Keep Your RV Microwave Tray Safe Heading To Your Next Adventure With This Affordable Hack

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Whether you own an RV or you're just renting one for a fun trip to explore the country, it's one of the best ways to see the sights. Instead of checking in to a new hotel every night, unpacking and repacking, you can simply take your "hotel" with you. One of the best parts of RVing is the fact that you have a kitchen. You can simply cook what you want instead of ordering pricey room service or dressing up for dinner. However, if your RV has a microwave, you may have noticed that the glass microwave tray tends to slide off its circular track, meaning you have to reset it. If the worst happens and the microwave opens, it can be a hazard. However, there is a great (and affordable) tip you can use to keep it where it's meant to be: Use a pool noodle to keep it firmly in place. 

This is one of many clever tricks for your RV using pool noodles. You can make the RV awning safer with one to cover the edges, or put pool noodles over the slides to keep you from bonking your head on them. Pool noodles are also great for slipping over your windshield wipers to keep them from degrading in the sun when you park. However, this microwave tray trick may be the best one of all. 

The microwave tray pool noodle hack is really simple to accomplish. According to an Instagram reel from user @rvnutty1, you measure the distance from the tray to the top of the microwave and cut the pool noodle just a little bit longer than the measurement. That way it wedges between the tray and the top, securing it in place. The same hack was mentioned on the website RV.com, as well as Reddit's r/RVLiving. Pool noodles are great for this hack, as they won't damage the glass or microwave. Even better? They're really affordable. You can grab 54-inch pool noodles from Dollar Tree for around $1.50 each at the time of this writing. They're a bit more expensive at Walmart and Amazon, but you may even have some around your house to begin with. A serrated knife or electric knife is the best way to cut them. Just be cautious — they may have more resistance than you expect. It's worth getting a few, since there are so many ways to use them, including covering hard or sharp cabinet handles, a common RV design flaw. 

However, if you don't have access to a pool noodle at the moment, r/RVLiving has a few more tips. One poster said, "We store things in [the microwave]. We have a toaster in its box and a microwave popcorn collapsible bowl. The two fit enough that [the tray] doesn't bounce." Others mentioned putting a kitchen towel in there or using the microwave as a bread box. Still, the pool noodle trick is likely going to be the most stable. You can keep any leftover noodle bits for use in an actual pool.