Which Microwave Never To Buy Ever Ever Again?

Yes, that indeed is the question . But before answering I need to describe the "why?" never to buy the same one again. 

It was cheap, at a time when the budget was even cheaper, so I grabbed it because we needed one. For me, needing a microwave means "RIGHT NOW!" It's where I do nearly all my cooking. Not all my meals get cooked, like sandwiches, or munching on a peanut/Triscuit/fruit or yogurt/fruit combo. From my many years behind the wheel, pausing for a fast chunky soup from a can for lunch,  I don't even feel a need to decant the soup and heat it up. But other things need it. So when the old one showed its age, off I went to the store. $40 plus tax later, home I arrived with this one.

First thing - not a deal breaker - is it's a 700 watt model. We just adjust cooking times. No biggie. Next in importance is it's black. Sitting in a dark corner of the kitchen, it means we always need a light on. So much for some of the energy savings.  Even the light isn't that much help so we never actually learned what those tiny-print  buttons say. We cook everything on full, and in 30 second increments. Third, still not a deal breaker, is the door swings open from the wall side of that corner, into where your plate sits rather than away from it.

But I was cleaning the inside this afternoon after the mac & cheese overran the cup it comes in when it boiled. We can't tell in the dark so we always keep a napkin on the revolving glass tray, and clean when it's wet. The mac & cheese iss fine, by the way, especially after stirring in a packet of lemon pepper tuna. Anyway, I wiped and scrubbed the glass plate, lifted out the metal ring, and started scrubbing the floor of the microwave. Or so I thought.

I turned the full set of kitchen lights on. That black/brown dirt ring under the path the metal ring's wheels take just wasn't getting clean. Whatever that dirt was, it even was catching in my scrubber. Looking closer, it wasn't really dirt at all, at least not food dirt. It was the paint coating peeling up from the wheel track! The brown was rust, and the black? I don't want to know, just a bit scared to find out.

We'd used this machine for a little over a year, figuring for those months when we were snowbirds. 

I think I better hit the store before supper. Or at least in time to safely heat my morning water for mocha coffee. But the microwave I won't buy this time will the the one which is not the cheapest, not black, not a 700 watt instead of 1100 watt model, and given a choice has a door opening from its left front. The brand?

As I said when I started this post, that is indeed the question. I've searched the entire machine, and it appears the manufacturer was so ashamed of their product that they never put its name on it! Not anywhere! It's box of course long since went to recycling. It's receipt wouldn't have given a brand, just enough letters from "microwave" or perhaps "700 watt mic" so if I returned it the same day we'd almost know how much money I was to get back. (I've tried to interpret those store receipts when I add items for Steve in my list and he needs to pay me back. Not pretty.)

Best I can say right now is I'm looking for a recognizable brand with what we need for features. Something the manufacturer isn't ashamed of. Tomorrow is a big day for me in the club, and I really, really need my mug of microwaved mocha water.

But right now my mac & cheese is getting cold.