Cooking is not hard; it’s what comes after that crushes everyone’s soul. That’s right! We’re talking about cleaning after cooking. That includes dishes and the appliances used. One such example is cleaning the air fryer after a loaded cook.
Most people leave the cleaning for another day only to regret it later. This must’ve got you thinking about whether you can use the old soap-and-water method to clean your air fryer.
The soap and water TikTok hack works to only remove light grime but not the older grime. For this method, mix 1 inch of water and some dish soap in your air fryer basket. Put the basket back in and run the air fryer at 200°F for about 10-15 minutes. Once done, wipe the air fryer clean.
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What you should know about cleaning the air fryer with soap and water
Before moving on to cleaning, you should know what parts of an air fryer to clean. We put food only in the basket of the air fryer. From there, some juices drizzle out into the bottom drawer. The basket can be removed from the entire appliance while the rest stays in one piece.
The parts attached to the main unit should be cleaned with a soft sponge and water. The basket, however, can be soaked in soapy water separately. You can soak the basket with mild soap and water and leave it for a few minutes. Use a non-abrasive sponge to remove leftover grime so as to not damage the non-stick surface.
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Our take on the crazy TikTok soap and water air fryer cleaning hack
We all know how crazy social media can be. People from all over the world try bizarre things and post on TikTok.
One such trend made the rounds when a user half-filled their air fryer baskets with water and added soap to them. They then proceeded to “cook” the soapy water for 3 minutes at 370°F. Apparently, the basket was completely free of grease and grime after this process.
Being from the responsible side of the internet, we asked the experts and tested this hack ourselves. We followed the instructions to the dot with our fingers crossed. While the water marks and light grime were removed, unfortunately, the older grime stayed stuck to the bottom.
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For us, the hack was a complete flop. We asked experts about this whole procedure, and they advised against using large amounts of water in the air fryer. They told us that even the most modern air fryers aren’t built for this much water.
Also, there is a high chance the heat convection causes water to splash and damage the heating system of the fryer.
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Conclusion
Cleaning your air fryer won’t be scary if you keep it well-maintained after every cook. Most dishes aren’t messy and do not require extensive cleaning. A simple sponge dipped in soap and water does the trick. Also, it would be best to avoid viral hacks so that your gadgets can last long and work effectively.