How to Clean an Air Fryer – Including Simple Guides for 9 Brands

Now a days you can find an air fryer in almost any kitchen in America. These small but handy kitchen applicances have been gaining popularity over the years because of the health of air frying over deep frying. They are really helpful for people who are conscious about their health.

With air fryers you only use a table spoon or less of oils and not the huge quantities of oils used for deep frying. The food you make with an air fryer tastes delicious and can make all kind of recipes.

In the end, there are many benefits of using an air fryer over deep frying food but that is not the topic of this article. We are here to see how to clean and air fryer and keep it in optimal performance for the long run.   

How To Clean An Air Fryer By Brand: 

While most air fryers have the same working principle, the cleaning instructions can differ by brand. At Crisp Cooking we try to get our hands on most Air Fryers, either we buy them or someone lends them to us, so we can show you a step by step guide with pictures on how to clean each one.

Click on the brand of air fryer you own in the following list to learn how to clean an air fryer:

1. Chefman
2. Cosori
3. Gourmia
4. GoWISE
5. Instant Vortex
6. Kalorik
7. Ninja
8. Philips
9. PowerXL

How to Clean and Air Fryer After Each Use

it is highly recommended to clean your Air Fryer Basket and Pan after each use to avoid food and grease to stick to them. After many uses without cleaning after each use, it will become more complicated to remove stuck-on food particles and baked-in grease.

If you have been using your Air Fryer without cleaning your Basket and Pan after each use we recommend you follow our guide on Deep Cleaning an Air Fryer in the next section of this article.

Step 1

If you have just finished using your Air Fryer wait for it to cool down before starting to clean it to avoid any burns.

Once it has cooled down first unplug the air fryer from the wall outlet.

Remove the basket from the Air Fryer. If there is a good amount of food or grese in the bottom tray (like in the picture below) you can use a paper towel to remove it.

Step 2

Separte the Air Fryer basket from the bottom tray (Pictured below). This way it is easier to clean each separate tray.

Step 3

We are going to start cleaning the bottom tray. As you can see from the picture below, our bottom tray has some crums.

So we frist are going to rinse it with water (pictured below) to remove all crums.

We add some dish soap into a damp soft cloth (pictured below).

We gently scrub the inside of the bottom tray with the soft cloth (Pcitured below).

We rinse the bottom tray with frsh water to remove the soap.

We use a cloth to dry the bottom tray (pictured below).

In the pciture below is the recently cleaned bottom tray, looking like new.

Step 4

Rinse te Basket tray with water (pcitured below).

With the same damp cloth with dish soap used for the bottom tray you can clean the basket (pictured below).

Rinse off the soap left with water like in the picture below.

Dry the basket with a clean dry cloth.

The cleaned basket looking like new (pictured below).

Now put back the basket over the bottom tray.

In the pciture below is the bottom tray with the basket, both already cleaned.

This completes the process of cleaning the Air Fryer Basket and Pan after each use.

How to Deep Clean and Air Fryer

Let’s get started with the deep cleaning of our Air Fryer. In our case, we have been using it and and cleaning it thoroughly after each use. We make some french fries and only rinse it with water and let it dry. 

We have done this many times and what it did is that we were not completely removing the grease and grime each time. New layers of grease were being baked to the walls, bottom and outside of our air fryer basket.

You can see in the following picture how nasty our air fryer basket is from the inside.

In the following picture que cans see it is equal or even nastier from the outside of our air fryer basket.

So the method we are going to use is the deep cleaning method. This involves the use of baking soda and white vinegar. If we cleaned our air fryer basket with dish soap and hot water after each use, this deep clean method would not be necesary.

Step 1

Before we start cleaning our air fryer, first we gather all of the necessary tools and supplies.

These include:

• A non-abrasive sponge
• Microfiber cloths
• White Vinegar
• Paper towels
• Dish soap
• Baking soda

Step 2 Unplug and Let it cool down

If you have just finished cooking your last meal on the air fryer, first turn it off. Let it cool for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Unplug the air fryer from the wall outlet. Everytime we clean an electrical appliance, we have to make sure to unplug it first to avoid any accidents.

Step 3 Clean removable parts

We remove the air fryer Pan and Basket. We apply some baking soda to the basket (pictured below). Including the outside and inside of the basket and place it back with the Pan.

We add some liquid dish soap like in the following picture.

We add 3/4 cup of white vinegar to the mix. (pcitured below)

We add hot boiling water to the air fryer Pan and Basket (pictured below).

Make sure to add hot boiling water so that the air fryer Pan and Basket are completely filled like in the picture below. We leave the mixture for 4 hours so that it soaks really well and loosens all the baked-in grease.

After the 4 hours have completed, we go head and get a non-abrasive sponge. We place the air fryer basket under running hot water in the kitchen sink, this helps remove grease easier. While under hot running water we start scrubbing the sides, bottom and outside walls ofthe basket. (pictured below)

Once you finish scubing wit the sponge, your air fryer basket should end up looking brand new, like ours in the following picture.

The inside looks pretty clean too, check the following picture.

Our pan wasn’t that dirty so it was easier to clean but it turn out looking breat, check it out in the following picture.

Step 4: Clean the Interior

We are going to make a mixture of white vinegar, baking soda and dish soap. First add a teaspoon of baking soda, white vinegar and dish soap to water.

Grab a soft cloth and add some of the mix you just prepared. Start cleaning the inside bottom and sides like in the picture below.

Step 5: Check on the Heating Element

For this step we will flip the Kalorik air fryer upside down to have easier access to the heating element.

With the soft cloth and the cleaning mixture gently scurb the area sourrounding the heating element. With the same cloth you can clean the heating element directly, just be very gentle because it is very delicate.

In the following picture is our soft cloth after cleaning. You can se the cleaning solution is doing its job of removing grease.

In the following picture you can see a before and after shot of the heating element. See how clean our Kalorik air fryer turned out after unsing our cleaning process.

Step 6: Clean the Exterior

With the same soft cloth and cleaning mixture you con go ahead and clean the exterior of your Kalorik air fryer.

Step 7: Reassemble Your Air Fryer

Once every part of your PowerXL air fryer is thoroughly dry, proceed and assmeble all removable parts into the main unit. Now your air fryer is ready for some cooking!

Tips and Tricks

1. Never use kitchen utensils, steel scrubbers or brushes to remove stuck-on food from your air fryer. This can easily scratch and remove the non-stick coating rendering your air fryer basket and pan useless.
2. Never use strong chemicals or desinfectant to clean your air fryer. This chemicals aren’t typically safe for food appliances. It is best to use products like baking soda or white vinegar which are known to mild and non-abrasive.
3. Avoid sumerging the main unit in water. It has electrical components and this can damage the unit and give you a strong shock.

FAQS on How to Clean an Air Fryer

Final Thoughts

A dirty air fryer pan and basket will heat up much slower, consume more power and will make it more difficult to clean. That is why it is very important for you to learn how to clean a air fryer after each use.

If you are using dirty kitchen appliance, it is more likely to get a foodborne illness. This is because old food particles and germs can buil-dup in the air fryer pan and basket and contaminate the new food you cook in it.

So it’s up to you to clean after each use or after many cookings using the deep clean method. We have given you the PROs and CONs of each.

Happy Air Frying!