Air fryers are a common household appliance these days. With their growing popularity, the ability to have quickly cooked meals while avoiding the need to turn on your oven or use traditional frying has enticed a lot of people to buy one. But, knowing how to use an air fryer isn’t enough to ensure it continues to work, and provide great-tasting food. Even the best air fryers need a clean.
While we’ve got a guide on how to clean an air fryer, with the world of TikTok, there’s always new a cleaning hack to try. For the air fryer, I’ve stumbled upon this viral cleaning hack that looks like a genius way to remove stubborn grease:
@yana_mom_ ♬ original sound - Roulier Spring Daily
User @yana_mom_ is a mom of two with over 180 thousand followers on TikTok. While she’s got a few videos boasting millions of views, her viral air fryer cleaning hack is ingenious and has almost 10 million views of its own, though it has left viewers debating in the comment section.
In the video, she places a liquid tablet into the air fryer basket before pouring boiling water from a kettle onto it while placed in the sink. She writes, “Use boiled water and fill to top.” From watching it more times than we'd care to admit, It looks as though she makes sure the tablet is efficiently covered with boiling water and then fills the rest of the basket with a kitchen tap. Then, she advises you to let it sit for 20 minutes before rinsing it all away.
As mentioned, the conversation turns to concern in the comment section as to whether the tab being used is one for a dishwasher, or for a washing machine. One user writes, “That’s a laundry pod. Not a dishwasher pod right?” To which another replies, “It’s a cascade pod for a dishwasher, but it looks like a tide pod. I have both and can see the difference.”
While it doesn’t appear that the user has answered any of the upset in the comments, we’d say it was safe to assume you’d clean an air fryer with a dishwasher pod, and not the pod you use for laundry.
Others were also worried that the dishwasher pod would make their food taste like soap. Though users pointed out that you commonly wash your dishes in the dishwasher, or by using the sink with soap anyway. Some air fryer manuals even suggest you wash the basket in the dishwasher directly, but you’d need to check your model before doing so. Plus, this hack could be a way to avoid filling your dishwasher with a basket every time when you've got dishes that need cleaning, too.
Testing the viral air fryer cleaning hack
I decided to try out the viral air fryer cleaning hack to see how well it really works. Starting out, the basket and drawer were removed after use and ready for a good clean.
I then added in the dishwasher tablet and covered it with boiling water, leaving it for 20 minutes, which was a very simple step.
Verdict: It needed a scrub still to get off the grease it'd loosened from the sides of the basket, but it did a pretty good job! Plus, the steam worked well for breaking down the baked-on grime. It's definitely something I'd try again.
Why should you regularly clean your air fryer, and how?
While air fryers offer a simple, quick solution to a lot of cooking needs, they can also be a pain to clean, especially if you don’t stay on top of it. But, it’s not a step you should ever skip. If you want your food to taste its best, work efficiently, avoid grime and grease, and leave bits of old food that becomes charred after use, then cleaning it after every use is really important. It’s one of the ways to make your air fryer last longer, after all.
A lot of people opt for air fryer liners to protect the air fryer from grease and make it easier to clean. Others opt for a sponge or soft-bristled brush. If the grease is incredibly stubborn, you can even soak the basket in soapy water, a little bit like the cleaning hack suggests. As long as you’re avoiding blunders like this air fryer cleaning mistake that could make your air fryer unsafe to cook with, you’ll be able to ensure your air fryer is clean and works efficiently for longer.
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