Air fryers are a fantastic tool that can make life easier for preparing a variety of different meals in a quick and efficient amount of time. Many people purchase these appliances because they simply don’t have time to make dinner for their family each night, or because they might not be the greatest cooks and these tools help them improve. Regardless of the reason why, they are great timesavers.
Typically, deep frying food is very messy. You can end up with many dirty pans, grimy utensils, and grease coated on everything around the fryer. Air fryers, on the other hand, are relatively clean tools. Unlike deep frying, the cooking basket is completely enclosed, which eliminates splattering. Additionally, all the fat, grease, and oil in your food drips down to the oil pan in the bottom. However, this doesn’t mean there’s no need to clean. Your air fryer should be cleaned every time you use it. While cleaning it may not be as easy as cooking it it, it’s something you should to to ensure the longevity of your device – after all, you’ve spent the money so why not make the appliance last as long as possible! Extending it’s life starts with cleaning it properly, event when you don’t feel like it.
Are Air Fryers Dishwasher Safe?
As a quick answer, yes. Yes the cooking vessels are dishwasher safe in the sense that they won’t fall apart or melt in your dishwasher. They are made of metal after all. It an be very tempting to just quickly rinse out your basket or pan and then just throw it in the dishwasher. This will probably work great for you and get it nice and clean. However, that won’t last in the long run and it NOT recommended. Ultimately, you will likely end up with a rusted pan or basket over time.
While all the air fryer’s removable components are dishwasher safe, so they can be placed in a dishwasher – most air fryers will explicitly state in their instruction manuals to hand wash only. Take heed to these instructions.
- Unplug the air fryer from the wall socket or power source and let it cool down.
- Wipe the outside with a damp cloth.
- Wash the pan, tray, and basket with hot water and liquid dish soap.
- Clean in the inside of the air fryer with hot water and a cloth or sponge. Do not use any utensils to remove stuck-on food. The components of your air fryer are lined with a non-stick coating that can easily scratch. Always use a non-scratch sponge to remove any residual food stuck on the basket or drip pan.
- If there is any food stuck to the heating element above the food basket, clean it off with a brush.
- Make sure the pan, tray, and basket are completely dry before putting them back into the air fryer.
While it may be tempting, your dishwasher will slowly eat away at the non-stick surfaces of these parts of your appliances. As this happens, you increase the chances of rust developing as well as the chances of food sticking while it cooks – making it even more difficult to clean.
So do yourself a favor, and take the few extra minutes after cooking to properly clean your air fryer. Some warm water, a gentle liquid dish soap and a gentle brush or sponge is all you need to keep your fryer in tip-top shape.
If you’re looking for some more in-depth information on how to care for your air fryer or how to remove baked on food or grease, we wrote another article on how to best clean your air fryer.