If you’re diligent with cleaning your air fryer, then you won’t need to worry about making it look brand new. But if you have to put some elbow grease into removing stubborn grease and buildup on the basket, then you might want to listen to this trick.
Sara Allan is a professional cleaner based in Sydney and knows a thing or two about how to get household items and appliances looking great. She told Yahoo Lifestyle there’s an item you can grab at the supermarket that will make light work on your air fryer trays.
“Citric acid was a product I had used personally for many years on a range of items and surfaces in my home, as I wanted to reduce the amount of chemicals that my family and I are exposed too as well,” the Housekeeping Heroes boss said.
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“This product liquifies and breaks down even the thickest of buildups like limescale, rust, heavy grease and oil, without exposing the user to toxic chemicals.
“It’s an amazing natural de-scaler compared to heavy toxic varieties in supermarkets, and another advantage is it is so cheap.”
If you wanted to pick up a bottle of citric acid from your local Coles or Woolworths, it would only set you back between $3 to $5.
Do you have a story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com
Sara has repetitive strain injury, which is a term for people who develop pain caused by repeated movements of particular body parts.
As you can imagine, this could be quite common in the cleaning industry as workers do the same motions for hours a day.
Due to this condition, she told Yahoo Lifestyle that she’s always on the hunt for options that reduce the need for manual scrubbing.
That’s why she was thrilled when she found out how effective citric acid was at cleaning something like an air fryer tray.
“You will quickly see the product actively start to work within seconds and you will only need 5 to 15 minutes for light buildups and 30 to. 60mins for heavier ones,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.
To clean the air fryer basket, she said all you need is to fill your sink with some hot water and add four tablespoons of the citric acid. Place the basket into the sink and make sure it’s fully submerged, and it should be clean in less than 11 minutes.
No scrubbing, no elbow grease, no hard work.
She did this recently and the only thing she had to do after letting the basket soak was to clean it off with a towel and it looked almost new.
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What you should and shouldn’t use citric acid for
But it’s not just air fryer baskets that citric acid can work through.
Sara revealed she has used the product on a bunch of other household cleaning areas:
Laundry garments like bedding and clothes
Descaling appliances like coffee machines, pots and pans, kettles, and baking dishes
But the Sydney cleaner warned there are some parts of the house that should absolutely not interact with citric acid:
Copper, brass and aluminium soft metals
Matte or high gloss cabinetry
She said the acid can strip certain finishes or coatings on a surface and can cause corrosion.
Aussies were thrilled to discover they could finally get their air fryer looking presentable with such a cheap product that required very little work.
“The air fryer has been my frustration. Not any more!” wrote one person.
“Omg what doesn’t citric acid clean?! My mind is blown,” added another.
“The result is incredible,” said a third.
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