TikTok is full of hacks for how to clean an air fryer. The most popular recommends air frying soapy water for a few minutes, then giving the whole thing a good rinse. But like most cleaning hacks, this one doesn’t work for everyone every time—and water damage is a great way to void your warranty.
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Air fryers are seemingly magical countertop cookers that produce perfectly crispy food, often on par with what you’d get from a deep fryer—and without the grease stench that comes with deep-frying.
But much of what you put into an air fryer is still packed or coated with butter, oil, or shortening. This is especially true when you’re air-frying traditionally fried foods like chicken nuggets, mozzarella sticks, and onion rings.
Unlike standard toaster ovens, both air fryer ovens and basket-style air fryers rely on a combination of high heat and convection (moving hot air around with a fan) to crisp up your food. So no matter what you’re cooking, you can expect some combination of grease, grime, and tiny food particles to land all over the inside of your appliance. That food residue and buildup accumulates with every use, and in addition to being unhealthy, it smells bad. Too much crud on the vents can also affect the performance of your air fryer.
So whether you have a brand-new air fryer you want to keep squeaky clean, or your well-loved go-to kitchen appliance is overdue for a deep clean, keep reading for air fryer cleaning tips, plus suggestions for food-safe cleaning products.
Air fryer cleaning products
Exactly how you clean your appliance will depend on whether you have a basket-style air fryer or an air fryer oven, but for both, I recommend opting for cleaning solutions with vinegar and to avoid abrasive tools. The acids in vinegar can help to break down grease and grime, and gentle cloths won’t damage any nonstick coating your air fryer parts might have.
Powerful dish soap
Unless your air fryer’s removable parts are dishwasher-safe, you’ll need to hand-wash them. For greasy jobs like this, I prefer dish soap with vinegar, which I found to be a more effective degreaser than regular dish soap. And if you can’t get to the dishes right after dinner, consider a liquid dish spray with vinegar, which starts to do on its own what regular dish soap needs water and friction to accomplish.
A gentle scrubber
Whether you’re cleaning air fryer oven racks or the perforated tray that sits in an air fryer basket, you will regularly need to dislodge bits of freshly cooked-on food. Instead of reaching for harsh steel wool, use a soft-bristled brush meant for dishes. It won’t damage any nonstick coatings, and it will work a lot better than an old toothbrush.
Food-safe degreaser
It might be tempting to tackle the inside of a really grimy air fryer with a harsh degreaser. And while it can be effective, it’s not necessarily something you want ending up in the nooks and crannies of a cooker that’s blowing hot air all around your dinner. But sometimes you do need to pretreat cooked-on grime before you can wipe it away, and for that I recommend a food-safe cleaning vinegar—which is slightly more acidic than distilled white vinegar, so it’s even more effective. (Editor’s note: Though it’s a food-safe cleaning solution, it should not be consumed!)
Soft cloth or soft sponge
Air fryers can (obviously) withstand super-high temperatures but many have nonstick interior coatings and the heating elements are very delicate too. To avoid damaging your countertop cooker, stick to a soft cloth like microfiber or a nonabrasive sponge when giving the inside a wipe down.
Keeping your air fryer clean
The best way to have a clean air fryer is to keep your air fryer clean. And the easiest way to keep your air fryer clean is to hand-wash any removable parts after every use (let it cool down first, of course), then wipe down the interior to clear splatters and stuck-on food. Brownie points for wiping down the exterior too.
Maintenance cleaning a basket-style air fryer
Basket-style air fryers are fairly easy to keep clean because you can wash the entire air fryer basket in the sink or dishwasher after every use. Before you reassemble your air fryer, dampen a microfiber cloth or soft sponge with warm water and gently wipe the interior to remove any bits of food or grease splatters that might have ended up inside the device. Use a clean microfiber cloth and a vinegar-based cleaning spray to wipe down the exterior.
Maintenance cleaning an air fryer oven
Cleaning an air-fryer oven after every use is a little more annoying, but keeping up with it means less work later. After you remove and hand-wash the racks or baskets and crumb tray, use a damp cloth to wipe out any food particles that may have ended up on the walls and door.
