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AirfryerHQ

Cleaning an air fryer

Cleaning an air fryer well takes about four minutes and involves one place nearly everybody misses. Fat spatters upward as well as draining downward, and residue on the element is the reason a machine starts smoking with food that should not produce any.

Questions this answers

  • How do I clean my air fryer?
  • Can I put the basket in the dishwasher?
  • Why does my air fryer smoke even when it looks clean?
The parts of a basket air fryerA cross-section of a basket air fryer with its parts labelled: the heating element and fan in the roof of the chamber; the crisper plate, a raised perforated platform that the food sits on; the basket that holds the crisper plate; and the outer drawer that slides out. Below the basket is the drawer floor, where fat and crumbs collect. The control panel is on the front of the housing.FanHeating elementDrawerBasketCrisper plateDrawer floor — fat and crumbs collect hereControls
The names used throughout this site. The crisper plate is the raised perforated platform that lifts food clear of the drawer floor so air can pass underneath — a basket without one cooks noticeably differently, and the cleaning guidance treats the plate, the basket and the drawer as three separate parts. Schematic: part names vary by manufacturer.

After every fatty cook, not every few cooks

Residue carbonises a little more each time it is heated, and carbonised residue smokes. Cleaning the basket and drawer after bacon, sausages or chicken thighs — rather than after every third use — prevents the build-up instead of fighting it.

Let it cool first, but not completely: fat wipes off a warm surface far more easily than a cold one.

The element is the bit everybody misses

Unplug the appliance and let it cool fully. Look up into the chamber at the element and the housing around it. On a machine that has cooked anything fatty, there will be residue there, and that residue is the most common reason an apparently clean air fryer smokes.

Wipe it with a damp — not wet — cloth, and let it dry completely before plugging back in. Never spray anything into the chamber, never run water near the electrics, and never do any of this while the appliance is plugged in.

The dishwasher question

Many baskets are described as dishwasher-safe and many manuals nevertheless recommend hand washing. Both statements are usually true: the part will survive a dishwasher, and repeated dishwasher cycles shorten the life of the non-stick coating.

Your manual governs. Where it permits the dishwasher and you want the coating to last, hand washing with a soft cloth is still the better choice — and it takes less time than loading it.

What not to use

No metal utensils, no wire wool, no abrasive pads and no scouring powder. Every one of them takes microscopic layers off the non-stick coating, and once that coating is compromised food sticks where it has gone and the wear accelerates. Soaking in warm soapy water does what scrubbing was trying to do and does not damage anything.

The method, part by part

Every part, what collects on it, how often it needs doing, and whether it may go in a dishwasher on the models AirfryerHQ holds manuals for.
PartWhat is on itHow oftenDishwasher
BasketOrdinary residue after cookingAfter every useDishwasher safe on the models we hold
DrawerGreasy filmAfter every useDishwasher safe on the models we hold
Heating element areaCarbonised depositAbout monthlyNot removable, so the question does not arise
Exterior and bodyGreasy filmAbout weeklyNot removable, so the question does not arise

Basket — Ordinary residue after cookingThe basket and crisper plate, after every use — Warm soapy water or the dishwasher on most models, and never anything abrasive — the coating is the part that does not grow back.

Drawer — Greasy filmThe drawer and the pan under the basket — The part that collects the fat, and the part people wipe rather than wash — which is where the smoke starts.

Heating element area — Carbonised depositThe heating element area — One manufacturer permits cleaning the coil of food debris and requires it to be completely dry before switching on. Nothing else about it is optional.

Exterior and body — Greasy film

The outside of the appliance

The body of an air fryer needs almost nothing, and the reason it has a record is the prohibition rather than the method: it contains the element, the fan and the control board, and it must never go anywhere near a sink.

How often
About weekly
Dishwasher
Not removable, so the question does not arise

Before you touch it

Unplug the appliance at the wall and let it cool completely before cleaning any part of it. An air fryer draws 1.5-2kW and its element and chamber stay dangerously hot for a long time after the fan stops — one manual in this catalogue warns that the frying tray is still hot half an hour after use. Never immerse the main unit, the cord or the plug in water or any other liquid. Every manual read for this catalogue says so, and it is the single instruction with no exceptions anywhere in the set. Water running into a vent or a switch is a shock and fire risk on an appliance of this power — wring the cloth out until it is barely damp.

What works

  1. Wipe with a damp cloth

    The published method, in nearly identical words in every manual read for this catalogue: wipe the outside of the appliance with a moist cloth, if necessary.

    Published by Arovast Corporation (Cosori).

What not to do, and why

  • Immersing the main unit, the cord or the plug

    Prohibited without exception in every manual read for this catalogue, and the one instruction with no qualifications anywhere in the set.

    Published by SharkNinja Europe Limited.

  • Solvents, abrasive cleaners or scouring pads on the body

    Tower's manual prohibits scouring pads, steel wool and strong solvents on the appliance itself, not only on its accessories.

    Published by RKW Ltd (Tower Housewares).
High confidenceSupported by authoritative or independently tested sources, and consistent across them.
  • Your own manual is the governing document. Where it differs from anything here, follow it — this is a synthesis of what several manufacturers publish, not an instruction for your specific machine.

Evidence and confidence

Moderate confidenceWell supported, but from a narrower base of sources than we would like.
Applies to
Specific to this type of appliance
Why this rating
Four manufacturers and the national electrical-safety body, and they demonstrate the page's central point rather than merely supporting it: the dishwasher answer genuinely differs between machines, from 'drawers and plates only, and hand-wash them anyway' to 'all accessories and the door'. The page declines to give one answer because the manuals do not.
Last reviewed
2026-08-13

What this does not cover

  • The element-cleaning instruction comes from one manufacturer. Others do not mention inspecting the element at all, which is an omission rather than a contrary position.
Sources (6)

  • Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400UK — Instructions (PDF)

    SharkNinja Europe Limited — Manufacturer manual (United Kingdom)

    Relied on for: That the drawers and crisper plates are the only dishwasher-safe parts, that hand-washing extends their life, and that the main unit must never be immersed or put in a dishwasher.

    States this directly

    Passage read and verified

    Retrieved 2026-08-13 from argos-support.co.uk

    Retrieved from Argos's manual library, which mirrors the manufacturer's booklet for Argos product 952/3997. Not retrieved from ninjakitchen.co.uk, whose support portal redirected to an authentication gate.

  • Instant Vortex 4-in-1 Air Fryer — User Manual (PDF)

    Instant Brands (EMEA) Limited — Manufacturer manual (United Kingdom and European Union)

    Relied on for: That the heating coil should be checked for oil spatter and food debris and cleaned with a damp cloth, that metal cleaning utensils must not be used on the non-stick tray, and that cooking oil must not be sprayed into the chamber.

    States this directly

    Passage read and verified

    Retrieved 2026-08-13 from argos-support.co.uk

    Retrieved from Argos's manual library for Argos product 936/1104. Covers the Vortex 4 and Vortex 6 in one document.

  • Breville Halo Rotisserie Air Fryer Oven VDF127 — Instruction Manual (PDF)

    Breville (Newell Brands) — Manufacturer manual (United Kingdom)

    Relied on for: A specific dishwasher-safe list — air flow racks, rotating mesh basket, rotisserie spit, drip tray and handling fork — with the main unit excluded.

    States this directly

    Passage read and verified

    Retrieved 2026-08-13 from argos-support.co.uk

    Retrieved from Argos's manual library for Argos product 961/3931.

  • Tefal Easy Fry 9in1 11L Air Fryer & Mini Oven — Instruction Manual (PDF)

    Groupe SEB (Tefal) — Manufacturer manual (United Kingdom and European Union)

    Relied on for: That all included accessories AND the appliance door are dishwasher safe, which is a broader permission than any other manufacturer read gives.

    States this directly

    Passage read and verified

    Retrieved 2026-08-13 from argos-support.co.uk

    Retrieved from Argos's manual library for Argos product 201/0524.

  • Electrical safety advice for air fryers

    Electrical Safety First — Electrical-safety authority or body (United Kingdom)

    Relied on for: That the appliance should be cleaned according to the manufacturer's instructions and that at least 30 minutes should be allowed for cooling first.

    States this directly

    Passage read and verified

    Retrieved 2026-08-13 from electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

  • AirfryerHQ assessment of airflow, element proximity and material behaviour

    AirfryerHQ — Calculated or inferred by AirfryerHQ (Not jurisdictional)

    Relied on for: The mechanism: forced convection, boundary-layer disruption and chamber size.

    AirfryerHQ's interpretation of what it says

    Citation checked — the document exists and is described correctly

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