Crafts & DIY
Unexpected Uses For Your Microwave
I never knew that microwaves could be so useful for things besides cooking. Check these out! Let us know if you know of any other uses for microwaves in the comments.
D.G. Sciortino
12.24.17

Did you know that you can create delicious meals and make savory herbs without ever turning on your oven or stove! All you need is a microwave.

Your microwave is also capable of peeling fruits and vegetables and helping you to get some house cleaning done.

Here are some hacks to help you bring your microwave use beyond nuking leftovers and heating up junk food.

Remove a Stamp From An Envelope

Place a few drops of water onto your stamp and place the envelope in your microwave for 20 seconds on medium. When it comes out you should be able to peel the stamp right off.

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Bob Vila
Source:
Bob Vila

Toast Nuts

Need some toasted nuts for your recipe or to snack on? Your microwave can toast them right up for you. Just put a half teaspoon of vegetable or canola oil on a plate and then pour one cup of nuts over it and spread it out over the microwave safe plate.

Put the plate in your microwave for one minute intervals and stir up your nuts in between. Continue for three to eight minutes or until your nuts become toasty.

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J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
Source:
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Disinfect Your Sponge

Soak your sponge in water then wring it out. Put it in your microwave for 2 minutes on medium to kill up to 99 percent of germs.

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Moms Against Cooties
Source:
Moms Against Cooties

Recrisp Potato Chips

Did someone leave the bag of chips open? Before you attempt to strangle them, place some potato chips on a paper towel and nuke them briefly. This will crisp them right up.

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Wikimedia Commons
Source:
Wikimedia Commons

Disinfect a Cutting Board

Rub each side of your cutting board with a slice of lemon. Stick it in your microwave for one minute on a medium setting to disinfect.

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The Kitchn
Source:
The Kitchn

Prevent Microwave Splatter

Foods that have a thick skin tend to explode in our microwaves. The workaround for this is to pierce the skin of things like potatoes, squash, and tomatoes before you put them in the microwave so that the steam escapes from them.

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Clean Eating Veggie Girl
Source:
Clean Eating Veggie Girl

Steam Clean Your Microwave

All out of elbow grease? You can squeeze two lemon halves into a bowl of water then drop them in the bowl. Place your bowl in your microwave for five minutes on medium heat. You should easily be able to wipe away all the gunk on in your microwave after you take the bowl out.

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Quest for Delish
Source:
Quest for Delish

Scrambled Eggs

Beat your eggs and pour them into a mug along with some milk, cheese, salt, pepper, and whatever else you want in your scrambled eggs/omelet. Nuke for 45 seconds on medium, then take out your mug and stir it up. Put it back in for another 45 seconds and then enjoy your delicious breakfast.

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Incredible Egg
Source:
Incredible Egg

Tear-Free Onion Cutting

Cut off the ends of your onion and put your onion in the microwave on full heat for 30 seconds. When you go to chop your onion it won’t make you tear up.

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Kasandra Brabaw
Source:
Kasandra Brabaw

Dry Herbs

Place your herbs on a paper plate or towel and nuke them for 30 seconds. Take out and flip them over. Keep doing this for about 2 to 4 minutes until your herbs are dried up.

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Serious Eats
Source:
Serious Eats

Peel Garlic

Stop painstakingly peeling your garlic. You can put a head of garlic in your microwave for 15 seconds on medium and when it comes out the skin will slide right off of the cloves.

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Kick Vick
Source:
Kick Vick

Revive Stale Bread

Don’t throw that stale bread away or feed it to the birds. You can revive your stale bread by placing a damp paper towel around it and putting it in the microwave for 10 seconds on it’s highest setting.

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Instructables
Source:
Instructables

Speed Up Bean/Lentil Soaking Process

Some recipes call for beans or lentils to be soaked overnight. Ain’t nobody got time for that! Just place them in a bowl with a pinch of baking soda and submerge them in water. Place the bowl in your microwave on high for 10 minutes, then take out and let it stand for 30 to 40 minutes.

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Tidyup
Source:
Tidyup

Peel Tomatoes or Peaches

Peeling a tomato or peach can be tricky and tedious, but not if you use a microwave. Nuke it for 30 seconds on medium and let it stand for about 2 minutes. The peel should slip right off after two minutes.

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The Kitchn
Source:
The Kitchn

Super Juice a Lemon or Lime

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Daily Mail
Source:
Daily Mail

Get every last drop of juice out of your lemons or limes by placing it in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds before you start squeezing. This will make it juicier and easier to squeeze.

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featured image credit: Maria via Flickr

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