I'd get bowl full of water (like a big one), set microwave to lowest power level and have it run continuously for say one hour. Check on it every few minutes - turn it off, check water level and...
I'd get bowl full of water (like a big one), set microwave to lowest power level and have it run continuously for say one hour. Check on it every few minutes - turn it off, check water level and temperature. The water is there only as microwave receptor so the oven doesn't run empty. By long-running the oven you force the built-in fan to flush it with air over and over again, possibly removing the smell. You could place some air freshener to the intake of the fan, probably.
This is what I would do, but never done, it's just theory.
EDIT: Just fixed spelling, I write from mobile and it looked like a kid wrote it...
This is potentially a bit late since you've already done it, but a plea to anyone reading to not put water in the microwave without adding in a chopstick or something, to avoid superheating....
This is potentially a bit late since you've already done it, but a plea to anyone reading to not put water in the microwave without adding in a chopstick or something, to avoid superheating.
Basically, when you heat water without sufficient impurities in it in a microwave, it can reach boiling point without actually boiling, and if you jostle it, it can explode, causing severe burns. I don't know whether lemon juice/vinegar introduces enough stuff to avoid this (someone who's more sciency than me may be able to comment?) but I've had a mug of water almost explode in my face because of this.
I frequently heat water in the microwave over several decades. I have had it super heat and explode about 3 times, including about a month ago. It just showered me in warm water. It seems that the...
I frequently heat water in the microwave over several decades. I have had it super heat and explode about 3 times, including about a month ago. It just showered me in warm water. It seems that the heat energy gets converted to kinetic energy when it blows and it has never burned me.
Oh well that's good to know! It's still something I'll avoid doing, but nice to know that I might not have been as close to severe burns as I thought lol
Oh well that's good to know! It's still something I'll avoid doing, but nice to know that I might not have been as close to severe burns as I thought lol
I'll do the disclaimer and say I'm not a scientist, but from my understanding it's about the impurities rather than the thickness of the bowl. I'd actually love an actual scientist to chime in...
I'll do the disclaimer and say I'm not a scientist, but from my understanding it's about the impurities rather than the thickness of the bowl.
I'd actually love an actual scientist to chime in here lol, because I just don't quite know enough to know what's safe here. Letting it cool down definitely seems sensible, I've tended to do some combination of that and sticking a chopstick in the bowl/mug when microwaving. (Although to be totally honest, I really just haven't microwaved water after learning about superheating, lol)
A chemist (speculateively pinging @nukeman ) might be able to comment with more detail, but if I'm correct, then chemists deal with the same problem in the lab: There it's called bumping, and it...
A chemist (speculateively pinging @nukeman ) might be able to comment with more detail, but if I'm correct, then chemists deal with the same problem in the lab: There it's called bumping, and it leads to super uneven boiling: No action for a few seconds, then everything all at once. Super smooth glassware tends to make this worse. The solution chemists use is to put glass shards into the liquid (because lab glass is "clean" for the purposes of experiments and because they tend to break glass a fair bit too). The sharp edges of broken glass act as nucleation sites for steam to form. I'd hazard the guess that everything with "a lot" of texture would work for this purpose. Try a handful of dirt, pebbles, sand, wood, whatever. Some of these options of course only for non-food.
The point of water in the bowl isn't to boil, not even evaporate (much). It's there only so that microwave doesn't run empty. The main point is that the fan runs and blows fresh air through the...
The point of water in the bowl isn't to boil, not even evaporate (much). It's there only so that microwave doesn't run empty. The main point is that the fan runs and blows fresh air through the microwave.
The fan blows on the magnetron (the thing doing microwaves) to cool it down and then through the main chamber (where food is placed) and then out with very very limited circulation inside the oven itself. This means it won't work as a steam sterilizer, because the steam only goes through food chamber and then out.
This is why I would set it to lowest power. The thingis to let the fan run for as much as possible while the oven itself does nothing. Just went the smell out.
Yeah i would do this, and add a bit of vinegar to the water aswell, vinegar vapors are an old method known to absorb smells. Also get a decently thick bowl if you're going to be leaving it in the...
Yeah i would do this, and add a bit of vinegar to the water aswell, vinegar vapors are an old method known to absorb smells.
Also get a decently thick bowl if you're going to be leaving it in the microwave for that long, any thinner bowl would probably break.
This is why I would set the power to minimum and check temperature regularly. The point of the water is to absorb the energy, but not actually get hot/boil.
This is why I would set the power to minimum and check temperature regularly. The point of the water is to absorb the energy, but not actually get hot/boil.
Whether it would help or not I don't know, but what I'd probably try if it were my own microwave is making a bicarb of soda paste and smearing it all over the inside and leaving for a bit. It...
Whether it would help or not I don't know, but what I'd probably try if it were my own microwave is making a bicarb of soda paste and smearing it all over the inside and leaving for a bit.
It absorbs quite a lot of smells, it might help with some embedded in the walls but not with any inside the internals. So does activated carbon but it's much harder to make into a paste.
Not a scientist, but I would guess it’s because the paste can penetrate crevices and cling to the surface, whereas a powder could just dry out and lose contact with the surface, or not penetrate...
Not a scientist, but I would guess it’s because the paste can penetrate crevices and cling to the surface, whereas a powder could just dry out and lose contact with the surface, or not penetrate sufficiently.
I was only thinking it would help it get closer to any imperfections in the lining, it may make no difference tbh, I have no science to back it up. It's what I did to try and take the smell which...
I was only thinking it would help it get closer to any imperfections in the lining, it may make no difference tbh, I have no science to back it up. It's what I did to try and take the smell which had embedded itself into plastics when we had to clear out a home of a heavy smoker (with mixed success, reduced the smell a lot but never fully removed it. Though most things had spent years in the environment, with the only protection being the thin layer of tar that had formed on the outside).
I now think the ideas about trying to run something (eg vinegar steam) through the fans and vents might be more effective.
This is actually true, it purifies the air. It also acts as great oxidizer (the ozone it makes, that is) meaning the microwave oven might rust away after this treatment. I don't have any practical...
This is actually true, it purifies the air.
It also acts as great oxidizer (the ozone it makes, that is) meaning the microwave oven might rust away after this treatment. I don't have any practical experience though.
I'd be tempted to use a vacuum cleaner and put the pipe on the extractor fan vent of the microwave for a couple of seconds (not longer, you don't want to spin that fan up for too long).
I'd be tempted to use a vacuum cleaner and put the pipe on the extractor fan vent of the microwave for a couple of seconds (not longer, you don't want to spin that fan up for too long).
Those fans won't get damaged by running freely. They are the kind of fan that doesn't induce power when it spins on its own (in the wind or by vacuum cleaner). I don't know what they are called,...
Those fans won't get damaged by running freely. They are the kind of fan that doesn't induce power when it spins on its own (in the wind or by vacuum cleaner). I don't know what they are called, so I can't back it up, you would have to take my word for it. They are basicaly the cheapest motor running on mains voltage you can make.
They use like a copper clamp (for thelack of a better word) across iron core to make just a slight phase shift so they can start themselves in the same rotation everytime and without using capacitor. The rotor doesn't have any winding nor magnets (strange as it may sound). They cannot run as a generator. Tried myself.
I'm admittedly not an expert on kitchen appliances, but I can certainly say that smoke damage and electronics really don't mix. Might just be better off replacing the thing, assuming it isn't a...
I'm admittedly not an expert on kitchen appliances, but I can certainly say that smoke damage and electronics really don't mix.
Might just be better off replacing the thing, assuming it isn't a prohibitively expensive unit or hold some level of attachment to the piece.
I'd get bowl full of water (like a big one), set microwave to lowest power level and have it run continuously for say one hour. Check on it every few minutes - turn it off, check water level and temperature. The water is there only as microwave receptor so the oven doesn't run empty. By long-running the oven you force the built-in fan to flush it with air over and over again, possibly removing the smell. You could place some air freshener to the intake of the fan, probably.
This is what I would do, but never done, it's just theory.
EDIT: Just fixed spelling, I write from mobile and it looked like a kid wrote it...
This is potentially a bit late since you've already done it, but a plea to anyone reading to not put water in the microwave without adding in a chopstick or something, to avoid superheating.
Basically, when you heat water without sufficient impurities in it in a microwave, it can reach boiling point without actually boiling, and if you jostle it, it can explode, causing severe burns. I don't know whether lemon juice/vinegar introduces enough stuff to avoid this (someone who's more sciency than me may be able to comment?) but I've had a mug of water almost explode in my face because of this.
I frequently heat water in the microwave over several decades. I have had it super heat and explode about 3 times, including about a month ago. It just showered me in warm water. It seems that the heat energy gets converted to kinetic energy when it blows and it has never burned me.
Oh well that's good to know! It's still something I'll avoid doing, but nice to know that I might not have been as close to severe burns as I thought lol
I'll do the disclaimer and say I'm not a scientist, but from my understanding it's about the impurities rather than the thickness of the bowl.
I'd actually love an actual scientist to chime in here lol, because I just don't quite know enough to know what's safe here. Letting it cool down definitely seems sensible, I've tended to do some combination of that and sticking a chopstick in the bowl/mug when microwaving. (Although to be totally honest, I really just haven't microwaved water after learning about superheating, lol)
A chemist (speculateively pinging @nukeman ) might be able to comment with more detail, but if I'm correct, then chemists deal with the same problem in the lab: There it's called bumping, and it leads to super uneven boiling: No action for a few seconds, then everything all at once. Super smooth glassware tends to make this worse. The solution chemists use is to put glass shards into the liquid (because lab glass is "clean" for the purposes of experiments and because they tend to break glass a fair bit too). The sharp edges of broken glass act as nucleation sites for steam to form. I'd hazard the guess that everything with "a lot" of texture would work for this purpose. Try a handful of dirt, pebbles, sand, wood, whatever. Some of these options of course only for non-food.
This is the key phrase
The point of water in the bowl isn't to boil, not even evaporate (much). It's there only so that microwave doesn't run empty. The main point is that the fan runs and blows fresh air through the microwave.
The fan blows on the magnetron (the thing doing microwaves) to cool it down and then through the main chamber (where food is placed) and then out with very very limited circulation inside the oven itself. This means it won't work as a steam sterilizer, because the steam only goes through food chamber and then out.
This is why I would set it to lowest power. The thingis to let the fan run for as much as possible while the oven itself does nothing. Just went the smell out.
Yeah i would do this, and add a bit of vinegar to the water aswell, vinegar vapors are an old method known to absorb smells.
Also get a decently thick bowl if you're going to be leaving it in the microwave for that long, any thinner bowl would probably break.
This is why I would set the power to minimum and check temperature regularly. The point of the water is to absorb the energy, but not actually get hot/boil.
Whether it would help or not I don't know, but what I'd probably try if it were my own microwave is making a bicarb of soda paste and smearing it all over the inside and leaving for a bit.
It absorbs quite a lot of smells, it might help with some embedded in the walls but not with any inside the internals. So does activated carbon but it's much harder to make into a paste.
Not a scientist, but I would guess it’s because the paste can penetrate crevices and cling to the surface, whereas a powder could just dry out and lose contact with the surface, or not penetrate sufficiently.
I was only thinking it would help it get closer to any imperfections in the lining, it may make no difference tbh, I have no science to back it up. It's what I did to try and take the smell which had embedded itself into plastics when we had to clear out a home of a heavy smoker (with mixed success, reduced the smell a lot but never fully removed it. Though most things had spent years in the environment, with the only protection being the thin layer of tar that had formed on the outside).
I now think the ideas about trying to run something (eg vinegar steam) through the fans and vents might be more effective.
Boil vinegar (maybe with water?) in the oven. This should get rid of the smell.
I would buy an ionizer. It’s used by fire fighters to remove the smoke smell from a house that had fire. It’s like bleach for the air.
This is actually true, it purifies the air.
It also acts as great oxidizer (the ozone it makes, that is) meaning the microwave oven might rust away after this treatment. I don't have any practical experience though.
I'd be tempted to use a vacuum cleaner and put the pipe on the extractor fan vent of the microwave for a couple of seconds (not longer, you don't want to spin that fan up for too long).
Those fans won't get damaged by running freely. They are the kind of fan that doesn't induce power when it spins on its own (in the wind or by vacuum cleaner). I don't know what they are called, so I can't back it up, you would have to take my word for it. They are basicaly the cheapest motor running on mains voltage you can make.
They use like a copper clamp (for thelack of a better word) across iron core to make just a slight phase shift so they can start themselves in the same rotation everytime and without using capacitor. The rotor doesn't have any winding nor magnets (strange as it may sound). They cannot run as a generator. Tried myself.
I'm admittedly not an expert on kitchen appliances, but I can certainly say that smoke damage and electronics really don't mix.
Might just be better off replacing the thing, assuming it isn't a prohibitively expensive unit or hold some level of attachment to the piece.