Why Your Brand New Air Fryer Stinks And How You Can Fix It

So, you're a few years late, but you've finally done it: You bought an air fryer. Chances are, however, the first time you unwrapped it and set everything up, you may have noticed an unpleasant smell. It's a very sour whiff of plastic and chemical smells, and some folks have reported that they can even smell it in their food the first time they use the appliance. Thankfully, this is not a potential air fryer disaster that you need to avoid, and you'll find that it's extremely common across a number of different air fryer brands.

One big air fryer producer, Phillips, explained that the smell on its brand-new air fryers likely comes from the plastic in the main casing and drawers. Plus, the manufacturer coats the basket and pan in a non-stick chemical called PTFE, short for polytetrafluoroethylene (the material commonly associated with the brand name Teflon). 

PTFE heated to the temperatures an air fryer typically reaches is not dangerous, but it can still give off an unpleasant smell when first heated. Some air fryer manuals may warn you about the new plastic smell that will waft from your equipment, although most instruction manuals simply suggest the solution for clearing up the smell: Before you use it the first time, wipe down the air fryer and hand-wash any removable pieces with soapy water.

After cleaning the materials with soap, you should run the air fryer in a well-ventilated room — without any food inside — at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 10 minutes to cook away that smell. That "new air fryer" odor should be mostly or entirely cleared up after you're finished.

Though most air fryers have a maximum temperature of 400 degrees Fahrenheit, don't turn the knob higher if yours offers a bigger range. PTFE, like Teflon, is considered safe up until around 500 degrees Fahrenheit, when it really begins to burn and create fumes which are unsafe to inhale. You're right to be wary of that plastic smell on your air fryer, although it's not dangerous to you at lower temperatures.

As you use your air fryer more often, you might come across other smells that can be avoided by cleaning your air fryer the right way, which can come from burnt foods or leftover seasoning. Plastic smells later in your fryer's life could signal melting plastic, but that initial stink is no problem. It's just annoying: Air fried wings are impossible to screw up, but you still don't want a mild plastic smell overlaying the scent of buffalo sauce.