Watch tough air fryer grease and grime melt away in minutes with this simple cleaning tip using an item everyone has in their kitchen
Air fryers are a much-loved appliance in many households, making cooking simpler and more efficient, and more economical. However, if the machine isn’t properly taken care of, it can impact its efficiency when it comes to cleaning.
To help cut through tough and burnt-on grime, cleaning guru and TikTok creator Anna Louisa recently shared some of her favourite tips she’d learned from social media. Included in the list of hacks was a simple yet effective method for tackling tough grime stuck to air fryer baskets.
Instead of a lengthy list of cleaning products, all you’ll need is a dishwasher tablet and some boiling water. It’s recommended that air fryers be cleaned after every use, but sometimes the chore can be left by the wayside.
Anna Louisa said: “Here’s five cleaning hacks I learned from the internet that you might appreciate too.”
Anna Louisa continued: “Coming from someone who is definitely guilty of leaving their air fryer from time to time, a dishwasher tablet can lift all that built-up grease easily.”
Place a dishwasher pod into the trays of the air fryer. Follow by pouring in boiling water from the kettle, making sure you don’t overflow the tray so the water flows out the grate.
Allow the mixture to simmer away in the tray for as long as possible. Anna set a timer for just 15 minutes, but you can leave it to soak for as long as you need.
If your air fryer has incredibly stubborn grime stuck to the basket, the longer you leave the boiling water to soak, the more it will help ease the grease off.
Once you feel as though the trays have soaked long enough, rinse away all of the grime under the tap. You shouldn’t need to scrub away the grime, but you can add a touch of washing up liquid.
Dishwasher tablets mixed with hot water can effectively remove grease from the appliance thanks to the alkaline salts and other chemicals contained in the tablets. The chemicals work to break down grease and food residue, while hot water helps to loosen the grease for easier removal.
Kezia Reynolds wrote for Ideal Home : “I have to say I was a little apprehensive about just rinsing it. But it worked.
“The final result looked pretty good for minimal effort. Although there was a little bit of grease in some of the corners which I would have preferred to give a scrub.
“It’s a handy hack but not one I feel I will use all the time. I feel it’s far easier to wipe down my air fryer after every use with washing up liquid to maintain its cleanliness. Especially considering how easy to clean the best air fryers like the Ninja are to clean.
“That’s not to say the hack isn’t without purpose – I think I will use it to do a deeper clean now and then. It works if you’re short on time or have lots of cleaning jobs to get through, but for the most part, I think cleaning with soapy water after every use is the best way to keep on top of your air fryer maintenance.”
