How To Clean Air Fryer Heating Element ? Check These 10 Things

Everyone loves exciting meals! Using a modern appliance like an air fryer to cook your food is even more sensational. Gadgets come with thousands of benefits. You can be sure that food has low fats and calories. There is no cooking with oil; if necessary, you will use fewer quantities.

Frequent use of your air fryer makes it dirty.

All the components, including the control panel, buttons, cord, and internal parts, get dirty. Your heating element also won’t be an exception. Grease and dirt build up on the heating coil. That’s due to the cooking combination at different temperatures.

Therefore, cleaning a dirty air fryer will serve a good deal in maintaining its shape and enhancing durability. It is also hygienically suitable for cooking with clean appliances. This article is a step-by-step procedure for cleaning the heating element.

Cleaning your Air Fryer heating element

Our processes are straightforward regarding air fryer clean. We ensure safety when cleaning your appliance. And that’s by using safe cleaners, suitable agents, and authentic procedures.

Detach the air fryer from the power source. You must unplug your appliance for your safety and other kitchen users. One potential risk is electric shocks, which can be fatal, especially if electrocution happens.
Allow the air fryer to cool down completely. This step is crucial as it prevents severe burns on your skin. The air fryer’s temperature can be up to 400 degrees F. That’s high enough to skin your hand! So, confirm that the appliance is not hot before you start deep cleaning.
Get out the removable parts. Your air fryer has accessories that aid the cooking process. The air fryer basket, rack, and pan allow you to cook food without a mess. Remove and soak the accessories in a basin. If they are dishwashable, toss them to prepare for stacking in a clean air fryer.
Depending on the model, let the air fryer rest on its top by turning it upside down. That way, you can see and reach the element tearlessly. Other models allow you to open the top cover to access the coil. But it will be in the interiors and has a fan on its side. For any model, the heating element remains at the top part of the appliance.
Using baking soda or a spray oven cleaner, spread the agent on the heating element, then let it lie on its side. When you leave for about 20-30 minutes, it will soak and allow easy cleaning.
Wipe the element using a sponge or soft clean cloth with warm water and dish soap. If it is heavy, scrub gently using a soft brush to avoid damaging or interfering with the heating element’s coating. The heating element is extra fragile. Any rough handling will dismantle the feature and leave you with extra replacement costs.
Return the air fryer to its normal position and place the basket tray and pan back. Power it up and run it at a low temperature while empty(with no food) to eject any food particles left while wiping and scrapping.
The heating up will also burn all the baking soda or spray oven cleaner residues. Wait for it to smoke until all the elements burn. You can unplug, re-wipe, and turn your oven to ensure that the chemicals do not contaminate your dishes.
Remove the basket, rack, and pan from the dishwasher. Wipe any residues and arrange them in your air fryer before storing them for your subsequent use.

Should You Clean The Heating Element In An Air Fryer?

It is always a good habit to clean your Air Fryer after use. Even without saying, hygiene is a good practice. It prevents many diseases, including diarrhea.

Cooking with a mucky appliance is also unsightly. If you are still wondering why you need to clean your air fryer, more so the heating element, check out the reasons below.

1. Maintenance Of The Appliance

No one wants to replace appliances very often. The process is not only engaging but costly. You will end up with a heap of dead machines in your store.

Disposing of them is also teary as you must abide by the laws. But you can prevent all these woes. Maintenance is the secret if you want your air fryer to last longer and always look new.

Clean your appliance at all times after use. It makes your work easier and saves your cooking time when you want to use it or clean it next time.

2. Prevent Stains

Long-term stains are unsightly. Also, they cause more havoc to your air fryer, especially the heating element. The extra layers of stubborn dirt dwindle its performance and can, eventually, cause a breakdown.

Cleaning stains is also teary. It requires high-grade commercial chemicals to rip off the stains. Also, scrapping your heating element can shatter it or damage the coating. Once the element coat comes out, the lifespan reduces and may lead to costly replacements of the entire appliance.

3. Limit Or Do Away With Burns.

After every cooking session, food residues remain. That includes the dry batter, grease, and other dirt. You will eventually forget without immediately cleaning the air fryer’s heating element. When you turn on your appliance in the next session, the residues will burn and cause smoking. The burning remains can also alter the taste of your food.

4. Ensure A Friendly Environment.

When food residues burn in the air fryer when air frying they produce smoke. Your kitchen will be full of smoke. That’s already a polluted and unfriendly environment! WHO cites smoke as one of the significant causes of lung diseases. So be careful with smoking appliances. Cooking in a clean and safe kitchen is not hygienic but also fun. S is possible when your air fryer is clean after each use.

5. Maintain And Retain Food Taste.

Everyone wants to enjoy the taste and smell of food. Smoke affects both taste and smell. When you subject residues and sticky grease to high temperatures, they produce smoke in an Air Fryer, which has a foul odor, thus affecting food taste and smell.

6. Health And Hygiene.

To avoid risks to yourself and your Air Fryer, ensure that your appliance is always clean after use. Crumbs and leftovers in your Air Fryer will promote burns and stains, making the air that circulates in its dirt. There will be no room and the urge to cook in a dirty and nasty smell environment.

Can Heating Elements Be Cleaned?

Cleaning of heating elements is a must for your appliance. You cannot clean your air fryer components and skip the heating element. Cleaning the feature assures you many benefits. On the flip, failure to clean your appliance’s heating elements can cost you heavily in terms of performance and maintenance. But let’s see what a dirty heating element can do.

Poor Performance.

When heating elements are dirty, that affects heat transmission. The dirt creates an extra layer that is not a heat conductor. This new layer slows the heat transfer process, and your heating element becomes irrelevant and ineffective. Your food will not cook with poor performance, so your miracle gadget will disappoint you.

Increase In Energy Consumption.

A dirty cooking element increases energy consumption. The extra layer of food debris causes the unit to struggle during heat production. Your unit loses energy while trying to heat the extra layer of the element. The element will have to consume high power to heat the gadget. To avoid such, clean your heating elements regularly.

High Costs.

Dirt accumulation on the heating element will require an expert to clean it. Therefore, you will spend a lot of money to pay the technician for cleaning duty. There is also a likelihood that you will need to replace the element and so devote more cash to purchases. Something that you would avoid by constantly cleaning after use.

Replacement Of Heating Element.

Failure to clean your heating element regularly leads to corrosion. With corrosion, the component may fail to function thoroughly. And so the only choice is to replace the heating element. Clean your appliance often to prevent unnecessary cleaning and replacement process.

Noise

When heating elements are dirty and do not function properly, they are likely to make noise. The unpleasant noise disturbs your household, guests, and neighbors. A humming appliance is not smooth to operate.

Read more:

How Do You Remove Burnt Food From A Heating Element?

Removing burnt food from a heating element prevents a terrible smell in your kitchen. The smoke and explosion aren’t pleasant. So you may have to rush to get the food from the basket. But there are more spills on the element.

How can you clean the mess without burning or damaging your appliance? Note that the component is far inside your air fryer. Without the proper steps, the process can be hazardous. While in haste, you can burn yourself. Take note of the steps below, and you will be ready.

Ensure that your heating element cools completely. Disconnect the cooker from the power source, and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes. Confirm that it is cold to touch for the sake of your safety.
Access the heating element. As we said, it is on the top chamber of your air fryer. There are many features, so you need to follow the proper process to prevent more damage. Depending on your user manual, get the heater from the appliance by unplugging the prongs. If you are clueless, stop the process and get help from a tech.
Wipe the heating element to remove the food residues using a sponge, soap, and warm water. Take precautions not to insert the heating element into water.
Please use baking soda or a recommended spray oven cleaner to remove stains. Use a wet cloth to wipe the element with baking soda, and allow leave for about 30 minutes to soak. Then scrub using a soft brush to remove the stains. The scrubbing should be gentle so as not to damage the element.
Let the element dry after rinsing with baking soda and ensuring it is clean. Clean the places where the heating element rests before returning it.
Reinstall the element by returning the prongs to their place. Be careful not to disfigure or bend them. They can damage easily and not function.
Have a cleaning routine to maintain them and avoid sticking spills and food remains. By doing this, you will save yourself considerable time and prevent burns.

What Happens If You Spray Oven Cleaner On The Heating Element?

Cleaning a heating element isn’t a leisurely walk in the park. First, you will find out that your air fryer’s heater is not as solid as it appears. It is brittle and can break with the mildest scrubbing.

After knowing this, you might resolve to use a spray oven cleaner. But is it safe for your heating element? What happens when you use any spray oven cleaner on the unit? How often can you use the cleaner on your heater? Read on and get the answers to all your queries!

Your heating element is susceptible to spills and splatters from cooking dishes. The cleaning process isn’t easy due to the fragility of the unit. So you will need a degreaser to absorb and clean off the dirt without scrubbing.

When spraying the degreaser, you need to wipe it sufficiently but gently. If you do not wipe the cleaner off, it will smoke when you power up your oven. The smoke burns off the degreaser elements.

Don’t let the smoke scare you! All you need is to let the smoke off. And you do this by;

If the ingredients are ready, open the drawer and remove your food from the tray.
Close the drawer and put on the air fryer.
Let it smoke until all the elements in the degreaser burn. The oven will stop smoking and smell the cleaner fragrance.
Switch it off and allow the oven to cool down.
Wipe the element again using a damp cloth and turn on the ven.
If there is no smoking, then your appliance is ready for use.

Important Tips:

Clean spills and splatters as soon as they happen to avoid overuse of spray oven cleaners.
Spray oven cleaners are safe for your air fryer heating element. Besides smoking when you put your oven on, cleaners do not damage heating elements.
Once a month or fortnightly is okay for deep cleaning your heating element.

Can You Replace The Heating Element In An Air Fryer?

The element in your air fryer is responsible for heating air. The hot air circulates over your food and cooks it to your liking. With the help of the fan, the hot air circulates consistently hence the crispy results.

As we have stated earlier, your appliance’s heating element is brittle. In other words, all heating elements are not as rigid as you see them. The coil breaks down due to rough handling. Fortunately, it is replaceable.

If your air fryer stays cold several minutes after turning it on, the heater is faulty. There is no repair for a dead unit. But it is also costly to replace the entire air fryer. So call your air fryer helpline desk for a replacement. They will probably send you to their accredited dealer near you or ask you for reshipping to their factory.

Even as you plan to reship your air fryer or visit a repair service center, you need to know what causes your heating element to break.

Have a look;

Scrubbing

You may find it easy to scrub spills on your heating element when doing a deep cleaning. That causes extensive damage to the fragile feature. Avoid scrubbing and use a quality spray oven cleaner to absorb the dirt. That makes the muck come out by wiping.

Irregular Voltage

A sudden drop or rise in voltage can cause your air fryer’s heating element to burn out. That happens at all times when there is a surge. And it is partly your power provider’s fault. Your power line may be having a spike in electrical current.

Our electrical appliances will shut off permanently without a surge guard. Some, like your air fryer heater, will experience a blowout. Power spikes are bound to happen. And even if it is your power provider’s fault, you are responsible for installing surge guards in your home. That way, you can protect your appliances from spikes.

Short Circuit

Short circuits damage all electrical appliances. The reason varies from using the wrong wire gauge to poor connection. If a wire slips off the heater’s terminal will stop the device from working or blow it off.

Thermostat

The thermostat regulates when the heating element produces heat. Your unit will heat up depending on the temperature level that you set. The thermostat has a high-limit switch to shut off the element’s electric current. That happens when the temperature exceeds normal.

Also, the thermostat has an automatic control that restores the power flow. The results can be disastrous when it fails, like the appliance or its heater blowing up.

Dirt Buildup

When the heater has a dirt buildup, it has to perform harder to produce more heat. Eventually, it burns out if you do not clean the spills. To prevent the extra layers of dirt, you must clean your air fryer heater often. Monthly or fortnightly deep cleaning is enough to keep the heater clean. Use the right cleaning agent, like a spray oven degreaser and a soft cloth for wiping.

Where is the heating element in an air fryer?

Air fryers do not have an exposed heating element. At least, not like the water heater element! It comes on the casing on the topmost part of your air fryer. Usually, it has a fan next to it to enable heat circulation on the cooking dish.

You must open the case above the cooking chamber to access the element. You should find it easy to open by inserting a butternut knife or a screwdriver. Lift it and watch the cover come out effortlessly.

Once you access the heating element, the spatters and grease will shock you! It is because perforations on the internal wall separate the guts and the cooking chamber. The holes allow the heat to gush into the food from above.

Can You Put Oven Cleaner On Heating Element?

You can put an oven cleaner on a heating element. It is safe, but you must wipe off all the chemicals to prevent contaminating your food. A heating element with traces of oven cleaner smokes and is smelly.

How do I fix my air fryer that is not heating?

Before you get the tips on fixing an air fryer that is not heating, you need to determine the cause. Air fryer heating hitches are a composition of several features failing. Check here;

Temperature Setting

You can adjust the temperature setting manually on your air fryer. When dialing, be keen to key in the digits correctly. Missing out on a number can lead to a low setting that won’t heat your air fryer.

For example, if you were setting up 300 F and missing a zero, that would be 30 F. At least, you will wait for ages for the gadget to heat and cook. No air fryer won’t heat up at that low setup.

How to fix

Be sure about the digits. Read the menu keenly and dial in the right temperature. Never confuse Celcius degrees with Fahrenheit degrees. And vice versa.

Time Setting

Like the temperature setting, the time dials can mess up your appliance’s heating process. Dialing requires accuracy too. A few minutes or seconds settings will not allow your air fryer to heat. Some users forget that after the preheat (which usually takes 3 minutes), they should dial the menu’s time.

How to fix

After preheating, dial the right temperature for your dish—also, key in the temperature that matches your menu.

The Start Button

Depending on your air fryer model instructions, the start button is essential to throw the appliance into operation. Mostly, the press comes after selecting the menu or keying in the temperature/time. If you do not press the button, heating won’t take place.

How to fix

Follow your appliance’s proper turning-on procedure. That way, you don’t omit the steps. When you press your start button, your device will begin to work. The fan icon will blink to show that it’s working, and the timer will continue with its countdown.

No Power

An electrical heating unit with no power won’t function. The power supply is one of the pointers to your air fryer, not heating. It could also mean there is power, but the voltage is too low to operate your air fryer. Whichever the cause, it isn’t your fault.

First, you must check with your electrician what is causing a low voltage. It is possible that your circuitry is experiencing leakage or the problem is external. A low or high voltage in your home is hazardous. Let the experts check and regulate it for you.

In a case of an absolute blackout, you have no option. Wait for the power to come back and heat your appliance. If you experience blackouts too often in your home, it’s time to consider a solar backup. It is a costly installment but solves your power inconveniences.

How to fix

This error has limited methods to fix. As we touched base, call the experts to resolve voltage or circuitry errors. Meanwhile, wait for your supplier to reconnect you back. It can help to pay your bills on time to overcome disappointments.

Blown Fuse

A fuse on the plug is tiny but a super powerful unit. It regulates what your power supplier feeds your appliance. Sometimes it might be a high voltage than your equipment can use. For that matter, Mr. fuse will take over and regulate it for you.

If you wonder what happens when the guy blows off, your equipment will shut off. No electric current will flow past a blown fuse. And that’s why your air fryer is not heating and cooking. How to fix the hitch? Check below!

How to fix

Examine the plug and identify the damaged fuse. If the unit isn’t in perfect condition, it will have soot and be brown to signify burnt components. Exchange with a new fuse to get the heater working.

Blown Thermostat

Like the fuse, the thermostat is also a heat regulator. It controls the heat that comes from the heat. And when the unit dies, the heater can’t function. That is why the appliance is cold.

How to fix

Unless you have loose terminals (you can tighten those), a blown thermostat remedy is a replacement. Unluckily, you must open the cover that secures the thermostat, wires, and other components. Access the unit, test it, and remove it if it is dead.

Replace with a new thermostat. Clueless? Follow your model’s user manual or call an expert to fix your air fryer’s thermostat.

Faulty Outlet

A cold air fryer could be due to a faulty outlet! The power isn’t going through, so you think the plug, fuse, or appliance is defective. You can prove that with a multimeter. But that’s not always an easy gadget to have! Bet before that, have a look at how you can fix a faulty outlet;

How to fix

First, test the outlet with a multimeter (if you have it) to determine its continuity. If that’s still jargon, forget about it. Shift your air fryer to another socket and watch it heat up!

Broken Cord

Your cord may not be broken but have a twist or a bend. Whatever it is, power can’t get through into your heater. Overuse and misuse can cost the wires to bend and break. When the cord is in that condition, you have limited options below.

How to fix

Replace the worn-out cord to ensure a complete circuit. Leaking electric currents are dangerous as they can cause electrocution.

Loose Terminals

Though we handled the part on the faulty socket and lack of power in your appliance, we have checked the terminals. These are the ends that attach to the wiring system. When lost, the heating element has electric terminals that won’t let power into the component.

How to fix

Examine the wiring in your device. The element’s terminals should not be lost or detached. Fix them back to allow continuity.

Dirty Heating Element

An extra layer of dirt on your heating element will cause low performance. The coating lengthens the heating process hence low heat production.

How to fix

Clean your heating element to peel off the layer that is blocking performance.

Open Tray

When the tray is open, the fan, heater, display, thermostat, and other functions won’t start. The reason is simple: safety. Air fryers cook at high temperatures that can burn you and your home.

How to fix

Close the tray to start the air fryer. The idea of cooking with an open tray doesn’t work with air fryers. You must close it so that the turning-on process can begin.

Blown Heating Element

You will rush to fix the element when your air fryer isn’t heating. Only do so if you are sure it is the cause of a cold oven. We have many reasons for an air fryer that won’t heat up. So before you begin accessing the heating element, check all the possibilities.

How to fix

The only fix for a blown heating element remains a replacement. This measure should be the last to undertake. The procedure is both time-consuming and expensive.

First, you must order a matching heating element from reliable sources. If you aren’t sure of the procedure, get an expert to do it for you. Or, call your model’s helpline for a recommendation.

Does an air fryer have an open heating coil?

An air fryer has an open heating coil in a removable lid. The positioning is on the roof of the cooking chamber, near enough to your ingredients. Also, this position allows food to cook quicker, but with the help of a fan.

This top-down style facilitates more heat concentration, which cooks meals faster. The fan is adjacent, whereas the heating element sits on top of the cooker. Its purpose is to blow the heat that comes from the heater.

If you want to replace the heating coil, you must follow our guides or read your user manual. The heater is deeper in the guts and will require you to open several screws.