so fast, it is hard to keep up especially since I don't personally own a microwave.

[mocha]

I have seen people use aluminium foil too and didn't know you could. I know you couldn;t with the older ones but I think perhaps you can use it to stop bits burning nowadays - bit not too much? Not sure though

[technoflutemom]

Here's a microwave cleaning tip I picked up from "How Clean is Your House" -- poke a couple of holes in a lemon and nuke it. The steam and citrus will help loosen baked in debris.

[nangel78]

I clean mine once a week. I still see silly things happen with microwaves.

[Max Koone]

Aluminum foil nor any other type of metal should ever be used in a microwave oven. The radio frequency energy that the magnetron generates will not penetrate the metal and WILL cause sparks where it bleeds off the metal surface. This is detrimental to the life of the magnetron.
The term nukes is totally in error. There is NO nuclear radiation associated with a microwave oven. It is the same type of energy that your cell phone, cordless phone, CB radio, the local radio, tv station and radar and all other types of radio devices emit. The only differences between a microwave oven and these other types of devices is the frequency of the energy and the power it is emitted at.