We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-22 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
In my opinion the best pick for most people cleaning an air fryer is Easy Off Fume Free Oven — it's the one product here that dissolves baked-on grease without fumes and without gloves, which is exactly what an air fryer drawer needs after a messy cook.
how to clean air fryer at a Glance
• Easy Off Fume Free Oven — best for the actual interior of an air fryer drawer and heating area; pick this if you want a spray-on, wipe-off cleaner that lifts baked-on grease without harsh fumes or gloves.
• AKSDTH 2 — best for stopping the mess before it happens; pick this if you want a dishwasher-safe silicone pot that catches grease in 3–5 quart air fryers so the basket barely needs washing.
• Carbona Oven Rack & — best for racks, grates and the wire accessories that don't fit a spray-and-wipe routine; pick this if you want a bag-and-soak kit that does the work over eight hours with no scrubbing.
This is a cold-oven cleaner in a 24-fluid-ounce can, built around a fume-free formula. That phrase matters more than it sounds. Most heavy-duty oven cleaners rely on lye and produce fumes that make you open every window and reach for rubber gloves. Easy Off's version is designed so you don't need gloves at all, and the brand states it's made without lye and without harsh fumes.
For air fryer cleaning, that's the whole point. The drawer, the crisper plate and the interior walls collect a thin, sticky film of oil that regular dish soap smears around rather than removes. The method here is spray, wait, wipe. The formula is meant to penetrate baked-on food and grease so you don't scrub, which is the difference between a two-minute job and a twenty-minute one at the sink.
It's also positioned for everyday use, not just quarterly deep cleans. That fits how air fryers actually get used — small, frequent cooks that leave light residue rather than one giant burnt-on disaster. The 24-ounce pro size gives you more cleans per can, which suits anyone running the air fryer several times a week or cleaning a second oven alongside it.
The trade-off is what it isn't. This is a spray cleaner for oven and air fryer interiors, not a soak tank, so the wire racks and any awkwardly shaped accessories still need a different approach. It's also a chemical cleaner — fume-free and glove-free, but you're still spraying a cleaning product into a cooking appliance, so a thorough rinse and wipe-down afterward is part of the routine. In my opinion it earns the top spot because it addresses the hardest part of the job with the least effort.
AKSDTH 2
The AKSDTH 2-pack is a pair of reusable silicone pot liners shaped to drop into round air fryer baskets. The listed fit covers 3, 4, 4.2, 4.5, 4.8 and 5 quart air fryers, with an 8-inch top diameter narrowing to 6.75 inches at the base. You get two liners, one brown and one black.
The idea is that you stop cleaning the basket at all. Food and oil land in the silicone pot instead, and the pot goes in the dishwasher. If your reason for air frying less often is the cleanup, this removes that friction entirely. The material is food-grade silicone, BPA-free, non-stick and rated heat resistant up to 450°F, so it doesn't burn the way parchment can.
The trade-off is fit and airflow. Round liners suit round baskets; if you own a square or dual-drawer air fryer, the shape won't match and you'll lose usable cooking area. Because the liner sits inside the basket, it also slightly reduces the volume you can cook in. And while it keeps the basket clean, it doesn't clean anything — it's prevention, not cure, so you'll still want a spray cleaner for the heating element and interior walls over time.
This is a 3-pack of square silicone liners, each 7.5 by 7.5 inches and 2 millimeters thick. The square shape is the headline difference from the round pot liners — it's built for square-basket air fryers, and the brand states these fit 4-quart air fryers and larger, plus microwaves and convection ovens.
The perforated design is what separates a good liner from a bad one. Holes let air move through the liner rather than around it, so heat distributes evenly and food crisps instead of steaming on one side. The non-stick surface stops food welding itself to the bottom of the basket, which is the specific annoyance that makes people dread cleaning an air fryer in the first place.
Two details worth noting. First, the 2mm thickness — these are meant to be durable and cover the whole basket floor, not flimsy sheets that curl at the edges. Second, they can be cut with scissors, so if your basket isn't exactly 7.5 inches square, sizing isn't a dealbreaker. The set also includes a recipe ebook and a printable cheat sheet, which is a nice extra if you're still building up a rotation of things to cook.
The trade-off is that square liners have the same limitation as round ones: they protect the basket, they don't clean the appliance. You're also committing to hand-fitting or trimming if your basket dimensions are unusual. And because they're perforated rather than solid, very saucy or batter-heavy foods will still drip through to the basket below — that's the price of good airflow, and it's a trade I'd take for crispier results.
This is a different kind of product: a complete kit rather than a spray. Inside the box you get a 16.8-fluid-ounce bottle of cleaning solution, an extra-large bag and a pair of gloves. The formula is unscented, fragrance-free and made with baking soda, and it's designed to eliminate thick grease, grime and baked-on food with no scrubbing.
The method is three steps: bag, coat, rinse. Cold racks go in the bag, the entire bottle gets poured in, you seal it and gently shake to coat everything. Then you leave it for eight hours and rinse with water. No scrubbing. You can stack two oven racks in the bag at once and swish to coat them evenly.
So why does this belong in a guide about cleaning an air fryer? Because air fryer wire racks, skewers, grill pans and any accessory with tight corners are miserable to clean by hand, and a spray-and-wipe product doesn't reach into them. A long soak does. If you also use a grill or a regular oven, this kit covers those grates with the same process, which makes it genuinely useful rather than single-purpose.
The trade-off is time. Eight hours of soaking is an overnight job, not a "dinner's over, let's clean up" job, and it requires you to plan ahead and have counter or sink space free while it sits. It's also unscented by design — good if fragrances bother you, but it means no fresh-smell payoff at the end. I'd treat this as the deep-clean companion to a spray cleaner, not a replacement for one.
We compared the published specs and features of each product — formula type, materials, heat resistance, dimensions, included accessories and the actual cleaning method each one requires. The ranking is our independent editorial opinion, based on which product solves the messiest part of air fryer cleanup with the least effort for the most people. No brand paid for placement, and no product here was supplied or endorsed by a manufacturer.
how to clean air fryer
Start by unplugging it and letting it cool completely. Remove the basket, drawer and any crisper plate, then wash those parts with warm soapy water or place them in the dishwasher if the manufacturer allows it. For the interior and the baked-on grease on the drawer, a fume-free spray cleaner like Easy Off is designed to be sprayed on, left to work, then wiped away without scrubbing.
If you use a silicone liner, the basket often just needs a quick rinse. Without one, soak the basket in warm soapy water to soften residue, then wipe with a soft sponge — abrasive pads can damage non-stick coatings. The AKSDTH and Linda's Essentials liners are both dishwasher safe, which is the low-effort route: the liner takes the mess and the basket stays largely clean.
how to clean air fryer heating element
Unplug the unit and let it cool fully before touching anything near the top. The heating element sits above the basket, so grease can splatter up onto it over time. Wipe it gently with a soft, damp cloth once it's cold — never submerge the appliance or spray liquid directly into the housing. A fume-free cleaner applied to a cloth rather than sprayed into the unit is the safer approach.
how to clean air fryer with baking soda
Baking soda works as a mild abrasive and a deodorizer. Mix it with a little water into a paste, apply it to stained or greasy spots on removable parts, let it sit, then wipe and rinse thoroughly. For heavier baked-on build-up, the Carbona kit is built around a baking soda-based formula and a bag-and-soak method that does the work over eight hours with no scrubbing.
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See also: how to clean air fryer basket, how does an air fryer work, AODPWEN 2 vs Onader Air Fryer Basket