Air fryers have become the must-have gadget for everyone’s kitchen, but if they’re not cleaned properly or regularly, they can cause a bit of a problem. Due to the structure of the air fryer, it’s easy for bits of food, grease and oils to get stuck.
If this isn’t sorted, the grime can build up and affect the efficiency of the appliance over time, resulting in bad or unpleasant food. If your air fryer is due for a thorough clean, one TikToker shared a no-fuss method that uses just two items, giving sparkling results in minutes. There’s also no need for laborious scrubbing.
How to clean air fryers
TikTok creator Ida, more commonly known as Cleaning With Ida, hailed baking soda and washing up liquid as all you need to do the job.
Before you actually get to scrubbing, make sure to remove all of the baskets – or basket – form the appliance. Next, cover the basket with baking soda generously.
Baking soda will help target any build-up of grease and grime. Follow by squeezing washing up liquid over the top of the backing soda.
Next, Ida boils a kettle-full of water which she then uses to douse the air fryer baskets. The water will react with the baking soda and washing up liquid to help lift stubborn stuck-on bits of food.
Leave the solution to soak for 15 minutes. Once the time is up, pour away the dirty water, then rinse the rest away with some more water.
All of the grime should have detached itself from the basket and be easy to wash down the sink.
Baking soda is a good choice for cleaning as it breaks through grime with its mild abrasive texture. This abrasiveness can help loosen dirt and food residue, making it easier to scrub away..
Vanguard Cleaning also noted that due to its alkaline chemical properties, it can help to deodorise and absorb bad smells left lingering by food in the air fryer. By adding washing up liquid to the mix, the solution will then get a number of surfactants.
These help to remove stains and grim by surrounding and lifting grease and dirt particles from the affected area. Baking soda is also a natural deodoriser, so will help dissipate any lingering smells after a thorough deep clean,
Dr Oetker explained the reason baking soda is so good at banishing unwanted odours: “Most nasty smells in the air contain some sort of acid. As an alkali, baking soda reacts with those acids and neutralises them.”