Air fryers remain one of the UK's most popular kitchen appliances, making meal preparation quicker and easier. Nevertheless, it's crucial to maintain the device properly to ensure it doesn't compromise the machine's cooking capability and performance.
Why Regular Cleaning Matters
It's recommended that air fryers be cleaned following every use to keep them functioning optimally, although they should also receive a comprehensive deep clean from time to time. This will help guarantee there are no stubborn food residues or dirt hiding in hard-to-reach corners and crevices.
Cleaning specialist Chantel Mila, known as Mama Mila on TikTok, recently shared some of her best tips that she reckons every household should know.
The Two-Ingredient Solution
For cleaning air fryers, you won't need to exhaust yourself scrubbing; it only requires two everyday kitchen staples: bicarbonate of soda and washing-up liquid.
To start, take out the basket from the air fryer and put it in the sink. Scatter a generous quantity of bicarbonate of soda into the basket, ensuring any stubborn grime is completely covered. Then, pour over some washing-up liquid. Follow this by adding boiling water over the mixture, rinsing away the bicarbonate of soda fizz, reports the Mirror. This will help to remove any food that has become burnt onto the air fryer basket.
Allow the mixture to do its work and soak in the air fryer basket for a period. Once you're content that all the persistent grease and dirt has been loosened, pour away the dirty water. There should be absolutely no requirement to scrub. While you can simply allow the ingredients to work in combination, you could also make a bicarbonate of soda paste for more persistent areas.
Why It Works
The pairing of bicarbonate of soda and washing-up liquid can dissolve greasy residue, making it ideal for addressing greasy kitchen surfaces and other pans. Incorporating washing-up liquid into the mix will increase the number of surfactants - molecules that reduce the surface tension between two substances - helping water and oil to blend more effectively. Washing-up liquid will also target any bacteria that bicarbonate of soda cannot reach, ensuring your air fryer stays clean and safe to use.
Dr Oetker clarified that bicarbonate of soda works brilliantly as a natural cleaning alternative due to its gentle abrasive properties. It can help eliminate stubborn grime without causing 'wear and tear', lifting off stuck-on food without the need for vigorous scrubbing. Vanguard Cleaning also observed that thanks to bicarbonate of soda's alkaline chemical properties, it can help to deodorise and absorb unpleasant odours left lingering from food in the air fryer.
Dr Oetker clarified why bicarbonate of soda is so effective at banishing unwanted smells: 'Most nasty smells in the air contain some sort of acid. As an alkali, baking soda reacts with those acids and neutralises them.' Both of these everyday household essentials function by encircling and removing grease and dirt particles from the impacted surface, successfully combating persistent stains and grime.
Baking soda additionally serves as a natural deodoriser, assisting in neutralising any remaining odours after a comprehensive deep clean.
