I'm sure many out there get a bit irked when a product doesn't do what you want it to, or it does too much.  This may be one of the most frequent complaints users have with Microsoft Office.  While I don't usually share this sentiment in general, I do agree with respect to it's 'Save As HTML' options.  Word, for example, will inject a TON of unnecessary markup in the end result if all you're wanting is pure, clean HTMl.  This may not always be bad, but if you're intending to paste the HTML somewhere not Office, then you have your work cut out for you.

Jeff Atwood has created a slick little utility that cleans up the HTML within a Word document, resulting in a much cleaner result.  Go check it out...and don't forget to subscribe to his blog - Jeff has some pretty amazing insights and commentary.  A good read all around.