How to easily and effectively clean your air fryer

The air fryer is a tool that allows us to "fry" food through a flow of heat, without adding fats such as butter and oil. An appliance that is increasingly easy to find in our kitchens, very simple to use and perfect for those who prefer healthy and genuine dishes. Like all kitchen tools, the air fryer must be cleaned regularly and carefully so that it is always ready.

One of the strong points of this appliance is the absence or use of very little oil; this allows the air fryer to remain much cleaner than a normal fryer and also be easier to degrease. How to clean the basket? And the seal? Let's see together how to perfectly clean the air fryer.

How to clean the air fryer

More and more used in our kitchens, air fryers help us to bring healthy and genuine dishes to the table, without sacrificing taste. Despite the differences between the various air fryers on the market, almost all of them consist of a central body, a resistance and a basket. Let's see how to perfectly clean your air fryer, in every component.

1. The outside part

Let's start with the easiest part; cleaning the outside part of the air fryer simply and effectively. Not using oil (or using very little oil and only inside the basket), the air fryer does not "dirty" the outside and to always have it shiny, just wipe it with a sponge or a slightly damp cloth, preferably in microfibre, to avoid to scratch or damage the surface.

2. The basket

One of the most important parts of an air fryer is the basket, the container in which food is cooked thanks to the fast circulation of air. Some baskets have small holes in the bottom and rest on a special drawer in which food residues are concentrated, in other cases you can place an aluminum sheet under the basket to collect the fat residues more easily. To clean the basket correctly you will have to remove it from the fryer (only when it is cold) and degrease it with a soft non-abrasive sponge; you can use bicarbonate or dish soap and, in some cases, you can use the dishwasher (always consult the instructions of your appliance). In case of stubborn dirt, let the basket soak in hot water and bicarbonate for 10 minutes before wiping with the sponge and drying it with a microfibre cloth.

3. The inside part

Once you have cleaned the outside part and the basket, you will need to focus on the internal parts of the air fryer. Once the basket is removed, you will easily find food residues or stains; remove them with a non-abrasive sponge or a microfibre cloth slightly wet with dish soap and water, degrease the internal walls of your fryer, then dry with a sheet of kitchen paper. However, remember to start this operation only after the fryer has cooled down and the power plug has been disconnected. Do not use abrasive products or products that can damage the walls of the fryer.

4. The resistance

Let’s conclude with the cleaning of the resistance, one of the most delicate points of the air fryer. Use a brush with soft bristles and gently remove any food residues, then with a microfibre cloth or a non-abrasive sponge soaked in hot water gently clean the heating element. For the most stubborn dirt you can "reassemble" the fryer and boil 500 ml of water at 200 degrees C in the basket for twenty minutes, then let it cool and repeat the cleaning operation with the sponge. Be careful never to use hard bristles or steel brushes, you will ruin the surface of the heating element and damage your air fryer forever.

How to get rid of bad smells from an air fryer

Despite careful cleaning of all the components of the fryer, sometimes it still gave off a bad smell, especially when we cooked fish-based dishes. If you too have had the same "problem" do not worry, to eliminate bad smells from the air fryer you can proceed in several ways:

soak the baskets in a solution of hot water and dish soap, then rinse with cold water and then dry with a cotton cloth;
cut a lemon in half and rub it inside the baskets (just like a sponge), then rinse with a damp cloth and let it dry;
for stubborn smells, pour 500 ml of water and 100 ml of white vinegar into the solid basket and turn on the air fryer at 180 degrees C until the solution is almost completely dry.