Air fryers are fantastic kitchen appliances that use 90 % less oil than other methods while reheating and cooking. Unfortunately, sometimes the Air fryers start smelling plastic smell. This blog post will explain how to get rid of the air fryer plastic smell.
The smell from the Air fryer can be due to two reasons. First, it can be due to the new Air fryer, or it can be due to not cleaning the Air fryer properly.
If you are a new air fryer owner, you must heat the new empty air fryer at 400°F for 20 minutes to eliminate the plastic smell. Prior heating helps burn off the protective coating in Airfryer to remove the plastic smell.
The smell from air fryers is unpleasant, but it is not a health hazard. To remove the smell, you may heat the air fryer more than once.
What causes the plastic smell in Air fryers?
New Air Fryers
New Air Fryers come with a protective coating on the plastic parts. When you heat the food in Air Fryer for the first time, the protective coating gets burned and gives plastic fumes or smells. This smell is not a health hazard but may feel unpleasant if transferred to food.
Food clogged in the heating element
The second reason may be that Air Fryers have a heating element on top, and food particles may get collected around the heating element. This collected food gets burned when the air fryer is heated and can give an unpleasant smell.
Not keeping it clean.
One more reason for the unpleasant smell could be an unclean Air Fryer. Therefore, it is essential to clean the Air Fryer frequently to remove any collected food particles in the internal parts of the Air Fryer.
Clean your Air Fryer basket after every use. Take a damp sponge and add a little dishwashing soap and scrub it. Wash the inter removable parts with hot water or wash it in the dishwasher if it is safe to wash it in the dishwasher.
Dry it with a soft cloth or paper towel.
How to get rid of the plastic smell from the new air fryer?
When you buy a new Air Fryer, the first thing to do is to read the manual, remove the plastic coatings that come with the appliance, and give it some time to breathe. Next, heat the Airfryer for 20 minutes at 400° F without food. The high temperature will heat the protective layer and burn it.
The plastic smell should go after a few uses. Moreover, the odor of the Air fryer also depends on the type of internal parts. If they are made of metal, the smell should go after a few uses, and then it should be fine.
If the internal parts are made from plastic, a foul odor may be there whenever you use the Air fryer.
Let us find out how to remove the plastic smell from a new air fryer.
1 Remove the plastic coatings
When you buy a new Air fryer, you should start by removing all the plastic packing. But first, you must remove all the plastic coatings from the Air fryer.
To do this, run the Air fryer for 20 minutes at 400° F to burn the plastic coating. Your Air Fryer should be fins after the first use, but sometimes you must run it a few times before heating the food.
Air Fryers with metal parts generally are suitable for heating the food after first use.
How to clean:
- Remove the internal parts ( Basket and basket base ) of the Air fryer
- Soak them in warm water and detergent for 10-15 minutes.
- Gently wash the removable internal components with a soft sponge
- Use the same sponge to wipe the inside of the Air fryer
- Then clean it with a damp cloth and
- Dry the internal parts and interior of the Air fryer with a soft cloth.
Cleaning the Air Fryer before use will help reduce the foul odor and any chemicals on the internal parts.
You can wash it this way before use or whenever it starts giving a bad smell.
2 Use lemon and Vinegar
If the smell persists after washing the internal parts and heating the Air fryer, you can use lemon and Vinegar to make it smell good Vinegar and lemon are also great for cleaning the microwave.
- Use an Air fryer-safe bowl
- Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 1/4 cup of lemon water
- Keep it in Air Fryer and heat it for 2 minutes at 400° F
- Repeat the process if the smell doesn’t go after the first use
Any residue smell should go after the use of lemon water and Vinegar. You can use either of them if you don’t have both. I have used only Vinegar many times as most of the time, I have only Vinegar available.
Why does my air fryer smell like chemicals?
The smell of Air Fryers is from the plastic coatings on the internal parts of the Air Fryer. To remove this smell, run the Air fryer for 20 minutes before heating the food.
In most cases, it will eliminate any rubbery smells from the Air Fryer. At the same time, the plastic smell may feel unpleasant but is considered safe and not toxic.
Is air fryer plastic smell toxic?
The plastic smell from the Air fryer can be unpleasant and make your house smell like plastic, but it is not toxic.
The smell is from the burning of coatings on the internal parts of the Air fryer at high temperatures. Internal components of the Air fryer are coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
This is the coating we find in our non-stick utensils. It is considered safe to heat to 572° F. Air fryers are designed to heat around 400°, so it should be safe to use in Air Fryes.
The smell may get transferred to food and cause an unpleasant flavor, but it is not a health hazard and is considered safe.
Do all air fryers have a plastic smell?
All Air Fryers come with plastic coatings that give the plastic smell while heating the food. Therefore, this plastic coating must be burned before heating the food to eliminate the plastic odor.
Good quality Air fryers are made of metal components and have less plastic, giving less plastic smell. So always go for a good quality Air fryer instead of a cheap one.
Always let your Air fryer breathe before starting to use it. Then, open the Air fryer parts and keep them for air circulation. It will allow some of the foul odor to go away.
How do I stop my air fryer from smelling?
We have already discussed the two methods to help you relieve the plastic smell from the Air Fryers. However, there are a few more things you can do to reduce the odor from air fryers.
1. Use Aluminium foil
Insert the aluminum foil at the bottom to keep the Air fryer clean. All the oil and grease will be collected in the Aluminium foil.
Fold the Aluminium foil to make a tray and keep it at the bottom to collect the oil and grease.
This will keep the non-stick coatings intact for a more extended period, and your Air fryer may not give a foul odor.
2. Coat the internal parts of the Air Fryer with oil
You can also coat your air fryer to make it non-stick. Most of the Air fryers come with Non-stick coating, but actually, it is not that non-stick.
However, you can do the trick and make it non-stick to avoid food sticking to the basket. Food stuck to the internal parts started giving off-flavors after some time.
How to coat the Air fryer?
- Take any cooking oil ( coconut oil works best) with a high smoking point and pour it over a paper towel
- Damp the Air fryer inside, basket, and tray with oil using a paper towel.
- Run the Air Fryer at 400°F for 10 minutes and let it cool
- After 10-15 minutes, remove the tray and oil it again
- After it cools done, clean the basket and interior with a soft sponge
Please don’t use the spray oil as it may contain additives that can damage the non-stick coating on the air fryer’s internal parts. Before cooking, you can always use a small amount of oil to coat the air fryer basket.
3. Wash the removable parts with warm water and detergent
It is always a good idea to wash the removable parts after using the Air fryer. It will help to keep the parts clean, and the elements will not be clogged.
4. Pre-heat the Air fryer
Always pre-heat the air fryer. It reduces the time required to heat the food and makes it crispy.
If you don’t pre-heat the Air fryer, it may take longer for the food to cook.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put aluminum foil in an air fryer?
Yes, you can put the aluminum foil in the air fryer. Due to the heating process used in the Air fryer, the aluminum foil does not pose any risks to the heating and cooking process.
It is even better to use aluminum foil to keep the Air fryer clean.
How do I freshen my air fryer?
You can clean the interiors of the Air fryer using a damp sponge. Dry the interior before use.
You can also run your air fryer with lemon juice and white Vinegar to remove any bad odor.
How to get rid of the air fryer plastic smell to freshen it up
I have listed a few methods you can use to remove the plastic smell from the Air fryer. You can run the new Air fryer without the food to let the plastic coating burn before use.
Clean the inside and the internal removable parts with the damp sponge to freshen the air fryer.
Use the aluminum foil to collect the grease and oil to keep the Air ryer clean.
The plastic smell may be unpleasant but is not considered a health hazard. But the smell is not what we want in our kitchens and house. So biting, the tips and tricks to keep the plastic smell away are better.
I hope this blog post will help you keep your Air fryer clean and fresh for extended periods without ruining any internal parts.
