Microwave a cup with water and vinegar until it boils. Then a single wipe cleans everything
You do this every time you use your microwave? Because we’re talking about making around 6 - 10 cups of tea every day for everyone who happens to be in the room. It’d be a little odd to go and clean your microwave before every round of tea, not to mention microwaves don’t heat things evenly so you can’t do them all at once, it very quickly becomes way more effort than just flipping the switch on a kettle that is only ever used for that purpose.
First, clean your microwave. If things are picking up flavors from your microwave, that’s a you thing, not a microwave thing.
Second, just cover things that you put into the microwave. You can get reusable covers, or you can often use a paper towel.
Third, a kettle is still better than a microwave for water.
Tea is an odour sponge. Russian caravan in it’s original form obtained a distinctly woody smokey flavour just from being too close to a campfire. It’s simulated today by mixing kemun, lapsang soushong, and oolong. But tea will take on the flavour of anything it’s left with.
