This $2 IKEA Bestseller Keeps Your Microwave Impeccable – and Minimizes the Need for Constant Cleaning

Rigorously using an anti-splatter lid on any food being heated in the microwave was an essential protocol in my family home growing up, and it’s a domestic standard I’ve carried forward into my own home for the last 15 years.

It not only helps your food heat evenly without dehydrating, but it stops splatter and food mess from turning into stubborn residue inside your microwave that then becomes labor-intensive to resolve. I’m certain that’s why the $2 microwave lid from IKEA is a constant bestseller.

It’s dishwasher safe and composed of polypropylene, which is robust, recyclable, and a considered way to keep microwave cleaning to a minimum.

Re-Heat Food Evenly and Prevent Splatter in Your Microwave

I have two microwave lids that are in continuous utility, and when one is in the dishwasher, the other is in the microwave. In fact, I leave a clean one in the microwave ready to use for the next person in my household to reheat meals or steam vegetables, so there is no excuse to skip this mess-saving addition for easy-clean up after meal times.

The affordable IKEA bestseller features steam vents to allow pressure to escape without the moisture in your food entirely evaporating and leaving you with a diminished texture or unpalatable food.

It is also non-toxic as it’s able to withstand high temperatures. The issue with plastic leaching chemicals or microplastics into food usually occurs when they are not built for high heat, and begin to offload microplastics or toxins during high-heat tasks.

Polypropylene, used in the IKEA lid, is BPA-Free, which is otherwise a significant concern and often found in older polycarbonate plastics. This bestseller is also phthalate-free and chemically resilient to fats, acids, and most organic solvents, making it a very safe choice for reheating food daily without concern.

I utilize this tool in multiple ways:

• To steam vegetables quickly: Add a couple of tablespoons of water to your microwave-safe bowl, place your veg inside, and top with the lid.
• To quickly prepare ‘baked’ potatoes: While you won’t achieve the crunchy outer skin of a traditional oven, you can microwave a potato in 8-10 minutes. Simply wash and dry your potato, perforate the skin with a fork, and microwave with the IKEA lid on. Polypropylene maintains its structural integrity, so it will not warp during longer sessions the way a thin plastic lid might. To finish, a five-minute stint in a non-toxic air fryer will provide that delicious, crispy exterior.
• To reheat food without splatter: If you’ve ever heated a soup, stew, or sauce, you’ll know the mess it can make as it splatters across the interior of your appliance. Utilizing a lid limits splatter to the lid itself, which is easily sanitized.
• To preserve moisture in food: I grew up in a Persian household where we ate rice daily. We cooked large batches and reheated them in the microwave; using a lid meant the moisture didn’t escape and leave the grains dry or brittle.

There is often worry that reheating rice can cause food poisoning, but I have not once in my 40 years experienced this, and rice remains a daily staple in my diet. The integrity concern usually stems from improper storage or failing to reheat the food fully.

To do so properly, I either defrost my portion in the fridge overnight or use the defrost setting on my microwave before heating it fully with the lid on and a splash of water. Reheating it long enough (usually three minutes from chilled or five to six minutes from frozen with a halfway stir) is a validated safe method.

When to Recycle Your Microwaveable Lid

While polypropylene is very robust, it is not indestructible. If you notice the surface has become pitted, that is usually a sign of surface degradation caused by the high temperatures fats and sugars reach during reheating.

As with kitchen appliances, daily-use tools for cooking also need timely replacement. If you notice pitting, scrapes, degradation, or peeling surfaces, the item should be recycled.

Look for a number 5 on the plastic, which confirms your microwave lid is polypropylene and easily processed at recycling centers.

What to Shop

If you value considered solutions that make steaming or reheating food a seamless process, here are a few recommendations from us, alongside some BPA-free culinary instrumentation that is always essential to have for safe storage, use and streamlined kitchen cleaning.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

You can also clean your microwave with lemons, and add lemon halves in your dishwasher to turbocharge appliance sanitation with nature's power.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.