Okay, my 4yo son decided to make himself popcorn and filled the entire kitchen and dining room w/ smoke that you couldn't even see through. Burn marks in the microwave and smelled like burnt popcorn for days. Not good when trying to sell a home--LOL. Anyhow, how do you get the burnt popcorn smell out of the microwave? Any suggestions. I know this is a very stupid question but had to ask as cleaning it does not seem to matter in the way of getting rid of the smell. Thanks, Stephanie--mom to 7
This happened once with my Dad, smell was horrible and he had to get rid of the microwave. We tried to clean it with bleach, amonia, everything (not in the same day however). Nothing work, so after a couple of weeks and still smelling that burnt smell the microwave just had to go.
There is no cure for the microwave. toss it. that's quite possibly THE worst smell ever. And the hardest to get rid of.
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf159495.tip.html Try this website, I have no personal experience with any of the remedies, but probably couldn't hurt, better than throwing out the microwave.
Go to the auto parts store and buy "Ozium" ("regular", not "new car smell"), it'll be with the air fresheners. Squirt a few sprays in the microwave and close it for about an hour (DO NOT TURN IT ON!!!) Open it and clean it with dish soap mixed with a little baking soda. You might have to repeat once (or maybe twice).
I have had the best luck with vinegar. When I quit smoking, I placed little bowls of vinegar in the car and in my closet to rid my coats and car of the smell. You will have the vinegar scent for a few days, but it will suck up that yucky smell!
Thanks everyone! Definitely going to try a few of these before we toss the microwave. Can't really buy another new one at this time so definitely worth some remedies. Tried the lemon juice. haven't tried vinegar though. And if that doesn't work, going to the autoparts store. Thanks again everyone. Kids...urghh. the things they do. Have a wonderful week everyone! Take care, Stephanie--mom to 7 kiddos!!!
The best thing you can do is put a few pieces of charcoal in it and leave them there for a few days. Charcoal will suck the smell out of most anything.
Wipe out the interior with white vinegar, allow to dry completely, then take 1 TABLESPOON of PURE vanilla extract, place it in 1/2 cup of water and heat on high for 1 minute. Leave it in there with door closed for a half hour. It works very well.
We haven't had time to try yet. Going to try tonight w/ the vinegar adn such. Things got crazy here which is why we nickname our home "Chaos Manor"--LOL. I'll let you know. Can't do it while the kids are up or they'll end up doing something their not supposed to w/ the solution. Let you know how it turns out tomorrow. Thanks for all the advice. Can't wiat to get rid of that burnt smell! Take care, Stephanie--mom to 7 kiddos
This'll make ya feel better Abdulina Had to read your thread as I recently had a similar problem with my microwave. So...I have a taste for a nice grilled steak. Hubby goes to the store to see what's on sale. Nothing on sale. We decide to splurge and he gets the most beautiful, thick sirloins I've seen in a while and grills them to sheer perfection while I work in the garden. I have the potatoes in the oven and I figure they need about another 20 mins until they are perfect. Hubby sets the nice, juicy steaks in the microwave and closes it to keep the flies away (didn't tell me). I decide to use the microwave timer to time my potatoes and I head outside to finish my gardening. Hubby sits out by the grill watching me garden. About 15 mins later, my 8yo son comes running out of the house yelling smoke! smoke!...the microwave is smoking like it did the time I cooked the hot pocket for 10 mins Dad. We go running. The perfectly cooked sirloins are now beef jerky and my whole house has a horrible stinch in it. Poor cow died for nothing. And my microwave STILL stinks after 3 weeks. So...here's the good news Abdulina. When you smell the burnt bag of popcorn smell, think of the $13 I fried vs. the .50 your son fried. I know I feel sick about it every time I smell it. Ugggh. BTW....son burned the hot pocket about 1 week after we bought this new microwave. I cleaned it with normal stuff but it took a few months and the smell finally did go away. The inside color has never been the same though. I'm going to try some of the things mentioned here. Let me know if you find something that works for you.
Just so you know, most microwaves have a timer function that will count down without actually running the oven. If yours is the rarity, perhaps you should invest in a $2 digital kitchen timer available in grocery stores located where the cooking utensils are.
Actually, I'm glad you brought that up Cliff. My microwave DOES have that type of timer - or so I thought. I was a bit baffled by the incident and disturbed because the microwave did NOT start cooking when I pressed start on the timer. I always thought that the timer function on my microwave did NOT cook. If it had started cooking, the interior light would have come on. Also, I remember seeing the timer start counting down backwards as usual. Believe me, my husband asked if I had accidentally pressed the cook buttons but I know I did not. Kind of made me mad. I mean, not only did I lose my steaks and stink the house up, what if my kids were with a babysitter and something like that had happened? Wonder if it was a defect or something. I'm pretty sure I've had other food items in there before while using the timer function. Guess I need to hunt down the manual that came with it. As for the $2 timer....I can't tell you how many I've bought over the years. I have 4 kids and I often use the kitchen timer to help them get certain chores done in a timely manner. They end up with it all over the house. Then there are the ones I leave too close to the back vent eye on the stove while baking a turkey and they wind up half melted
I don't know about burnt popcorn, but about the scent of a house for sale, I have a suggestion. Just before someone comes to view the house, bake a pie and then set it on the kitchen counter. That wonderful homey, mom-and-apple-pie smell permeates the house and make the buyers very receptive. (And you get to eat the pie after they leave! :-D)
My mom has a place at the beach and there have been occassions through the years when the power went out for a few days and no one was there to empty the freezer. I don't know if these tricks to remove odors from the freezer will work for your microwave - but it never hurts to try: 1) Get a Ziploc bag and put 10 to 12 charcoals in it. Then fill it with vinegar. Close the bag as air tight as possible. Let the charcoals stay in the bag for 10 minutes so that it can absorb the vinegar. Take the charcoals out by hand and place in a bowl. Don't let there be standing vinegar in the bowl. Place the bowl of charcoals in the microwave. Hopefully in a day or so the smell will be gone. 2) My mom would sit a cup of coffee grounds in the bottom of the freezer sometimes and she said this would absorb odors also. Good Luck
i have also heard it is a great idea to bake a batch of choc chip cookies right before your open house - makes folks feel and remember the feeling of being at grandma's:-D
