Air Fryer Smells Like Plastic (How To Get Rid)

Heather Robbins
by Heather Robbins

Having an air fryer is an absolute blessing, as it allows you to cook your food quickly, with minimal assistance and supervision. You can bake, fry, or warm up pretty much anything that will fit in it! However, the downside is the nasty new plastic smell most of them emit. While it’s not dangerous, it sure is annoying. So, how do you get rid of it?

To get rid of the plastic smell in your air fryer, wash your air fryer thoroughly before the first use. Then season your fryer. If this does not work, you can use baking soda, vinegar, or charcoal to help get rid of the smell faster. Also, make sure you did not leave any plastic in the appliance.

The plastic smell of a new air fryer can be extremely annoying and somewhat nauseating. Below are some things you can do to get that smell out of it, so your house will be filled with delicious aromas of food instead!

How Do You Get The Plastic Smell Out Of An Air Fryer?

If you’ve noticed a foul odor in your air fryer that smells like hot plastic, use the solutions below to stop your air fryer from stinking up your home!

Wash The Air Fryer Before You Use It For The First Time

When you first unbox an electric appliance, it could appear glossy and clean, but you can never be sure of how it was handled during production.

So, use a sturdy dishwasher and a sponge to thoroughly wash your air fryer. Remove all the grime, grease, and invisible protective film that is covering the appliance with a scrubber. Before using the appliance, thoroughly clean all of its components, including the interior.

It’s a good idea to clean your air fryer after each use. It can prevent the growth of bacteria, dust, and oil. These things have the potential to alter the flavor of the food and make it unhealthy and also unsafe to eat.

Season The Air Fryer

You can get rid of the plastic smell by seasoning the air fryer from the inside out with olive oil or another cooking oil. Oil all of your air fryer’s pull-out racks, trays, and baskets before using it and then heat at the highest temperature (400F) for 10 minutes.

Repeat the procedure a few times after washing the racks and cleaning the interior. You will eliminate the unpleasant scent that some refer to as the “new air fryer smell.”

Tip: Avoid using can spray oil since it frequently contains soy lecithin, which is inappropriate for your air fryers’ non-stick coating.

Clean The Air Fryer With Kitchen Cleaner

On the market, there are also several safe and efficient kitchen cleaning products that are made for thorough cleaning. We advise using a small amount of regular dish soap on a damp microfiber cloth to start.

Your air fryer’s interior should be thoroughly cleaned before being rinsed with a fresh, wet cloth. Simply doing this ought to get rid of any dirt, unpleasant odors, or leftover burnt plastic. A liquid household cleanser with an ammonia base is another option.

In order to prevent contamination of your food, make sure to thoroughly rinse everything and then warm the air fryer.

Please keep in mind that the non-stick coating on your air fryer prevents you from using metal utensils to attempt to remove plastic pieces or burned-on food. Use a bristle brush or a non-abrasive scourer instead.

Look For Plastic

If there is still plastic in the fryer, there is no purpose in attempting to eliminate the plastic odor. Open the appliance and search for any plastic remnants inside. Remember to inspect the heating element in addition to the racks and lid.

Turn Your Air Fryer On While Empty

In general, the longer your air fryer smells like plastic, the more plastic it contains. The good news is that the stench will gradually go away.

The air fryer can also be left on for 20 to 40 minutes at its highest temperature (400-450F). Once you’ve done this several times, bingo! The odor won’t be present again. Notably, air fryers with more metal components have a milder aroma that does not last very long.

But when you do that, be sure to use the air fryer in the backyard or open the windows for ventilation. Otherwise, the smell of burning plastic may permeate your entire home. Additionally, it is not healthy to breathe air that contains hazardous plastic vapors.

Homemade Concoction

Among the greatest remedies for various cleaning issues around the house are vinegar and lime or lemon juice. Most households already have one of these all-natural cleaners. They are highly effective at removing stains and odors and contain no poisons.

Take an oven-safe dish and add a few teaspoons of lime juice, lemon juice, or vinegar to it to make one of these fragrant natural cleaning solutions.

If you like, you can combine all three. Combine this with the same amount of water. Put the dish in the air fryer and let it cook at 300-350 degrees Fahrenheit for around 3–5 minutes.

The remedy will begin to operate on the plastic fumes as it evaporates. Take a cloth and dunk it into the remaining solution once everything has cooled. To remove any residual vestiges of the plastic odor, wipe the inside of the air fryer.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is used for so many things. It has been employed for many years to thoroughly clean surfaces, appliances, and get rid of odors. Remove any parts that can be taken apart and wash them in the dishwasher first.

After that, clean the appliance’s interior using a mixture of baking soda and water. Use a gentle brush or cloth. When finished, wipe the paste away with a gentle, wet towel.

Aluminum Foil

Utilizing aluminum foil is another exciting tip you can utilize to prevent such odors from ever entering your air fryer in the first place. Remember to simply place the foil into the basket; otherwise, the airflow inside the device will be hampered.

To stop the foil from blowing onto the element, always make sure it is weighed down with food. Parchment paper is a great alternative to aluminum foil that won’t react with acidic foods.

Charcoal Can Remove The Plastic Odor

Another great idea is using charcoal to eliminate your air fryer’s plastic-like odor. For 24 hours, place the air fryer basket with the charcoal sticks inside.

The ability of charcoal to naturally absorb odors without the need for damaging chemicals. Therefore, using charcoal to cook in your air fryer will not be a headache, and the plastic-like smell will be eliminated.

Your air fryer could occasionally start performing strangely or shutting off by itself. Check out our comprehensive guide on how to fix an air fryer that keeps going off for solutions to such problems.

Why Does My Air Fryer Smell Like Burning Plastic?

The interior protective layer that covers practically every air fryer is the leading cause. This layer is subjected to high heat while cooking, burns off, and releases a plastic-like odor.

People who have used air fryers for a while know that after several batches of cooking, the air fryer does not smell like plastic. Even your vegetables cook without losing their ideal flavor until they are gone.

Can You Get An Air Fryer Without A Plastic Smell?

The greatest air fryer, the Dreo Air Fryer, doesn’t smell like plastic and is ready to use right out of the box. It features a slim profile, a small body, and a very alluring price. That way, you can save yourself the trouble of tackling the smell issue since there will not be one.

However, some folks adore their old air fryers and are unwilling to give them up, which is fine! Because after awhile, the smell will eventually go away. It just depends on how much patience you have.

Why Won’t The Plastic Smell In My Air Fryer Go Away?

Due to their tight turnaround times, manufacturers do not have time to continuously heat and cool plastic to eliminate its smell. Additionally, the break-in period for fans, heating elements, and other components is minimal.

Until everything is in its proper place, the heating element’s electric soldering and the bearings’ foul odors are both present. As a result, the unit takes some time to stop stinking.

Will My Food Be Safe Even If My Air Fryer Smells Like Plastic?

Although the fragrance is unpleasant, it does not affect your food taste. Therefore, it is not a problem, and the air fryer smell is gone after a few cooking sessions.

However, if you discovered that the smell is from a forgotten piece of plastic that’s melting, or a malfunction with the parts, do not eat any food that was cooked in the appliance.

How Long Does It Take For The Plastic Smell To Go Away In My Air Fryer?

Most of the time, the smell goes away after thoroughly washing all of the racks and trays that come with the air fryer.

Therefore, before using the air fryer for the first time, make sure to clean it. Rarely will you require several cooking sessions to completely get rid of the stench.

However, there are times when the smell might be stubborn and won’t go away for quite some time. If you use it every single day, it should not last longer than about 5 days. If you use it once a week, you can expect the smell to stay around until the 7th or 8th use.

Wrapping It Up

An air fryer is a useful and practical gadget that simplifies the process of preparing food. It’s typically the go-to appliance when you’re pressed for time but have lots of food to cook. It allows you to cut down on the time it takes to cook your food.

However, you should not consider letting the plastic smell get into your food that many both new and old air fryers emit. Because of this, we advise using these simple solutions to keep your air fryer ready for use and prevent foul odors from tainting your food.

This will make it so that your home is filled with the smell of your delicious food, rather than hot, melting plastic! After all, it’s one of the best things about cooking, especially with an air fryer.

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Heather Robbins
Heather Robbins

Heather is a passionate writer who loves anything DIY. Growing up, she learned everything from home repairs to design, and wants to share her tips with you. When she's not writing, she's usually hiking or searching for her next DIY project.

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