An air fryer is a neat machine for lovers of perfectly crisped foods without all the drippy, messy grease. Not only is an air fryer a healthier alternative to deep-frying, but it doesn’t leave you with a vat of hot oil to dispose of.
While an air fryer requires little grease and therefore creates a smaller mess, it is still important to properly clean your air fryer after each use to maintain its full functionality.
You should never use oven cleaner on your air fryer because it could stain and damage your air fryer and leave a lingering smell of fumes. Oven cleaner tends to contain chemicals that are too strong to use on the small surface of an air fryer so the best way to avoid stripping the non-stick coating is to use a gentler solution.
There are many household items that can be used to create a cleaning solution for your air fryer. The effectiveness of some of these options of course depends on the state of the mess in your air fryer. Gentle dish soap and water should do the trick of maintaining cleanliness if you routinely clean your air fryer after each use.
For bigger messes, there are a lot of options (using items you most likely already have) that you can turn to before reaching for the heavy-duty cleaners.
If you’re here because you’re stuck on how to deal with a daunting greasy mess then we have all the information you’ll need to tackle it, you’ll just have to bring some patience. The key to getting rid of the toughest grease messes is letting the cleaning solution sit or soak for several hours so that it may do its job of breaking down the grease.
Sure, you could probably get the job done quicker with a chemical cleaner but if the point is to preserve your air fryer and keep it in its best condition, then damaging it in an attempt to clean it is not your best option!
What Can I Use to Clean My Air Fryer?
Using dish soap and warm water after every use is probably the simplest and safest way to keep your air fryer clean. Soap is a non-abrasive cleaner that won’t hurt the non-stick surface of your air fryer basket and a good soak in some warm, soapy water should get a small amount of oil off very easily.
Making a paste from baking soda and water is the easiest way to tackle big messes or messes that have been sitting around and hardening for a long time. This is the most common method for more stubborn grease stains and it’s also the most inexpensive and simple as you most likely have some baking soda lying around.
Vinegar is a multipurpose option. You can mix a little bit of it in water to soak your fryer basket in for 15 minutes to remove grease.
You can also use a mixture of vinegar and lemon juice to remove any lingering odors from your air fryer. Just put equal parts of vinegar and lemon juice in an oven-safe dish and place it on the tray or in the basket and turn your oven on for 2 minutes.
Lemon juice can also be used to clean the inside of your air fryer. You simply apply some lemon juice to the dirty interior of your air fryer and turn the fryer on for a few minutes. When the oven cools down the grime should be loose from the lemon juice and all you need to do is wipe it off with a cloth.
The heating coil can be cleared of crumbs and other residues with a dry or very lightly wet cloth. Of course, make sure your oven is off, unplugged, and completely cooled down before doing this.
A gentle all-purpose cleaner and a soft washcloth can be used to wipe down the outside of your air fryer to keep it looking clean and neat.
In terms of tools, you will want to use a soft sponge or brush, one that won’t scratch the surface of the basket or tray of your air fryer. Using an old sponge or brush, one that has already been worn down and softened from use is the best way to avoid any scratches.
You can also use a foam brush, straw cleaner, or an old soft-bristled toothbrush to scrub away at smaller, hard-to-reach spots.
There are also many ready-made cleaners that you can use that aren’t as harsh as oven cleaner and don’t contain any damaging chemicals but I’ve found that they aren’t as effective at removing dry grease stains as baking soda or the other simple ingredients mentioned above.
How Do You Get Sticky Grease Out of an Air Fryer?
The best way to get sticky grease out of an air fryer is to make a baking soda paste, spread it onto the parts of your air fryer that require a deep clean, and leave it on for 12 hours or overnight.
To make your paste you will simply need 1/4 to 1/2 of a cup of baking soda and 2-4 tablespoons of water (the amount just depends on the size of your air fryer). Spread the paste around using a foam brush or even just your fingers protected by a plastic glove.
Make sure not to lodge the paste into any areas that you won’t be able to clean it out of and be careful not to get it on the heating coil or any other heating components.
To remove the paste after you’ve let it sit, all you need is a soft sponge and some warm water. Make sure to wring your sponge out to avoid bringing too much water into your air fryer, then just wipe and scrub until you’ve removed all the paste from the interior of your air fryer. Use one of your smaller tools in the hard-to-reach spots.
This process takes some time and work, as I’ve mentioned, and the results depend on how tough of a mess you started out with.
Just using the baking soda will do a good job of removing most of your mess and leaving your air fryer clean enough to use again but if you’re striving for a “fresh out of the box” clean then you may opt to use a steam cleaner to melt off the grease that has already been somewhat broken down from the baking soda.
How Often Should You Clean an Air Fryer?
The most effective way to keep your air fryer clean and to avoid that pesky grease build-up is to clean it after every use. At the very least, it’s important to clean the basket every use with soap and water.
Most air fryers have components that are dishwasher safe but you should consult your air fryer’s manual before going down that route. The frying baskets and trays and the crumb basket are components you want to tend to after every use.
The inside of your air fryer, where the gunk can build up, can be deep cleaned every month or so. This is the area for which you will most likely need one of the stronger cleaning solutions (like the vinegar or baking soda paste) and it’s a process that might require more time and effort.
It simply comes down to the fact that the more often you thoroughly clean your air fryer, the smaller and less stubborn the mess you will have.