The Ultimate Guide to Cleaning Your Air Fryer (Without the Stress)

Living in Chicago means juggling a busy schedule, and keeping your home spotless can feel like a full-time job. Whether you’re tackling daily messes or deep cleaning your kitchen, finding time for everything is tough. That’s where a little know-how—and the right help—can make all the difference.

If you’re here, you’re among the millions who love their air fryer. But let’s be real: no one loves cleaning that greasy, grimy, stuck-on gunk. Air fryers are universally loved and, unfortunately, universally neglected. There’s a right way to clean them and a very wrong way. In this guide, we’ll clear up exactly how to clean your air fryer with three different levels for three different levels of grime. We’ll also cover what not to do to make sure your appliance lasts, plus some easy maintenance tips to keep it fresh.

Why Regular Air Fryer Cleaning is a Must

If you use your air fryer regularly, a quick maintenance clean should happen after every use. This prevents buildup and gets rid of crusty leftovers so your air fryer doesn’t start to smell. Grease hardens over time when exposed to high heat, leading to that textured black gunk that’s a nightmare to scrub off. This is especially bad for non-stick coatings, which degrade faster when gunk accumulates. Skip this, and cleaning gets harder, odors (and flavors) transfer between foods, and those non-stick surfaces lose their magic. Think of it like flossing: a little daily effort prevents major issues down the road.

Level 1: The Everyday Clean

This is your quick, post-cooking routine to prevent future headaches.

• Let the unit cool completely and unplug it.
• Remove the basket and tray. Wipe the interior with a damp paper towel or microfiber cloth.
• For greasy splatter, add a bit of all-purpose cleaner to your cloth, wipe, and rinse.
• Wash the basket in hot, soapy water with a soft cloth or sponge. Dry thoroughly before putting it back.
• Never use anything abrasive on non-stick coatings.

Staying on top of this routine means you’ll rarely need a heavy-duty scrub. But if life gets busy and cleaning slips, don’t worry—a great cleaning service near me can handle the rest of your home, so you can focus on maintaining your appliances.

Time for a Deeper Clean? Here’s What NOT to Do

Before we dive into moderate cleaning, three critical warnings:

1. Don’t use abrasive tools like heavy-duty scrub sponges. They ruin non-stick coatings.
2. Don’t follow online hacks that involve heating water or vinegar inside the machine. Excess moisture can damage electronics.
3. Don’t use abrasive cleaners like baking soda or scouring powders on non-stick surfaces.

A pro tip: use a liner (paper or parchment) when cooking greasy or saucy foods to catch the mess. It makes cleanup way easier.

Level 2: The Moderate Clean

Do this if you’ve skipped cleaning for a week or two, or after cooking something particularly greasy like bacon or saucy wings.

• Unplug the unit and let it cool.
• Fill your sink with the hottest tap water (not boiling) and add heavy-duty dish soap.
• Soak the basket and tray for 15 minutes.
• Gently scrub with a soft cloth or sponge. Repeat if needed.
• For the interior, spray a heavy-duty dish spray (like Dawn Power Wash) on greasy areas, let sit a few minutes, then wipe with a damp cloth. Do not spray water directly inside.
• Rinse and dry everything thoroughly before reassembling.

This level of cleaning prevents you from reaching “disaster zone” status. If keeping up with deep cleaning feels overwhelming, consider professional home cleaning to maintain the rest of your space effortlessly.

When Things Get Serious: Tackling Caked-On Grease

Level 3 is for stubborn odors and baked-on grime that won’t budge. Here’s the secret weapon: dishwasher tablets. They contain enzymes designed to break down grease.

Important: Do NOT put a tablet in the basket and run the air fryer. Here’s the right way:

Level 3: The Deep Rescue Clean

• Fill a basin (bucket, large container) with boiling hot water.
• Add one dishwasher tablet and let it dissolve completely. Let the water cool slightly (about 5 minutes).
• Submerge the air fryer basket. Soak for an hour or even overnight.
• Remove the basket and use a soft cloth or sponge to wipe away the dissolved gunk.
• Rinse very well, dry thoroughly, and reassemble.
• For the machine’s interior (which you should NOT disassemble), use the dish spray method from Level 2.

This method works wonders on even the toughest buildup. For the other deep cleaning tasks around your home—like ovens, bathrooms, or floors—a reliable Chicago cleaning company can provide that same level of thoroughness.

Keeping Your Air Fryer Fresh: Maintenance Tips

A little care during and after cooking goes a long way:

• Clean removable parts after every use (back to Level 1!).
• Don’t overfill the basket.
• Avoid aerosol cooking sprays—they damage non-stick coatings over time.
• Always dry the unit completely before storing.
• If your machine smells, it’s a sign of greasy buildup—time for a clean!

Air fryers are kitchen heroes, but they require care. By following these steps, you’ll extend its life and keep your kitchen smelling fresh. And when you need a break from chores, remember you can always schedule a cleaning with trusted pros.

Your Home Deserves the Same Care

Just like your air fryer, your entire home benefits from regular attention and occasional deep care. In a bustling city like Chicago, finding time for it all is a challenge. Whether you need a quick refresh or a comprehensive reset, having a helping hand makes life easier and your space more enjoyable.

If the thought of scrubbing bathrooms, mopping floors, or dusting every corner feels exhausting, you’re not alone. That’s why many Chicagoans turn to expert cleaning services in Chicago to reclaim their time. Imagine coming home to a spotless apartment without having to lift a finger. You can easily book an appointment for reliable, top-quality service tailored to your schedule.

For renters and homeowners alike, maintaining a clean space is key to comfort and well-being. If you’re looking for someone to clean my apartment thoroughly and efficiently, professional teams are equipped to handle everything from kitchens to living areas. And when you need fast cleaning services before guests arrive or after a busy week, they’ve got you covered.

Sometimes, you just need a little deep cleaning help to tackle those areas that get overlooked in daily routines. A professional home cleaning service can provide that detailed attention, ensuring every nook and cranny shines. So why not get your space cleaned by experts who love making homes sparkle as much as you love living in them?

If you’re here, it’s because you’re among one of the millions of people who loves their air fryer. But I’m betting you don’t love this part. Cleaning that greasy, grimy, stuck on gunk. Air fryers are universally loved and universally neglected. And guess what? There’s a right way to clean them and an absolute wrong way to clean them. So, in this video, I want to clear up exactly how to clean your air fryer. We’ve got three different levels of cleaning to tackle three different levels of grime. I’m also going to cover with you the things you should absolutely not do to make sure that your air fryer actually lasts, as well as some ongoing maintenance tips. The whole reason I got inspired to do this video is because we do these monthly live streams right here on YouTube and people in the audience were talking about their air fryers and how much challenge they were encountering when it came to cleaning them. So, I wanted to make a full video to cover this topic for you. And by the way, we do those live streams the first Monday of the month at noon Eastern right here on the YouTube channel. And you can see the replay of that video in the description box down below. If you’re new here, welcome to the Clean MySpace channel. My name is Melissa Maker. I’m an accidental cleaning expert, which means I hate to clean, but I love to find the most efficient and effective way to get the job done right the first time. So, if you are not already, make sure that you click this button right here to subscribe. You’ll see me using some microfiber cloths in this video. They’re from my sister company called Makers Clean. And if you want to check that out, I’ve got a link for you down below. Okay, let’s open up some dirty, nasty air fryers and talk about how to clean them. If you have an air fryer, you’re generally committed to it. You’re using it a few times a week at least. And there is a regular kind of maintenance clean that you should be doing at least once a day or every time you use this air fryer. So, I’m going to break this down for you in three levels. And the first level is just the everyday clean. This is going to help prevent buildup and get rid of any of the crust or crud that’s left behind so that your air fryer doesn’t start to stink. Another reason this is important to do is because grease will harden over time the more it’s exposed to high heat. So, if you’ve ever noticed that sort of texturized black color that’s building up on the surface of your air fryer, that’s what we’re dealing with and it is really challenging to clean. This is especially bad for non-stick coatings because they’ll degrade faster when that buildup is allowed to accumulate. Now, if you skip this cleaning, you’ll notice that cleaning becomes more difficult over time. You’ll also notice more odor transfer, perhaps even flavor transfer between foods, and those non-stick surfaces are going to lose their effectiveness. So, let me walk you through kind of your everyday cleaning step by step. First, you’re going to let your unit cool completely, and you’re going to unplug it before you clean. You can remove the basket and the tray and wipe the interior surface with a damp paper towel or microfiber cloth. Now, if you notice any greasy splatter in there, you can put a little bit of all-purpose cleaner onto your cloth and give it a wipe and then give it a rinse. Following that, you can wash your basket in hot soapy water and a soft cloth or sponge before letting it dry and replacing it. You don’t want to use anything abrasive on a non-stick coating because it will degrade that surface as well. You want to make sure that you dry this before you put everything back together. And like when the dentist tells you to floss and how preventative flossing can be, doing this cleaning is going to prevent so much future cleaning challenges for you. Let’s move up to a level two clean. You would do this if you haven’t cleaned your air fryer in a little while, a week maybe two, or you just finished making something that was really rich or fatty or saucy, like bacon or wings or sausages or, you know, heating up something that had a sticky barbecue sauce on it. That’s when you would want to make sure that you do one of these moderate level cleanings. Before we continue, I want to kind of give three warnings. These are things that you should not be doing when you’re cleaning your air fryer, no matter what. The first is using an abrasive cleaning tool like a heavyduty scrub sponge. This can ruin the non-stick coating. Now, you might also see cleaning hacks where people fill their basket with water or they put like a bowl of vinegar in there and then heat it up for 10 minutes. This can potentially ruin your machine. So, please do not do it. This machine does not like a lot of moisture. And the third mistake that people make is using a really abrasive cleaning product. Non-stick coatings are not designed for abrasive cleaning products. we have to approach this a different way. Now, one thing you can do to prevent some of this mess when you’re cooking something that’s particularly greasy or saucy is to use a liner. This can be paper or parchment, and it’s going to be purpose-built for your specific air fryer. Now, not everybody likes to use these because it can affect the outcome or the flavor of the food, but if you’re down with it, this is going to help make cleaning a little bit easier for you. So, this moderate cleaning quite simply starts the same way. You’re going to unplug your unit and let everything cool down. Next, you’re going to fill your sink with hot water. With non-stick coatings, we want to avoid boiling hot water. So, just run your tap on the hottest possible setting and let it run. You’re going to add some super heavy duty dish soap to it. I really love Dawn. We all know this about me already. Throw the basket and the tray in there and just let it soak for like 15 minutes. Now, once it’s soaked for a good amount of time, you can then use a soft cloth or sponge to remove any of that greasy buildup. Now, you might need to repeat this process, and you might feel tempted to use something abrasive like baking soda or Barkeeper’s Friend or a Magic Eraser or the pink stuff. Please don’t do this. We’re dealing with a non-stick coating. And to clean the interior, get a heavyduty dish spray like Dawn Power Wash and just spray the interior areas where you’re noticing that it’s a little bit greasy or gross. You can also use a little bit of dish soap applied directly onto those greasy areas with your finger. And you can just let that sit for a few minutes. Once that’s done, you’re going to use a damp cloth to sort of wipe and remove all of the greasy buildup. You don’t want to spray water directly in there because it can ruin the electronic components of your machine. You’re going to rinse and dry everything thoroughly and then you can put it back together. Now, doing this cleaning is monumental because this is going to prevent you from getting to the level three. Oh my gosh, what the heck happened to my air fryer? Also, it’s going to help your house not smell like the back of a McDonald’s. Let’s get into the level three cleaning. This is the cleaning you’re going to do when those strong odors won’t go away or when you have that greasy, caked on buildup that you’re really struggling to get rid of. Now, for this, we’re going to be using dishwasher tablets. And that’s because dishwasher tablets contain specific enzymes that are designed to break down, effectively digest the exact grease that we are being stuck or challenged with right now. However, if you’ve seen videos where people are filling their baskets, popping in a dish tablet and leaving it in their machine overnight, they are absolutely wrong. We’re going to do this a different way. First, you’re going to fill a basin, whether it’s a bucket or a small container or a laundry sink, with boiling hot water. Hear me out. And then, you’re going to add one dish tablet. You’re going to let this water dissolve the dish tablet. It’s going to take a few minutes. And you’re also going to let the water cool down slightly because again, we don’t want to use boiling water when we’re doing this job. Once you’ve let your pack dissolve and the water’s cooled a little bit, maybe five minutes or so, then you can put your air fryer basket in there. Now, you can leave this for an hour. You can leave this overnight. Just do a little check every now and then and see where you’re at. Let’s say you leave it overnight. The next morning, you’re going to take the air fryer basket out of your basin, and you’re just going to use a cloth or a soft sponge to remove that gunk. And my friends, the gunk is going to be gone. This is the answer. Once it’s done, you’re going to rinse very well. You’re going to let it dry, and then you’re going to put everything back together. Now, again, if you want to tackle the interior of the machine, you can’t disassemble it. People have done it. It completely ruins the machine. It’s going to void your warranty. it is not worth it. Instead, you’re going to use that same method I talked about before where you use straight dish soap or a dish spray and you spray it directly on those greasy areas. Allow it to sit for a few minutes, wipe off, and then rinse with a damp cloth and dry. All right, let me give you some maintenance tips for your air fryer. And this is going to apply specifically for when you are cooking your food or right after you’re cooking your food. If you want air fryer cooking tips, you’ve come to the wrong place. First up, clean those removable parts after every use. See, level one cleaning. Next, make sure that you don’t overfill your air fryer basket. You want to avoid aerosol cooking sprays. I know everyone loves to use them. Sh, but really, they’re part of the problem. They’re really bad for non-stick coatings. Make sure that you always dry your unit before storing it away. And remember that if your machine smells, it’s not because your machine has the problem. It’s because your machine is greasy and it’s emanating bad smells. and you got to clean it. Look, air fryers can quite literally save your bacon. I mean, you can cook up all your bacon and not have to throw it in the garbage. But it can also be a real cleaning challenge if you don’t take good care of them. But on the flip side, if you know how to maintain them, if you know how to clean them after you you’ve done some heavy duty cooking, or if you know how to clean them when your kid comes back from college and brings you a disgusting air fryer, you’re going to be in great shape. And now you know exactly what to do. And that brings me to this week’s comment question, which is, do you use an air fryer and do you love an air fryer? Let me know in the comments down below. I do not have one. The ones that I showed you today are borrowed. And the reason I don’t have one, if I’m being honest, is because I don’t want to have to clean it, which sounds hilarious, but it’s absolutely true. I try to keep my stuff to an absolute minimum. I love cooking with things that I can throw in the dishwasher. So, let me know about your thoughts on an air fryer in the comments down below. Now, if you’re looking to solutions to your everyday cleaning problems, I’ve got a newsletter for that. It’s called the Dirty Dish, and you can subscribe to it down below. Comes in your inbox once a week, and it’s really freaking useful. Also, if you love the work we do here at Clean My Space, you can consider becoming a member. And by the way, if you have a non-selfcleing oven and you want to know exactly how to clean it, I’ve got the video for you right over here. And if you haven’t done so already, make sure that you subscribe to the Clean MySpace channel. Thanks so much for watching and we’ll see you next