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How to Clean an Air Fryer Properly — Including the Part That Causes the Smell

Sofia Marlowe5 min read
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How to Clean an Air Fryer Properly — Including the Part That Causes the Smell — Household

For baked-on, sticky patches: soak, don't scrub

Anything with honey, barbecue sauce or a sugary marinade will leave a lacquered patch that resists a sponge. Fill the basket with hot water and a squeeze of washing-up liquid and leave it for fifteen or twenty minutes. Most of it will slide off after that.

For the stubborn remainder, make a paste of bicarbonate of soda and a little water, spread it over the mark, leave it half an hour and work it gently with a soft brush — an old toothbrush is ideal for the corners and around the rivets. Rinse thoroughly so no powdery residue is left behind. Skip harsh oven-cleaning sprays entirely; they are far too aggressive for non-stick surfaces and they leave a smell of their own.

The bit almost everyone forgets: the element and fan

Unplug the machine and let it cool completely. Then tip it carefully onto its back or its side so you can see up inside the cooking chamber. You will find the heating coil and, behind or above it, the fan. Both will be coated in a fine layer of aerosolised fat, and that layer is what is being reheated every time you cook, producing the phantom smell.

Wipe the chamber walls and the coil with a cloth wrung out in hot soapy water — damp, never dripping, and never with the machine plugged in. Work around the coil rather than bending it. A soft brush gets into the fan housing and the vents. Some cooked-on spots may need a second pass with a bicarbonate paste on the cloth. Finish with a clean damp cloth to remove any soap, then leave the whole thing open to air-dry for an hour before you use it again.

HouseholdLifestyle

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