Fill a microwave safe container with water and put it in the microwave for 10-20 minutes. The goal is to have the water boil for several minutes to soften all the crusted food inside of your microwave. Take a wet warm washcloth and wipe down the inside of your microwave. Everything should wipe right off
I like to wad up a really thick wash cloth and dip the end in the boiling water and use that to wipe everything off.
It doesn't matter how dirty my microwave is, this trick has always worked for me and it doesn't take much effort.
Recently I started to see this same concept on the Internet, but other people were adding vinegar to the water. I was really curious to see if this made any difference so I gave it a shot.
So I filled a bowl with about 2 T of vinegar and about 1 1/2 cups of water (as a side note, it's better to use a measuring cup, or something with a handle so it's easier to take out of the microwave. In case you didn't know, boiling water makes a bowl hot.)
I have to apologize for not having a before photo. I wish I could give you a really awesome excuse as to why I didn't take one, like Ed McMahon showed up and stole my camera, but the truth is I just forgot.
So close your eyes and picture a bowl of thick red chili. Now picture the chili exploding in the microwave. That is what my microwave looked like.
But this is how it looked afterwords.
The Verdict: I didn't notice any kind of difference between using plain water and water mixed with vinegar. I would try to argue that the vinegar can sanitize your microwave, but ummmm it's a microwave, I don't think bacteria stands much of a chance in that environment.