It turns out - the microwave can be used for so much more than re-heating pizza or heating milk for cereal - who knew!?
Give Your Plants a Boost
Give Your Plants a Boost
Sterilize soil for growing seedlings by heating it up in the microwave first. Colorado State University horticulturist Laura Pottorff suggests filling plastic containers with a thin layer of soil and microwaving them for 90 seconds per kilogram.
Save That Stamp
You can remove a stamp from an envelope by putting a drop of water of it and then microwaving it for 10-15 seconds.
Disinfect Sponges
According to Good Housekeeping, microwaving a sponge can kill 99.9% of most household germs (and around 99.8% of E. coli and salmonella). Try it yourself: Saturate your sponges with water and zap them in the microwave for 60 seconds.
Make Your Own Heating Pad for Sore Muscles
Cut the foot off an old tube sock and sew the end together. Fill it with rice and then sew the top closed. Now you’ve got an inexpensive heating pad you can use over and over. Take your pad to the next level by adding a few drops of lavender to the rice.
Save Your Stale Bread
If that two-day-old bagel is getting a little hard to chew, then wrap it (or any bread) in a moist paper towel and zap it in the microwave for 20 seconds. The moisture from the towel will soak into your bagel.
Unstick Your Brown Sugar Clumps
The paper towel trick can work in reverse when your brown sugar has gotten all stuck together. Moisten a paper towel, wad it up, and put it in the box with your sugar. Close everything up and microwave it for 25 seconds. The moisture from the towel with transfer into the sugar.
Related tricks: Zap stale chips for 10 seconds to give them their crunch back, or microwave fresh herbs for two minutes to get the dried variety.
Bake a Cake Without the Wait
Not into baking? You can make a single-serving cake in your microwave in just 5 minutes using ingredients you probably already have at home. Check out this video from Instructables for a rundown.
Peel Garlic Without the Pain
Peeling the skin off garlic is a chore that demands good fingernails and a lot of patience. It doesn’t have to be this way. Microwave bulbs for 15 seconds and they’ll come off much more easily. Cornell University assistant professor Gavin Sacks told NPR that the effect is probably related to water in the garlic steaming while it’s being zapped. That steam breaks down the bond between the clove and the skin.
Zap Your Citrus
Before juicing an orange or lemon, microwave the uncut fruit for 10-15 seconds. The microwave will make it easier to juice and help you get every drop.
DIY Toasted Nuts
Put some nuts in a microwave-safe bowl, add a little oil, and microwave them in one-minute increments, stirring after each. Cooking time will vary depending on the type and amount of nuts you’re using, but expect it to take around five minutes. The trick also works for foods like pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
Save That Stamp
You can remove a stamp from an envelope by putting a drop of water of it and then microwaving it for 10-15 seconds.
Disinfect Sponges
According to Good Housekeeping, microwaving a sponge can kill 99.9% of most household germs (and around 99.8% of E. coli and salmonella). Try it yourself: Saturate your sponges with water and zap them in the microwave for 60 seconds.
Make Your Own Heating Pad for Sore Muscles
Cut the foot off an old tube sock and sew the end together. Fill it with rice and then sew the top closed. Now you’ve got an inexpensive heating pad you can use over and over. Take your pad to the next level by adding a few drops of lavender to the rice.
Save Your Stale Bread
If that two-day-old bagel is getting a little hard to chew, then wrap it (or any bread) in a moist paper towel and zap it in the microwave for 20 seconds. The moisture from the towel will soak into your bagel.
Unstick Your Brown Sugar Clumps
The paper towel trick can work in reverse when your brown sugar has gotten all stuck together. Moisten a paper towel, wad it up, and put it in the box with your sugar. Close everything up and microwave it for 25 seconds. The moisture from the towel with transfer into the sugar.
Related tricks: Zap stale chips for 10 seconds to give them their crunch back, or microwave fresh herbs for two minutes to get the dried variety.
Bake a Cake Without the Wait
Not into baking? You can make a single-serving cake in your microwave in just 5 minutes using ingredients you probably already have at home. Check out this video from Instructables for a rundown.
Peel Garlic Without the Pain
Peeling the skin off garlic is a chore that demands good fingernails and a lot of patience. It doesn’t have to be this way. Microwave bulbs for 15 seconds and they’ll come off much more easily. Cornell University assistant professor Gavin Sacks told NPR that the effect is probably related to water in the garlic steaming while it’s being zapped. That steam breaks down the bond between the clove and the skin.
Zap Your Citrus
Before juicing an orange or lemon, microwave the uncut fruit for 10-15 seconds. The microwave will make it easier to juice and help you get every drop.
DIY Toasted Nuts
Put some nuts in a microwave-safe bowl, add a little oil, and microwave them in one-minute increments, stirring after each. Cooking time will vary depending on the type and amount of nuts you’re using, but expect it to take around five minutes. The trick also works for foods like pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
