Does your air fryer stink? Then it is probably time for a deep clean of your air fryer! With these easy steps, it will be done in just 30-minutes! NOT taking a few minutes to clean your air fryer will result in some funky odors from the grease build up and food splatters you’re likely to find around the heating element.
You might think cleaning the air fryer between sessions can be a pain, but it’s really not bad! Most air fryers have a non-stick coating, so they clean off quite easily with hot, soapy water. And many air fryer baskets are dishwasher safe. Refer to your owner’s manual to be sure. If you take the time to wash it after each use, you’ll thank yourself later.
If you don’t clean your air fryer often enough, crumbs and leftover food get left behind in the basket and end up burning the next time you use it. The leftover oil can cause your drawer to smoke and ruin the food you’re cooking. At a minimum, it starts to stink; in the worst-case scenario, it’s a fire hazard waiting to happen.
Every month or so, when the air fryer is completely cooled, wipe down the inside to remove any build-up. Follow these steps to give your air fryer a deep clean.
The best and easiest way to clean your air fryer basket is to clean it every time you are done cooking with it!
Taking just a few minutes to clean your air fryer at the end of a cooking session will ensure your deep cleaning session will be a breeze!
This is how I clean my air fryer basket after each cooking session (note: NEVER immerse your entire air fryer unit in water!).
- Once it has cooled down, use a paper towel to wipe out any drippings and grease.
- Next, soak the air fryer basket in the sink with hot soapy water (I prefer a nice degreaser, like Dawn dish soap).
- After soaking, use a microfiber cloth (NEVER use anything abrasive) to wipe everything down.
- With a wet paper towel, do a quick wipe down the exterior of the air fryer unit as well as the interior cavity.
Note, if your air fryer basket is dishwasher safe (it will say if it is or isn’t in the manufacturer’s instruction manual), you can go ahead and run it through the dishwasher. Although I have found that soaking in hot soapy water usually does the trick and I feel like it will prolong the life of my air fryer.
While regularly cleaning your air fryer basket will do wonders for keeping your air fryer clean and free of gross smells, it is so important to deep clean your air fryer.
How often you should clean your air fryer really depends on how often you use it. Take a peek at the heating element on a fairly regular basis. You may need to clean it every couple of months or a 2-3 times a year.
TOP TIPS RECAP:
- Clean your air fryer after each meal. Wipe down the top and bottom of the air fryer and clean the air fryer basket. NEVER use abrasives to clean your air fryer. That will wear your air fryer basket down quickly.
- Use Dawn Powerwash to clean the air fryer basket. Once the air fryer has cooled down and you’ve wiped out the majority of grease and food chunks, spray the basket with Dawn Powerwash don’t add water, and let it sit for 10 minutes or so. Wipe it out, then wash it with hot water.
- Wipe down the cooled heating element with a damp paper towel. This will help prevent build up of food splatters and grease.
- Use the air fryer to dry the air fryer basket. Pop the wet air fryer basket into the air fryer and run it for a few minutes to dry the basket. Let the air fryer cool completely before putting it away.
Have an Air Fryer Smell? You Need a Deeper Clean!
If you are noticing an odd plastic type smell coming from your air fryer, it could be because it is a newer air fryer. Here is a tip that a viewer shared with me:
Pour 1/2-1 cup of white vinegar and 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice in an oven safe dish (like a ramekin or Pyrex bowl) and let your air fryer run for 5-10 minutes at 400˚ F. Keep running your air fryer until the smells are gone.
You can also try putting half a lemon inside of the basket and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then clean like normal, and it should be odor free.
Or the gross smell could be from using your air fryer a lot. If haven’t really been cleaning it, it’s likely you’re smelling food splatters and grease build up around the heating element.
So you’ll want to follow these steps to deep clean your air fryer.
5 Steps to Deep Clean Your Air Fryer
Before you begin, check your manual of your air fryer appliance to know if there are any special instructions for air fryer cleaning.
There are many different tools you can use to clean your air fryer. Use what works best for you and your air fryer! Some materials you might need include:
- Dawn Dish soap
- Microfiber cloth
- This DIY stain remover & an old toothbrush
- Lemon Juice & Vinegar (to get rid of gross smells at the end)
Step 1: Ensure that your air fryer is fully unplugged and cooled
Before cleaning your air fryer, ensure that it is fully cooled and unplugged. If you’ve just recently used your air fryer, you may need to wait about an hour to let it fully cool. Removing the basket from the main unit will help it cool faster.
Step 2: Wipe down the inside and outside.
Think of this step as the first pass through your air fryer. Using a microfiber cloth, wipe down the outside of your air fryer. And using a damp non-abrasive sponge or microfiber cloth, wipe down the inside of the air fryer unit. You’ll be surprised to see what comes off!
Wipe down around the fan and look to make sure nothing is blocking the vents. Also wipe down the bottom of the air fryer. Then dry it with a clean towel.
Step 3: Clean the heating element.
If you turn your air fryer upside down, you’ll find the heating element for your air fryer. For this part, it is OK to use an abrasive sponge or scouring pad. Some even recommend using these stainless steel wipes.
The best way I have found to clean out the heating element and around the heating element is to make this DIY stain remover and with an old toothbrush, scrub the heating element. After, let it sit for about 10 minutes. With a wet cloth, keep wiping until it is clean again!
You can also try Dawn Platinum Powerwash dish spray! This stuff can get even the most caked-on food bits, and an SOS pad can help clean it. Watch my YouTube video and see me compare the DIY stain remover with the Dawn Powerwash dish spray on my air fryer. I personally prefer the DIY stain remover, it works and smells better.
NOTE: Just remember, the more cleaner you use, the more you’ll need to rinse it off. Depending on your air fryer model, this could be challenging. If you don’t get all the cleaning agent rinsed off, the next time you use your air fryer it will smell like the cleaning agent you used!
Step 4: Deep Clean the Air Fryer Basket and Pan.
The air fryer basket and pan are typically dishwasher safe; however, confirm this with your manual before putting it in the dishwasher. If it is, all you need to do is put it into your dishwasher and run it using a regular cycle. If your air fryer is not dishwasher safe, you will need to clean it with a non-abrasive sponge and some hot soapy water.
Then I like to use a small cotton swab and clean all the small grooves in the air fryer basket. You’ll be surprised at what you might find! Just be sure to use NON ABRASIVES when cleaning the non-stick air fryer basket!
I also take this time to check on and tighten any screws that connect the basket to the handle.
Step 5: Dry everything well.
Once you have everything all washed, it’s time to let it dry. You can use a clean cotton cloth to dry the unit, basket, and pan. Then reassemble, and it’s ready to go!
Be sure that it is completely dry before you use the air fryer again! After a deep clean of the interior air fryer unit, I let it dry over night to be certain that it is completely dry.
What NOT TO DO While Cleaning your Air Fryer
- Do not use metal, steel wool, or a scrubby sponge to clean any parts of your air fryer that have a non-stick coating. This will quickly remove the nonstick coating, then you risk consuming this coating as you cook. If you’re having trouble removing food or residue, use the soaking method. Don’t use metal utensils or abrasive sponges. However, this is okay on the metal of the heating element.
- Second, do not submerge your entire air fryer into water. Some parts can be removed and cleaned or placed in the dishwasher, but the main unit has electrical components and can be ruined when submerged.
- Do not clean it until the unit has completely cooled down.
Cleaning your air fryer doesn’t have to be a chore if you keep up with the regular maintenance. As long as you clean it after each time you use it, you won’t have to worry about food build-up or ruining your air fryer from trying to scrub it off.
The longer you let the food sit in the air fryer, the harder it will be to clean! So after you’re using it, go ahead and wipe down your air fryer and give it a good clean!
For more air fryer cleaning tips, check out my various YouTube videos:
- How to CLEAN Air Fryer & KEEP IT CLEAN!
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgPj7O0BcEU
- How to DEEP Clean Your Air Fryer
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e_9qxFWI18
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Widely regarded as the “Queen of Air Fryers,” Cathy Yoder—a mother of eight—wanted to prove that air fryers could do more than reheat frozen foods and leftovers. So, she documented her journey on YouTube. Today she boasts over 742,000 YouTube followers and yet more across other socials, over 6 million video views and tens of thousands of cookbooks sold. At Yoder’s EmpoweredCooks.com multimedia platform, users have access to numerous resources: her “Air Fryer Recipes” cookbook filled with over 150 recipes; an array of specialized digital download air fryer recipe e-cookbooks; an air fryer cooking catalog with over 300 video recipes; cooking accessories; a transformative video course; and interactive “Cooking with Cathy” class sessions that happen live, in real time. Yoder also offers a curated selection of budget-friendly tools and resources through her online store, PineandPepper.co that provides an array of video instruction and other resources specific to the joy of air fryer cooking. Her FabulesslyFrugal.com platform is rife with recipes and tips on how to live a healthy, wealthy, wise life full of independence and confidence.
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