I tried the best air fryer cleaning hack with no scrubbing

As an adult who recently bought their first home, I’ve realised cleaning has become part of my personality and I don’t hate it.

In fact, I would go as far as saying giving the bathroom or kitchen a deep clean once a week is just as good as a free therapy session – there’s nothing that switches off my mind like tackling the mouldy shower grout with my trusty Cillit Bang Black Mould Remover.

But there is just something about having to scrub both drawers from my air fryer every evening that makes me lose the will to live.

Is it cheaper to cook with an air fryer or oven? 

I’ll admit, I do have a dishwasher, but I’m far too scared to use it when it comes to cleaning the air fryer baskets because if they get damaged, I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat again.

I was quite late to the air fryer hype and only bought one a few months ago; however, I have soon realised what a chore they can be to clean, and my Dishmatic just isn’t cutting it.

I need quick, simple, easy and shiny, in about 10 minutes, no matter how much bacon fat, chicken juice or oil is swimming around at the bottom - so what's the best way to clean an air fryer?

Is it safe to put a dishwasher tablet in an air fryer?

After doing a bit of research, I came across Tom's Guide, which revealed a trusty, unique method that didn't seem to take too much elbow grease (pardon the pun).

The tech experts certainly didn’t let me down as I think I found the most mind-blowing air fryer cleaning hack yet – a single dishwasher tablet (and to my amazement, no scrubbing was needed).

How often do you clean your air fryer? (Image: Molly Court/Newsquest)

I can’t lie, at first I thought this quick trick would be too good to be true, but no. It’s as simple as it seems, and I think it’s quite revolutionary.

However, it comes with a health and safety warning: Do not turn your air fryer on when cleaning the baskets with any detergent and water.

Tom's Guide explained this is a safe cleaning method, "as long as you don’t do this inside the air fryer unit itself".

It added: "Always remove the basket and drawer and place them in the sink before adding boiling water. Never pour hot water into the appliance base.

"If you're worried the dishwasher detergent might leave a soapy taste, don't. It’s no different from washing with dish soap or running the basket through the dishwasher — something many air fryer manuals recommend anyway."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kristan Menard (@myhomeinwiltshire)

What's the best way to clean a dirty air fryer?

Firstly, I made sure the basket was cold and removed it from the air fryer itself, before I plopped a dishwasher tablet inside it.

I boiled my kettle and then poured the boiling water into the drawer over the sink, filling it about halfway up.

Then all I needed to do was let it soak for around 10-15 minutes, so it gave me the perfect amount of time to empty and reload the dishwasher while I waited.

Once the time was up, I peeked into my air fryer drawer and found the dishwasher tablet had mostly melted into the rather disgustingly dirty hot water – I was thrilled that it smelled like lemons instead of steaming grease.

I knew instantly that the colour of the water inside the air fryer drawer meant the dishwasher tablet had done its job remarkably well, but I was still hesitant that it would need a scrub.

The dishwasher tablet banished all traces of grease in 10 minutes (Image: Molly Court/Newsquest)

However, after pouring the water away, all that was left was a shiny, clean compartment, with not a smear of fat and oil in sight.

Recommended reading:

• How to remove tough yellow toilet seat stains - 65p hack leaves them 'spotless'
• UK households urged to use simple 65p hack to reduce condensation on a budget
• This homemade 45p bathroom cleaning hack blew my mind (the experts were right)

I found this most impressive as I purposely didn’t wash my air fryer for two days, as I wanted to really put this hack to the test – it was layered with bacon and sausage fat, pastry grease, you name it, and all of it was gone.

I then dried the air fryer basket off with a tea towel and popped the drawers back inside the air fryer unit, ready for another hard day of work.

So there you have it, the easiest and yet most transformative way of cleaning your air fryer all without barely lifting a finger – I salute you Tom's Guide.