Enjoy your unit for years
Microwave ovens are one of the greatest and most useful inventions ever made. You can cook, heat and reheat food or beverages. Great and quick meals anytime! As with any home appliance, proper care and maintenance will extend the life of your oven and guarantee that it works safely and efficiently. Today we have brought you some good practices that will help you keep your microwave in top condition and enjoy it for years.
Care and maintenance tips
The way you use and care for your unit can have a significant effect on its longevity. On average, they typically last between 5-10 years. With proper care, you can expect similar or even better lifespan from yours if you start doing the following things.
Guard against surges: Plug it into a surge protector. We highly recommend it for all appliances.
Keep it clean!
Keep it clean: We recommend cleaning your microwave after each use – both the interior and exterior of the unit cabinet regularly to prevent corrosion and rust. Food and liquid spatter can absorb energy, leading to burning spots and even causing damage to components of the microwave. You can remove most foods and liquids with warm soap and water or a specialized microwave oven cleaner.
Choose dishware carefully: Inappropriate materials that are not microwave safe can cause fires or explosions. For this reason, you should only use microwave-safe dishware. Check the table below:
| Never use | You can use |
| Aluminum foil | Ceramic |
| Metal | Glass |
| Dishware with silver or gold accents | Plastic |
As a general thumb rule, always look for the microwave-safe label on a piece of dishware.
Use preprogrammed cooking times
Try preprogrammed cooking times: These times are designed to minimize energy loss and heating or cooking the food as efficiently as possible. Your food will come out better, and you will also help prevent messes that lead to burn spots. Also, remember to turn off or cancel the program timer first before opening the oven door. The sudden opening of oven door could blow the safety fuse.
Respect weight limitations: Do not load more than the kilogram capacity rating of the unit. Or else, it will put mechanical and electrical stress on both the turntable motor and the magnetron that heats the food.
Avoid running an empty microwave
Use a cover: Put a lid on the food container when cooking to prevent food splashes to the oven cabinet and the walls. When food splashes are heated, they burn and emit smoke and can damage the paint and metal of the oven cabinet.
Avoid running an empty microwave: Do not turn on the unit without any food or liquid inside. The energy emitted by the magnetron can feed back to itself and cause damage to magnetron’s internal parts.
Know when to call for help
It is crucial to remember that microwave ovens use complex electrical systems and store large amounts of power. It has a capacitor may even maintain a big charge after the microwave has been unplugged. So you should never try to repair any electrical microwave parts on your own – because most probably, you may cause additional damage or seriously hurt yourself. Instead, call an appliance professional technician to inquire whether it would be worth repairing or just replacing the unit.
These convenient cleaning and maintenance tips can go a long way in keeping your microwave functional. And if your unit is causing problems and you need oven repair services, be sure to call experts like All Area Appliance Repair services.