How important is it to clean splashes on a microwave interior( and other microwave safety measures)?

I let my microwave get pretty nasty. The only thing I ever got from that is alcoholism. I wouldn’t worry.

Mine has been more disgusting than I care to admit, for as long as I can remember. I haven’t experienced any problems with it.

Count me in as someone with a disgusting microwave. Nothing happens except it smells sometimes, depending on what I’m cooking in there.

lol, I appreciate all this honesty. But imagine if you let food cake onto some other unrefrigerated (or refrigerated, ha) surface. I can’t see that being sanitary. So is it the constant radioactive bombardment that sterilizes the spackle?

it might not be sanitary, but it also isn’t life-threatening. Basically, there are more important things to worry about.

I just and looked inside my microwave. Holy Shit. I had no idea…

I mop it out once and while, not a big issue. Most items are covered or contained.

I clean mine twice a week because I don’t want bits of old, dried food dropping into the new food.. Covering your food saves on the gunkiness build-up. If the inside is really nasty, heat a bowl of water for 10 minutes. The steam softens the build-up and it comes right off.

I keep my microwave pretty clean, but I don’t make sure it is spotless before I use it. I very, very rarely use my microwave, though. The food isn’t touching the soiled area, is it? I can’t imagine that being very safe.. but otherwise I don’t see how it would affect the safety of your food.

I clean mine just like @BarnacleBill said. I put a bowl of water in the microwave, turn it on and let it get nice and steamy. Then it is easy to wipe any dried up gunk right off.

GA @BarnacleBill. I didn’t realize it was actually that easy. The “let water steam” thing is a great trick. My microwave hasn’t been this clean in probably a decade.

If I can see muck, I clean it. Otherwise, I let it be.

Mine is clean and sterile.

Oh, you mean in the real world. Mine looks really yuck. I just replace them every 10 years.

A trick from the show with two English women going into houses to teach them how to clean, was to boil water with half a lemon in it for 10 minutes or so. It really softens everything making it very easy to clean the gunk off. I would think clean would extend the life. Mine is usually dirty though.

I clean it the moment it gets dirty. Take a paper towel, wipe it off. Takes less than a minute, is a lot easier when the splashes are fresh and not hardened and caked in, and it results in the microwave not being nasty.

Also, cover your damn food when you microwave it and you won’t have this problem at all.