Scratches from cleaning with a paper towel? - LG LMVM1935 Convection/Microwave Oven

Microwaves work by friction. They blast water molecules in the food so they move fast, just like rubbing your hands together makes them hot. Some types of microwave in defrost mode actually apply FULL POWER for a short period of time so to make the product warm to the touch. This heat then penetrates down to the core of the food, ensuring full defrost. In your case the heat was sufficient enough to heat the dry paper towel to set it on fire.
Bread is better defrosted on the low power setting as sliced bread is very thin. Items should only be defrosted on the defrost setting that are thick and need to be completely defrosted on the inside. Remember microwaves only penetrate the surface of food, making that hot. Thermal conduction does the rest.
You should never use paper towels in a microwave unless the instructions for doing the food say so. You wouldn't put a paper towel in a gas or electric oven, so don't put them in a microwave.

Most manuals advise you to use a soft cloth.

Paper towels scratch.

Maybe that's it...

I would try wiping it down really good with good amount of vinegar and a paper towel. Let it sit for a few minutes. Then wipe clean and rinse with a wet paper towel. If smell persists, try this approach once again.

the magnatron super heated the paper combined with what we in the industry call super combust your micro should be ok to use just keep it clean and if you use toweling wraP it around rather than cover

A trick I use is to place a damp paper towel on a plate and microwave it for about 1 to 2 minutes. You should be able to wipe most everything off with another damp towel or a sponge. Use caution in removing the old paper towel, it will be very hot. ( you are simply creating steam which is very hot and will soften most hard food) Tim

You will need the following:
Polishing compound, jeweler's rouge or whitening toothpaste
Electric buffer
Lamb's wool buffing pad
2 ounces of ammonia
2 quarts of water
Rubber gloves
Safety goggles
Lint-free paper towels or cloth


Step 1:
Apply polishing or jeweler's rouge to a lambs wool buffing pad. You can either buff the scratch by hand using a circular motion or with an electric buffer on medium speed.

Step 2:
Wash the polishing compound, jeweler's rouge or whitening toothpaste off from time to time in order to check on the progress of the scratch removal.

Step 3:
Mix two ounces of ammonia with two quarts of water. You may want to be sure to hold your nose closed during this process! Also, always wear rubber gloves and safety goggles when working with ammonia.

Step 4:
Clean the glass surface with the ammonia water with a clean soft sponge.

Step 5:
Dry the glass with a lint free towel. If the scratches are not completely gone, they should at least be less apparent. If there is no significant difference, consider contacting a glass company to replace or rebuff the glass.

Why is this even a question?

Of course a paper towel can get hot enough to catch fire in a microwave. In addition, anything not specifically identified as microwave safe can melt, deform, crack, chip, spark, catch fire, explode, etc...
This is not a microwave problem.

Was the ceramic plate part of the microwave or a plate form the kitchen?

If it wasn't the microwave plate, it should be fine. You should be able to be sure it's all clean and use it as usual.

A microwave oven should of course never be left running unattended, especially when using any paper products.

Paper plates and paper towels can sometimes have small amounts of impurities which can ignite.

This is covered on page 1 in your owner's manual, which can be downloaded here.

We're happy to help you with free advice and we'd appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

Wet a hand towel or multiple layers of paper towel and lay it over the sticky residue and turn the unit on high for 20 to 30 seconds to heat it. Then use a plastic spatula to scrape it off. The heating should loosen it up and the plastic spatula should be safe to scrape without damaging it.