This story was written by Roberto Guerra and originally appeared on The Cool Down.
A popular Instagram Reel shows viewers how to clean their microwave using an innovative homemade solution.
The video was posted by Washy_Wash (@washy_wash_cleantok), who has 1.1 million followers, and it briefly shows us how to make the natural cleaning solution so we don’t have to buy one at the store.
The scoop
“Try this easy eco clean tip and clean your microwave in a few minutes,” the Instagrammer wrote.
Washy_Wash The reel starts with the mom from the UK chopping a lemon in half, then squeezing the juice into a bowl and adding vinegar and water.
A small towel is then immersed inside the solution and subsequently taken out and put in the microwave for a 60-second heating session.
After a minute has passed, she reaches for the warm moist towel and uses it to clean the microwave.
How it’s helping
Making cleaning solutions at home can save you a decent amount of money since items like lemons, vinegar, and water can create a lot more volume than buying a synthetically-made solution at the store.
But the benefits can go well beyond our savings accounts.
For one, these innovative DIY cleaning solutions significantly reduce the amount of plastic you need to buy. Even though vinegar, for example, comes in plastic containers, much less of it is needed.
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In the United States alone, about 40 million tons of plastic is wasted each year. Only about 5% of this actually gets recycled.
A significant percentage of these plastics end up in our waterways and oceans. They eventually break down and turn into what are called microplastics. Studies have shown that there are at least 24.4 trillion microplastics floating around in our oceans.
And these plastics stick around for much longer than most people can imagine. In fact, they can linger in the environment for several hundred years and kill countless sea animals, including whales, dolphins, and sea turtles who ingest them.
Plastic has become so prevalent in our environment that a significant percentage of humans even have plastic particles in their blood, which has health experts seriously concerned.
Adopting innovative homemade cleaning methods can significantly reduce the amount of plastic we consume, which helps the planet, our health, and that of many other species.
What everyone’s saying
Instagram users had plenty to say about the microwave cleaning hack.
“You make it look so easy,” one commenter wrote.
Another asked, “Does it actually clean through or just mask the smell?” to which the original poster answered, “cleans and disinfects.”
Another brought up an interesting point: “I always think you can tell how clean someone is from their microwave!”
This story was written by Roberto Guerra and originally appeared on The Cool Down.
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