An air fryer is an appliance that allows you to fry or “deep fry” food in a healthier way as it requires only a small quantity of fat. You can now prepare your snacks, chips and a range of other dishes more healthily thanks to this hot air fryer. To ensure that the taste of the food remains unaffected you must clean your air fryer regularly. Caked-on food residue or a dirty heating element may cause unpleasant odours and odd flavours when you are preparing your healthy dish. Fortunately, cleaning your air fryer is a far easier job in comparison with cleaning an old-fashioned deep-fryer. Remember, an air fryer does not contain frying fat that has to be replaced from time to time. All the time and effort spent on getting rid of this dirty, greasy and smelly substance… If you have an air fryer, there is no need for any of this.
In a day and age where everything has to be done quickly and easily and preferably in an automated way, we like to use our dishwasher as much as possible for all sorts of items. These include the parts and accessories of the air fryer. But, don’t go overboard! Not all parts of your air fryer are dishwasher safe.
Parts and accessories of the air fryer that are meant to be dishwasher safe include the basket and the interior pan. Although most air fryer manufacturers (Philips included) state that you can clean these parts in the dishwasher without any problems, we recommend washing them by hand.
Simply use a soft washing-up brush and a dash of washing-up liquid. You will find that the non-stick coating remains intact for longer and what’s more, the separate parts of the air fryer retain their shine. As to your fryer accessories, you can keep them looking good and prolong their lifespan if you wash them by hand. The heating element and the outer casing of the air fryer must always be cleaned by hand. Remember to never put them in your dishwasher.
How do I clean the heating element of my air fryer?
When you make a start with cleaning your air fryer, don’t forget to unplug it! Also make sure that the pan has cooled down before you start the cleaning process. The heating element is fixed on the inside of the lid and cannot be seen from the outside. The basket is located directly underneath the heating element. If, for example, you are preparing a dish with a naturally high fat content, this fat could splash up and get in contact with the element during use. After a while the caked fat may cause smoke, unpleasant odours or a disagreeable taste. The element is hard to detach or remove and in fact, you don’t have to do this in order to clean it. We recommend cleaning the heating element with a soft cloth or sponge and some washing-up liquid. The heating element of the air fryer is often hard to get to, but turn the air fryer upside down and you will find this job gets a lot easier. It also helps to use an old toothbrush to get into those hard-to-reach spaces.
If none of this works to remove all of the dirt and grease, just take the following steps:
- Place a sheet of aluminium foil at the bottom of the air fryer and cover with a thin layer of water (2-3 millimetres)
- Quarter a lemon and place the pieces on the foil
- Set the temperature of the air fryer to 180 degrees
- Set the timer to 10 minutes
- The steam in combination with the lemon will dissolve the fat
- The fat detaches from the heating element and drops down onto the foil
- It only takes ten minutes to clean the heating element. Wait until the air fryer has cooled down before cleaning the interior pan.
The best way to clean your hot air fryer or air fryer on the outside is to wipe it over regularly with a dishcloth or microfibre cloth until it sparkles. If you clean your air fryer regularly you will be able to enjoy tasty snacks and meals for a long time. If any of its parts have worn out or broken down, Fiyo has a wide range of parts and accessories for your air fryer.
