This is the best way to clean your air fryer in 6 easy steps

Jul 29, 2023

We're big fans of the air fryer. In the last few years it's quickly become our go to kitchen gadget (sorry oven, it was fun whilst it lasted). It's quick, energy saving, healthier than cooking with oil and makes the most delicious chips we've had in a long time. However, there is one thing we're not crazy about when it comes to the air fryer - cleaning it.

We always have so many questions, can it go in the dishwasher? Can I use washing up liquid? What's the best way to get rid of the greasy crumbs?

Thankfully, we do not having to figure out the best cleaning solution for our air fryer ourselves, as cleaning expert and author of Live, Laugh, Laundry: A Calming Guide to Keeping Your Clothes Clean - and You Happy, Laura Mountford has shared her best tips for cleaning your air fryer. Here's everything you need to know.

Washing up liquid

Sponge or a Scrub Daddy Dish Wand

Baking soda or dishwasher tablet

Paper towel or cloth

Laura recommends using a Scrub Daddy Dish Wand as it has "a sponge on the end that you fill up with washing up liquid. It makes cleaning my air fryer so much easier because you don’t even have to fill up the sink with water, so you're saving water and energy too." Ideal.

Laura says cleaning the air fryer baskets could not be more simple and here's how to do it in six easy steps:

Turn off your air fryer and allow the basket or trays to cool down completely before removing them from the main appliance.

If your air fryer parts aren't dishwasher proof or you don't have a dishwasher, then wash the parts in warm soapy water using either a sponge, brush or the Sponge Daddy Dish Wand.

If there's lots of stubborn grease that won't shift in the basket, Laura recommends letting a dishwasher tablet (or baking soda works too) and boiling water soak in the basket for a few minutes to cut away at the grime.

Give the basket another scrub and rinse to remove the grease and washing up liquid.

Whilst parts are drying, wipe the inside of the main air fryer appliance with paper towel or a damp cloth.

Dry all parts and replace in air fryer.

Yep, it's the part you usually forget about but it's pretty crucial to ensure you clean the heating coil within the machine too. Here's how to do it in five steps:

Turn off and unplug air fryer.

Wait for air fryer to completely cool down before taking out all removable parts from air fryer.

Soak a sponge or cloth in warm water and washing up liquid and use this to clean the coil.

Rinse the cloth or sponge of soapy water and use it again to clean the heating coil, ensuring all leftover soap has been removed. No one wants soapy chips after-all.

Reassemble the machine.

It's the question we all want to know but ultimately it depends on the brand of air fryer you're using, which determines if the air fryer parts can go in the dishwasher.

The two air fryers below both contain dishwasher safe parts.

Make sure to check the manual of your air fryer before putting the parts in the dishwasher.

Even though Laura has recommended her super easy washing tips, if you want an even easier way to clean your air fryer then Laura recommends investing in silicone liners.

With silicone liners you simply put your food into the liners rather than directly into the air fryer basket, and the cooking method is exactly the same. It saves on using lots of greaseproof paper and as Laura says they're super easy to clean.

"You can simply pop them out and wash them either by hand or in the dishwasher rather than cleaning the whole appliance," she says.

We've popped some of our favourite liners below:

Does this make us cleaning experts now?

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