Air fryers were not an appliance I used in the kitchen regularly due to the hassle they brought when cleaning them.

My air fryer basket has lots of little holes that grease and stuck-on bits of food love to cling to.

Often, even with the use of a scrubbing brush, the baked-on bits of food will refuse to budge.

However, after trying multiple methods in search of an effortless way to clean my air fryer, I’ve found a method that actually works in five minutes.

What’s more, the two items needed for this cleaning tip were already hiding away in my kitchen cupboards – baking soda and washing-up liquid.

Having cooked peri peri style chicken in my air fryer the night before, the basket was incredibly greasy and had burnt bits of the chicken seasoning covering it.

To start off cleaning the air fryer basket I put the kettle on to boil and sprinkled on a decent amount of baking soda – just enough so the bottom was completely covered.

Next, I squirted on some washing-up liquid before adding the boiling water into the basket and watched the solution fizz.

Any brand of baking soda and washing-up liquid will do for this tip.

With the boiling water added in, I left the cleaning concoction to sit for five minutes.

After just one minute the water had already turned a murky brown shade and bits of grease started to float to the top.

After five minutes the colour of the water had darkened as washing-up liquid and baking soda had done its job.

Once the time was up, I rinsed out the dirty water, added more washing-up liquid to a sponge and wiped down the basket.

The grease and grime just slid off when wiping it off with the smooth side of the sponge so there was no need to scrub even the tiniest amount.

After wiping both parts of the basket down with the sponge, I gave them a rinse and dried them off with paper towels.

The air fryer was left spotless and didn’t have that greasy film left behind that it often does when it’s not cleaned properly.