I definitely wouldn't say you are stupid, I'd say you ended up with a defective microwave! Can you take it back, complain, and get a replacement?

I don't think the microwave is defective if she accidentally set it for 8 minutes instead of 8 seconds. That's human error, and I don't think it would be fair to claim the oven did it, when she admits it was her mistake.

Try this--make a paste of baking soda and water, and spread it on the surfaces inside the oven. Let sit a bit and wash well. That may take some of the surface smell out of the appliance, but the bigger problem you have is that it's probably gotten all through the 'innards' and may re-appear every time the fan goes on. All you can do is give it a shot.

And then, what about putting in a bowl of water, with some citrus rinds, and spices (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves--whatever you have on hand) and heating that for a couple of minutes (then let it sit for a few hours with the door closed). Maybe a new, 'nice' scent would help cover up the one you don't want? Don't see how it can hurt to try.

Good luck.

(and I completely understand--I did the exact same thing with the little microwave at the new house. Set it for 3 minutes, instead of 30 seconds. I was very lucky, though, and caught it before it was quite as bad as yours, but even so, it took several uses for the burned smell to completely go away.)

I've caught myself almost doing that a few times. Don't beat yourself up over it.

We've all cremated something in our microwave, at some time.

When my husband was a bachelor a few times he admitted to coming home from a night of drinking to throw a frozen pizza in the oven. By morning the house would smell of smoke and there would be no evidence of a pizza in the oven except for maybe a large ash. Luckily he doesn't do that anymore. I was speaking of a regular oven; microwaves were not available until after we were married!

I was going to suggest a bowl of citrus rinds too. I've also heard of heating a bowl of water with a 1/2 cup of vinegar for about 5 minutes to loosen microwave baked on grime. Seems like the citrus would help with the smell. Post again and let us know what you tried and if it worked. Good luck!

Get some regular charcoal, or charcoal for the fish filters. Put some in a dish and put it in the microwave. DO NOT RUN THE MICROWAVE WITH THE CHARCOAL IN IT. Leave it there for a few days. It will absorb the odor. It works on sour milk smell in the carpet of my car, and on a refrigerator that DH turned off with food in it in the old camper! It will work on your microwave!

Tami

I did that once intending to reheat a cup of coffee - set the microwave for 10 minutes instead of 1 minute - I did catch it after 3 or 4 minutes went by and let me tell ya, that was one hot cup of coffee. Boiled over all over the microwave, but other than that no harm, no foul.
I wonder if your microwave will be okay to use now that you've fried something in it for that long? If I could afford it I might be inclined to just get a new one...
Suzan J

I found that wiping the inside of a freezer compartment with vanilla extract worked magic. Someone lazy, not me!, had unplugged the thing and didn't plug it back. Smell was awful. Vanilla worked!

I use a heavy pyrex bowl and fill it with cinnamon sticks and water. Heat it up slowly and let it simmer in there on low for about 20 minutes. Every hour or so, I repeat it, and the smell eventually goes away (your house smells wonderful too!)

I blame Scott Peterson for ruining my microwave oven!

I was watching the case on TV. I put something in the MW (don't remember what it was). Thought I set it for 2 minutes and went back to the TV.

Then I began to smell something and went back to see flames inside the MW. I unplugged it and let it cool down. Realized that I had set it for 20 minutes.

It was completely charred. I didn't even attempt to clean it. I bought a new one and learned to be a lot more careful setting the timer.

So it was Scott Peterson's fault, not mine. I should have sent him the bill for the new one.

Sue

Another trick I've read about to get rid of odors is to wad up some newspaper, soak it in ammonia and let it set inside the microwave overnight.

Jodi-

sue_va -- WARNING! WARNING! Drew Peterson has been arrested for the murder of his third wife. You need to stay away from either the microwave or the TV.

(Now we see what happens when those darn Petersons leave Minnesota and go berserk!)

Been there done that. It took many vinager tries.

I did the same thing last year with a bag of popcorn. I thought I had hit 3:00 minutes, but instead hit 30:00. Several minutes later my kitchen was filled with smoke. The burned popcorn smell was in/on EVERYTHING in my house. I tried everything to salvage the microwave, but nothing worked, so went to Costco and bought a nice 1200 watt for less than $100.

try 2 cups of lemon juice and water,heavier to the lemon juice...bring it to a boil,about 5 minutes,let sit,wipe out...repeat if necessary

Oh, burned popcorn smells awful!

BTDT by overcooking a large sweet potato. Have you checked to see if the microwave still works? No use trying to get rid of the odor if it doesn't. Ours was kaput.

I did something similar once - I thought the smell would be forever.

I did what you did, cleaning wise. I also placed a dish filled with a box of baking soda in there and heated it for 10 seconds and then let it sit overnight. Took it out, wiped the oven down down, put it back in to sit to sit. I didn't use the nuker for three days but replaced the baking soda with a new, shallow dish full twice as I figured the old baking soda wouldn't work as well once it had absorbed a lot of the odor - would "wear it out".

That pretty much did the trick. I did make sure to keep the door open after use for about a week to allow the steam to dispense. After cooking, sometimes the smell would be there ever so faintly and I found that leaving toe door open for about 20 minutes to let the steam completely dissipate and dry did the trick. I did wipe it down with a clean damp cloth after using because that smell *did* linger for awhile, but not bad. It didn't affect the tast of anything, including hot water though.

I did keep the bowl of baking soda in there when not in use for about three weeks total. Probably longer than needed - the smell was completely gone within about a week.

If none of this makes a remarkable difference within about a week, I'd go to the store and do-over, it might be ruined.

Like Sjarz said, If you can afford it, get a new one. Maybe you can box it up and take it in for a return and ask them if it would be possible to replace it at cost, since it was your mistake. They might be willing, at least it isn't a loss to them, and it would cost less.

I guess I'd try simmering vinegar or lemon juice in there first.

One of my favorite (and most used) features on my microwave is the "plus 30 sec" button.

Yep, BTDT more than once!
Sometimes those digital control pads are touchy!
Hope one of the solutions offered helps you Ivamae.

It is much better than it was. I've been boiling water and soda and letting it sit inside. I'm hoping the steam will get into all parts and flush them out. I added vanilla to the water one time and that seemed to help. It is working fine and not altering the taste of anything else. I have more hope than I did have at first. I will try some of the other things as well. If I have to replace it I will. It isn't the ovens fault. It is certainly all mine.

MYy GD did that last year with popcorn,and you're right,what a horrendous smell.I cleaned it out several times,with baking soda,then set a cup in it filled with water and lemon juice,it still smelled,and every time we used it,all this brown stuff would come out of the vents and run down the sides etc.I just continued to clean it every day.The smell finally subsided by about day 4 as i kept opening the windows and running the vent fan above the stove.I did a final cleaning with a mr clean eraser and rinsed it with baking soda and water.Good as new after all that.The microwave at the time wasn't even a year old(1200)watts,and i really couldn't afford a new one,so persistance paid off for me.
Kathi

This one isn't old either. That makes me all the more disgusted with myself but the settings are very sensitive. See it isn't all my fault!

Just an aside...the President and CEO of a large company I worked for years ago banned popcorn from all vending machines in the campus's 10 buildings -- he HATED the smell of burned popcorn!

Don't feel bad, just today, I wanted to heat up my oven at 350 for a couple of minutes so it would be a little warm for my frozen cinnamon rolls to rise. I stuck the rolls in, set it at 350 and then sat down. I forgot about it until I heard the preheat beep go off! Nothing was hurt thank goodness, but I really forgot I just want it heated for a bit. The rolls turned out nice. I didn't eat any.

Sue

Chisue, Would you please make a note to yourself to send me an ALERT when Drew Peterson's case is on TV?

I love watching real cases; don't care for the fictional ones on TV. Maybe I was a lawyer in another life.

Now about Casey Anthony. . . .

Sue

Laat night I simmered a strong solution of vinegar in the microwave and this morning I believe the smell is all gone. I have let it sit for quite awhile with the door open to let the vinegar smell out and I don't smell anything else

Thanks everyone