There is a burned smell coming from your microwave oven and the same persistent odor in the oven itself when not being used Reheated food tastes burned although it is not visually burned?

Answer 1

Something has burned in the oven. If it is suspected that the burned smell is from burned components or parts of the oven, stop using it immediately. Please. If the odor is from burned food, the airways in the oven have some deposits on them. Follow along as we trace the path of moving air in a microwave oven. The air is drawn in through ports (usually on the side of the oven) and across the control electronics circuits (usually behind the touch panel) to cool them. The air then reaches the suction side of the fan. From the pressure side of the fan, the air is forced through the cooling fins of the magnetron (the microwave generating device). From there the air is ducted past the lamp (the light that lights up the inside of the oven) through vents into the cavity (which is the name for the place where the cooking is done). The air leaves the cavity through another set of vents (on the opposite side) taking with it moisture from cooking - and anything else given off. The inlet and outlet vents for the air are usually on proximately opposite sides of the oven. (It doesn't make sense to have them along side each other.) There are some variations on this theme, but it's basic. If something has burned in the cooking process, that smell will be detected because of deposits on surfaces in the outlet air stream. A certain amount of air that is circulating around the oven is actually picked up and re-circulated, and that allows for deposits on surfaces in the inlet air stream. (The more "tucked in" an oven is on a counter, the more air will be re-circulated during use.) This will put stuff on the food being heated/cooked in the oven when it is used in the future. Though the problem will subside - and it may never completely disappear - it isn't going to happen overnight. Cleaning an oven thus contaminated is not a job for a homeowner or handyperson. It involves opening the oven up, and this will expose anyone doing so to hazards not worth risking. Call a shop and ask advice. Professionals have seen all this before. They can usually explain your options in a minute or two, and they don't usually charge for phone consultation. Good luck.