How to Clean an Air Fryer (and Which Parts Are Dishwasher-Safe, by Model)
By HomeVerdicts Editorial · Updated July 2026
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Quick answer: Unplug the air fryer and let it cool. Remove the basket, racks, or pot and wash them in warm, soapy water. Wipe the interior and the cooled heating element with a damp cloth, never immersing the unit. Dry everything before reassembling. Check our table before putting any part in the dishwasher.
Most cleaning guides stop at “soapy water and a sponge.” That advice is fine, but it skips the questions that actually trip people up: which parts of your specific model can go in the dishwasher, how to deal with grease that has baked itself onto the basket, and whether you can touch the heating element at all.
This guide answers those. The centerpiece is a model-by-model dishwasher-safety table covering eight of the most-owned air fryers in the US, built strictly from manufacturer documentation and Amazon listings, with the source of every claim noted.
What You Need to Clean Air Fryer Parts
- Mild dish soap. The default cleaner for every removable part.
- Soft sponge or microfiber cloth. A dedicated appliance set keeps grease sponges out of your dish rotation. OXO Good Grips Kitchen Appliance Cleaning Set
- Non-scratch brushes. Small crevice brushes reach the coil area and corners a sponge cannot. Lumkew Small Crevice Cleaning Brushes
- Kitchen degreaser. The last rung of the baked-on grease ladder below. Easy Off Specialty Kitchen Degreaser Cleaner
- Air-fryer-named cleaner (optional). For interior walls, and only if your manual permits chemical cleaners inside the unit. Zep Fume Free Air Fryer & Oven Cleaner
- Baking soda. For paste-scrubbing stubborn spots.
What you do not need: steel wool, for reasons covered in the mistakes section.
How to Clean an Air Fryer: Step by Step
Step 1: Unplug and cool
Always start with the unit unplugged and fully cool. Never work on the appliance while it is hot or powered.
Step 2: Remove every removable part
Baskets, crisper plates, racks, trays, pots. Take out everything your model allows.
Step 3: Wash the removable parts
Warm, soapy water and a soft sponge handle routine residue. If your model’s parts are documented as dishwasher-safe (see the table below), the top rack is the conservative choice. If the documentation is silent, hand-wash.
Step 4: Wipe the interior
With the basket out, wipe the interior walls and ceiling with a damp cloth, adding a drop of dish soap for greasy spots. Never spray water or cleaner directly into the cavity.
Step 5: Clean the heating element
Gently wipe the cooled element with a dry or barely damp cloth. Full method in its own section below, because this is the step most guides skip.
Step 6: Dry and reassemble
Trapped moisture causes odors and can damage electronics. Dry every part completely before it goes back in.
Which Parts Are Dishwasher-Safe? Eight Popular Models Compared
This is the question generic guides cannot answer, so we pulled the documentation for eight of the most-owned air fryers in the US. The source column shows how well-supported each claim is; where no source states dishwasher safety, we say so and default to hand-washing. You can read about our sourcing approach at /how-we-research/.
| Model | Type and capacity | Dishwasher-safe parts (as documented) | Coating | Source note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ninja Air Fryer Pro XL (AF181) | Basket, 6.5 qt | Basket and crisper plate | Nonstick; type not stated | Single source: Ninja’s product documentation. The Amazon listing does not mention dishwasher safety. |
| Ninja Air Fryer (AF101) | Basket, 4 qt | “Dishwasher safe parts” per the Amazon listing; parts not itemized | Ceramic-coated nonstick, per Ninja’s replacement-basket documentation | Dishwasher claim is single source (Amazon listing); Ninja’s product page for this model is retired. The coating fact comes separately from Ninja’s part page. |
| Chefman Multifunctional Digital Air Fryer+ | Oven with rotisserie, 10 qt | “Dishwasher-safe parts” per Chefman’s specs; parts not itemized | Not stated | Single source: Chefman. The Amazon listing does not mention dishwasher safety. |
| Instant Vortex Plus | Basket, 6 qt | Air fryer basket | Nonstick; type not stated | Two sources agree: the Amazon listing and Instant’s product page. |
| Dash Tasti-Crisp | Basket (compact), 2.6 qt | Not stated by manufacturer or listing; hand-wash to be safe | PTFE nonstick, stated explicitly by Dash | Neither source addresses dishwasher safety. |
| Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven (SP101) | Countertop oven, flip-up design; capacity not stated (sheet-pan format) | Not stated on accessible sources; hand-wash to be safe | Not stated | The Amazon listing names the parts (air fry basket, sheet pan, wire rack, crumb tray) with no dishwasher claim; Ninja’s product page is retired. |
| Chefman TurboFry Mini | Basket (compact), 2 qt | Basket, described as nonstick and dishwasher-safe in the Amazon listing | Nonstick; type not stated | Single source: Amazon listing; manufacturer specs unconfirmed. |
| Ninja Foodi Grill & Air Fryer (AG301) | Grill plus air fry; 6 qt pot | 6 qt inner pot; grill grate and crisper basket not itemized, hand-wash advised | Inner pot: ceramic-coated, PTFE and PFOA free, per Ninja part documentation | Pot confirmed by two sources: the Amazon listing and Ninja’s part documentation. Other parts not itemized on scraped pages. |
Manufacturer guidance can change between production runs, so your manual is the final word. But the pattern is worth noting: basket-style models carry more confirmed dishwasher-safe documentation than oven-style models in this group.
Troubleshooting: Getting Baked-On Grease Off an Air Fryer
Grease that has cycled through repeated heating polymerizes into a hard, lacquer-like film that a soapy sponge will not touch. Work up this ladder, stopping at the first rung that works.
Rung 1: Hot soak
Take the basket or tray to the sink, fill it with hot water and a generous squirt of dish soap, and let it sit until the water cools. Then go at the softened residue with a sponge or non-scratch pad. For routine buildup, the soak does most of the work before you touch anything.
Rung 2: Baking soda paste
Mix baking soda with just enough water to form a thick paste. Spread it over the stubborn patches, let it sit while you clean the rest of the unit, then scrub gently with a soft brush or non-scratch pad and rinse.
Rung 3: Kitchen degreaser
For film that survives both, use a kitchen-grade degreaser such as Easy Off’s kitchen formula. Follow the label, ventilate the room, keep it strictly off the heating element and electronics, and rinse the part thoroughly before its next use. Zep also sells a cleaner named specifically for air fryers and ovens; treat it the same way, and only use either product inside the unit itself if your manual allows chemical cleaners there.
A note on coatings: Dash states outright that the Tasti-Crisp basket is PTFE nonstick, and Ninja documents ceramic coatings on the AF101 basket and the AG301 pot. Both coating families scratch. Five of the eight models in our table do not document their coating type at all, so the safe assumption for any coated surface is the gentlest tool that works.
How to Clean the Heating Element
None of the eight models above documents a way to access or disassemble the heating element, so the only method we can responsibly give is the generic-safe one:
- Unplug the unit and confirm it is completely cool.
- Turn the unit or flip it carefully so you can see the exposed element, usually behind the basket cavity ceiling.
- Wipe the element and surrounding area with a dry or barely damp cloth. A crevice brush helps dislodge crumbs around the coil.
- Never immerse the unit, never spray liquid at the element, and never use chemical cleaners on it.
If debris is fused onto the element beyond what a cloth removes, that is a job for the manufacturer’s support line, not a scraper.
Basket vs. Oven vs. Grill Style: How Cleaning Differs
The eight models in our table span three form factors, and the cleaning workload differs meaningfully between them.
Basket-style (Ninja AF181 and AF101, Instant Vortex Plus, Dash Tasti-Crisp, Chefman TurboFry Mini): the simplest routine. One drawer, one crisper plate, one wipe-down. This group also carries the most dishwasher-safe documentation.
Oven-style (Chefman 10 qt, Ninja SP101): more parts and more surfaces. The Chefman runs a rotisserie with racks behind a viewing window; the SP101’s Amazon listing names an air fry basket, sheet pan, wire rack, and crumb tray. The crumb tray catches debris and can be removed for cleaning, but expect to hand-wash here, since neither model’s accessible documentation itemizes dishwasher-safe parts.
Grill hybrids (Ninja AG301): grilling throws more splatter than basket frying, so the interior wipe matters more. The 6 qt pot is dishwasher-safe on two sources’ word; the grate and crisper basket are not itemized, so hand-wash them.
Dual-basket models: these exist, with the same principles doubled: two drawers, two crisper plates. None appear in our source data, so we make no model-specific claims; check your manual for dishwasher guidance.
Mistakes That Ruin an Air Fryer Coating
The most damaging mistake is attacking a nonstick or ceramic surface with an abrasive. Steel wool and metal scouring pads scratch and peel the coating, and that damage is permanent, which is why steel-wool scrubbers are not on our supplies list. Close behind:
- Scraping with metal utensils to pry off stuck food. Soak instead.
- Dishwashing parts that are not documented dishwasher-safe. If the manufacturer has not said it, hand-wash it.
- Soaking or spraying the main unit. Only removable parts ever meet standing water.
- Skipping the interior wipe. Grease left on the walls and ceiling smokes on the next run and hardens into the baked-on film from the troubleshooting section.
When to Replace Instead of Deep Clean
Once a coating is visibly peeling or flaking, no amount of cleaning brings it back, and flaking nonstick does not belong near food. You have two paths. First, replace the part: Ninja, for example, documents replacement parts such as the AF101 basket and the AG301 pot on its parts pages. Pricing varies by brand and part, and our source data does not cover it, so check the part page for your model. Second, if the unit is old or the part is not sold separately, replacing the appliance can be the more sensible spend; our air fryer buying guide is the place to start.
FAQ
How do you get baked on grease off an air fryer?
Work up the ladder: soak the part in hot, soapy water until the residue softens, scrub what remains with a baking soda paste and a non-scratch pad, and reserve a kitchen degreaser for the film that survives both. Never scrape with metal.
What is the biggest air fryer cleaning mistake?
Using abrasives, steel wool above all, on a coated basket or pot. The scratches are permanent, the coating peels, and the part has to be replaced. Soft sponges, non-scratch pads, and soaking achieve the same result without the damage.
What is the best cleaner for the inside of the air fryer?
Warm water and dish soap on a damp cloth, for the walls and ceiling. For heavy residue, a kitchen degreaser or an air-fryer-named cleaner like Zep’s can be used on removable parts; use either inside the cavity only if your manual permits it, and keep everything away from the heating element.
Is it okay to put water in an air fryer to clean?
Not into the appliance itself. The main unit contains the element and electronics and must never be filled, immersed, or sprayed. Take the removable parts to the sink and soak them there instead.
What is the easiest way to clean an air fryer?
Wash the basket and accessories in warm, soapy water after each use and give the interior a quick wipe while the unit is unplugged and cool. Cleaned that regularly, grease never gets the chance to bake on, which is what turns cleanup into a project.
Why are people getting rid of their air fryers?
Reasons vary, but the cleaning burden is a real one, especially on multi-part oven-style units. If that is the deciding factor, the table above points to the lower-effort options: the Instant Vortex Plus basket and the Ninja AG301 pot carry the strongest dishwasher-safe documentation in our group, confirmed by two sources each.
More appliance care: limescale is to kettles what baked-on grease is to air fryers. Our guide on how to descale an electric kettle covers the same soak-first approach.