Air fryers remain one of the UK’s most cherished kitchen appliances, offering quick and easy meal preparation. However, maintaining the appliance in good condition is essential to preserve its cooking efficiency and performance.
Why Regular Cleaning Matters
It is recommended that air fryers be washed after every use to keep them in good shape. Additionally, a deep clean should be performed periodically to eliminate stubborn food spots and hidden grime in nooks and crannies.
Expert Cleaning Hack
Cleaning guru Chantel Mila, known as Mama Mila on TikTok, recently shared a favourite hack that every household should know. For cleaning air fryers, scrubbing is unnecessary—just two kitchen staples do the job.
First, remove the basket from the air fryer and place it in the sink. Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda over the basket, ensuring any stuck-on grime is well coated. Then drizzle some washing-up liquid over the baking soda. Pour boiling water over the mixture, watching the baking soda fizz away. This helps loosen burnt-on food.
Allow the ingredients to sit for a while, letting them work their magic. Once the stubborn grease and grime have loosened, pour away the dirty water. No scrubbing is required.
Alternative Method for Tough Spots
For particularly tough spots, you can make a baking soda paste. The combination of baking soda and washing-up liquid effectively breaks down greasy residue, making it ideal for cleaning greasy kitchen surfaces and pans.
Adding washing-up liquid increases the number of surfactants—molecules that reduce surface tension between substances. Surfactants help water and oil mix, and washing-up liquid also targets bacteria that baking soda cannot reach, ensuring the air fryer is clean and safe.
Dr Oetker explains that baking soda works as a natural cleaning alternative due to its gentle abrasive nature. It eliminates tough grime without causing wear and tear, lifting stuck-on food without vigorous scrubbing.
Vanguard Cleaning notes that baking soda’s alkaline chemical properties help deodorise and absorb bad smells left by food in the air fryer. Dr Oetker adds: “Most nasty smells contain some sort of acid. As an alkali, baking soda reacts with those acids and neutralises them.”
These two household items remove stubborn stains and grime by surrounding and lifting grease and dirt particles. Baking soda also acts as a natural deodoriser, dissipating lingering smells after a thorough deep clean.
