Get a small oven-safe dish, put in 1 tablespoon of distilled vinegar and 1 tablespoon of lime juice, mix it up and place it in the air fryer basket. Set the temperature to 350-400 degrees, run the air fryer for 3 min and let it cool with the dish inside for another 15 minutes. The lime and vinegar will coat the inside and absorb any fumes. Wash the basket once more after this steam bath, and wipe the inside of the air fryer with a damp towel to remove any plastic fumes and residue.

Once you complete the above steps, you should have no plastic smell or taste when you start cooking in your new air fryer. We recommend washing your basket after every cooking session to prevent grease buildup and bacteria growth that could foul the foods and make you sick. Wipe down the inside of the air fryer with a damp towel after every cooking session as well. Last but not least, do the vinegar lime steam bath once a month to keep the air fryer clean and odor-free for life.

5. KEEP YOUR AIR FRYER CLEAN TO AVOID BAKED ON GREASE BUILD UP
As a follow up we recommend you keep your air fryer clean. We recommend you wash or wipe it down thoroughly after every use to avoid baked on grease build up which can be difficult to remove. Keeping your air fryer clean after each use is also sanitary and hygienic, you dont want old grease sitting in the basket accumulating nasty bacteria and mold growth. Keep it clean and keep your family safe and healthy. We put together a nice guide on how to get rid of baked on grease from an air fryer if you end up having that problem later down the road.

BONUS TIP
Here is a nifty trick for keeping even an odorless air fryer stay mess-free and clean while helping your basket's anti-stick coating last a whole lot longer. We use heavy-duty aluminum foil and cover the bottom of the basket, allowing all the extra grease, melted cheese and god knows what else drips off your food to be captured by the aluminum foil. We like to make our aluminum foil into a little tray with handles sticking out the sides so that it's easier to just lift the cooked food and the grease completely out of the basket. The aluminum protects the anti-stick coating from any mess and damage by utensils. Also, if you want to pour the juices back onto the food, well, it's all right there in the aluminum tray. Once you're done, just pitch the soiled aluminum and wipe down the basket with a clean damp towel, et-voila — mess-free air frying.

BONUS TIP
For better fully cooked food, especially to the core when cooking chicken breasts or steaks, a tip we have is to preheat your air fryer. This works great for crispier fries as well. Preheat the air fryer to the desired temperature and let it run empty for 5 min prior to inserting the food in the basket — that way, the internal temperature of the air fryer is already at the desired temperature. We tried it out once with our Uber Appliance Odorless Air Fryer and will not go back to just starting cold since it cooks the items faster and more fully. Chicken, steak and fish benefit from this — it allows the hot air to seal the juices inside, making the food juicer and more flavorful.

Overall, owning an air fryer is a major convenience due to its small size and huge cooking capabilities. Air fryers are great for small apartments and dorms, or on the road in an RV, when camping with access to electricity or while in a car with an inverter (think tailgating, fire up the air fryer for delicious wings, onion rings, fries and air fryer steaks woot woot!). There are a bazillion air fryer recipes out there, from healthy homemade chicken wings to perfectly crispy oil-free fries, delicious sweet brownies or soufflés and much much more. With all awesome things, there is some maintenance involved, and if you set up your air fryer right from the start, it will serve you well for a very long time.

LOOKING FOR AN ODOR-FREE AIR FRYER?
Check out our redesigned Uber Appliance Air Fryer XL. We did all the hard work for you so you don't have to. Our redesigned air fryer is ready-to-use and odor-free right out of the box!