Owners Flag 5 Issues With Air Fryers

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Few gadgets have hogged the countertop spotlight quite like the air fryer. It promises crunchy fries without oil, leftover pizza that doesn't rubberize, and full dinners in the amount of time it takes to set the table. For some of households, it delivers, but anyone who's used one for more than a few months knows that the honeymoon phase ends around the third time the basket needs a scrub.

Home cooks pay good money for these appliances, so they aren't shy about their problems. The five biggest issues owners flag with air fryers are baskets that hold less than the box suggests, fans that are louder than expected, grease that clings to every crevice, potentially unsafe nonstick coatings, and units that may break down badly enough to require a total recall.

None of this means you need to banish your machine to the garage (though the full list of air fryer disadvantages runs a bit longer than five). Most of these problems do have a workaround, and a few you can dodge entirely with a bit of pre-shopping research.

As far as air fryer capacity goes, the number on the box is more of a suggestion than a promise. Australian consumer group Choice found in tests that air fryer capacity is so often misleading that the outlet officially measures usable space by how many chicken nuggets fit in a single layer. Small baskets hold fewer than 15 nuggets, while extra-large ones fit more than 30. One Best Buy reviewer who bought a 10.6-quart fryer wasn't buying it, either; they guessed the real number was "more like 6.10 quarts."

That missing space matters because air fryers are funny about their elbow room. Pile in too much food and the hot air can't circulate; this means your fries will come out limp and steamed instead of crisp. A packed basket is also tough to shake, so the pieces stuck at the bottom never get their turn on top.

The fix here is just some good old-fashioned patience. Cook food in batches, bake in one single layer, and rotate for even cooking. Set a timer to shake the basket about every five minutes if the machine doesn't remind you to do so. Overloading is one of the classic mistakes everyone makes with air fryers, but luckily, it's also the easiest one to fix.

An air fryer is basically a tiny convection oven with a powerful fan that doesn't know how to whisper. For some owners, that's the biggest gripe of all. One user on ProductReview compared the "constant drone of the fan" to a vacuum cleaner, and a Best Buy shopper admitted to turning up their TV just to hear it over the kitchen appliance.

Some sound is completely normal, especially since the fan is the whole point. Where else would the air come from? What isn't normal is a rattling or grinding noise that wasn't there when you opened the box. A new noise like that can mean a part has come loose somewhere in the machine's interior, which is a job for the manufacturer's customer service department. And if the whole unit is suddenly louder than it used to be, a damaged fan or motor may mean the appliance is on its last legs.

Shoppers in the market for a quieter replacement have lots of options. Consumer Reports rates every air fryer it tests for noise and keeps a running list of the quietest performers. Several, like the Chefman RJ38-2T and the Cosori Lite CAF-LI211, are compact models with footprints under a square foot, which is good news for those with small kitchens.

Air fryers use far less oil than deep fryers, but that doesn't mean they stay clean. Fat drips off chicken thighs, crumbs tumble through those ridges at the bottom of the basket, and all of that bakes onto tough-to-reach surfaces. One owner wrote on ProductReview that scrubbing their air fryer's heating element takes about an hour and requires flipping the whole machine upside down. Put it off too long, though, and that baked-on grease starts to smoke, which the same user claimed "smokes the house out with nasty dirty oven smell."

Another user on the same site wrote that cleaning is "very time consuming and it never feels thoroughly clean." The dishwasher isn't much of a shortcut, either, since repeated runs can strip a nonstick finish surprisingly fast. Grabbing metal tools to chip off the gunk risks scratching it, too. Some foods make the problem worse, and bacon, in particular, can release enough fat to cause smoking in the basket.

The easiest solution depends on timing. A quick wipe-down right after dinner, while the drawer is still a little warm, keeps grease from hardening into the kind of crust that requires a deeper soak. Silicone liners promise fewer splatters, but there's a trade-off: The oil that would normally drip away pools under the food instead, and sogginess is the price.

Most air fryer baskets get their slick finish from a nonstick coating, many of which are made with PFAS, so-called "forever chemicals." The one used in cookware is PTFE, better known by the brand name Teflon. This fact has made plenty of owners uneasy, but so far, there's no clear, official answer on whether or not the tiny amounts that might reach your plate can do any harm.

Still, a damaged coating is bad news. One Best Buy reviewer wrote that they returned an earlier air fryer after its nonstick coating started flaking off. This was the right instinct because the smallest chipped bits can end up in food, especially at high heat. Metal utensils and scouring pads even speed up the damage. The safest move is to check the basket every so often and swap it out once the flaking shows up.

Fortunately, today's home cooks have more choices than ever before. Glass-basket air fryers have become trendy, and in Choice's testing, they were easier to clean than other models. Just read the fine print since these may still feature nonstick-coated crisper plates. Air fryers with ceramic-coated baskets are another route for those hoping to avoid Teflon altogether.

The scariest air fryer complaint is also the rarest, but it's worth knowing. One Best Buy reviewer wrote that "for no reason [the] top corner melted" on their dual-basket model. In 2023, Cosori recalled about 2 million air fryers in the U.S. after reports of units catching fire, melting, overheating, and smoking. The company logged 205 complaints, with 10 involving minor burns. The problem was traced back to a faulty wire connection. A year later, Best Buy recalled about 187,000 Insignia air fryers and air fryer ovens in the U.S. after reports of overheating, melting, and even some shattered glass.

These incidents don't mean every air fryer is a ticking time bomb. Still, it's smart to check your model against recall notices, especially if the machine was a gift or purchased secondhand. On most units, the model number is printed on a label on the bottom, so finding it takes a few seconds and could save you lots of trouble.

Everyday habits help, too. Keep the fryer away from the wall and don't let grease build up inside. If the machine ever throws sparks or starts smoking for no reason, unplug it and stop using it immediately. Those are clear air fryer warning signs that it's time to replace the appliance, no matter how many good years of hot wings it gave you.