How to get rid of the smell

A smell of old cooking is fat somewhere out of sight, and the answer is cleaning the places you cannot see. A plastic smell from a new machine is manufacturing residue, one manufacturer says so outright, and the answer is a test run. A smell of burning plastic during use is neither, and the answer is to stop.

Questions this answers

How do I get the smell out of my air fryer?
Why does my new air fryer smell of plastic?
Why does everything taste of the last thing I cooked?

Three smells, three answers

Old cooking: fat that has carbonised in the pan, on the element or on a shield. Washing the basket does not touch it, which is why the smell survives what felt like a thorough clean.

Plastic on a new appliance: normal, and the manufacturer's own instruction is a test run with nothing in the chamber. If it is still there after that, contact them.

Burning plastic or electrics during use: not a cleaning problem at any point. Stop, unplug at the wall, and do not use the appliance until the manufacturer has advised you.

What not to do

Running the appliance with lemon, vinegar or a bowl of water in it appears in no manual read for this catalogue. It puts liquid in a chamber with a live element above it, and the steam it produces is the opposite of what a machine that works by drying wants. It is omitted here rather than recommended with a caveat.

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.
Part	What is on it	How often	Dishwasher
Drawer	Greasy film	After every use	Dishwasher safe on the models we hold
Splatter guard	Greasy film	After every use	Dishwasher safe on the models we hold
Interior of the chamber	Lingering smell	When it needs it	Not removable, so the question does not arise

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.

Splatter guard — Greasy filmThe splatter guard, and why it decides whether the machine smokes — The part almost nobody knows they have, and the one manual that documents it says failing to clean it puts oil on the element.

Interior of the chamber — Lingering smell

Getting rid of a lingering smell

Two different complaints share one phrasing. A smell of old cooking is residue somewhere — usually the pan, the element or a shield — and the answer is cleaning. A smell of plastic from a new appliance is manufacturing residue and one manual in this catalogue addresses it directly.

How often: When it needs it
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. A smell of burning plastic or an electrical smell during use is not an odour problem. Stop, unplug at the wall, do not use the appliance, and contact the manufacturer.

What works

Clean the pan, the shield and the element area first
Ninety per cent of lingering smells are fat that has carbonised somewhere out of sight. Washing the basket alone will not touch it, which is why the smell survives an apparently thorough clean.
Published by SharkNinja Europe Limited.
Run an empty test run for a new appliance that smells of plastic
Cosori's manual states that a plastic smell from the manufacturing process is normal on a new appliance and that following the test-run instructions gets rid of it. If the smell is still there afterwards, that is when to contact support.
Published by Arovast Corporation (Cosori).
Leave the drawer open after use
Ninja's manual says to keep the lid open after removing food so the unit cools faster. A chamber left shut while warm and damp holds a smell for the same reason a closed lunchbox does.
Published by SharkNinja Europe Limited.

What not to do, and why

Running the appliance with lemon, vinegar or a bowl of water in it
It appears in no manual read for this catalogue. It puts a liquid in a chamber with a live element above it, and the steam it produces is the opposite of what an appliance that works by drying wants. Where a manufacturer publishes an empty run, the chamber is empty.
Treating a burning-plastic smell during use as an odour to be cleaned away
A burning-plastic or electrical smell from a mains appliance is a fault symptom. The safety rules in this catalogue require stopping, unplugging and contacting the manufacturer rather than investigating.
Published by Electrical Safety First.

Moderate confidenceWell supported, but from a narrower base of sources than we would like.

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