Welcome back air fryer enthusiasts! High Five! The Air Fryer Bro is back! Hopefully, back to answer more common questions about air fryers! Imagine this! You go to cook some yummy air fried food and pull out the basket from your shiny new toy. And (unfortunately) you gasp in horror as you notice that something is peeling off of your air fryer basket!! Why is this happening? What to do? We hope to answer this today! Come along for the ride!
So, Why is my air fryer basket peeling already? This is a problem which I often see exclusively from the air fryer basket, and concerns the non stick coating that the manufacturers have put on this basket. You might see this non stick coating flaking off of the basket due to heavy use or sometimes due to a poor choice of material from the air fryer manufacturer. With a combination of good research into the air fryer you buy and ‘kid gloves’ when cleaning it, you should lessen the possibility of air fryer peeling!
With that quick answer out of the way, let’s take a deeper dive into the details of what this problem is and how to avoid it!
Should I be worried?
After noticing your air fryer’s basket peeling in this way, most people will start worrying about their health. What if some of these flakes get in my food and I eat them accidentally, will it start to poison me in some way? Should I be concerned about my air fryer being so flaky!!
To put it into simple terms, I am sure that nobody wants a peeling air fryer, whether it is for health or aesthetic reasons! In this article, we will start by giving some advice about finding out how safe the materials are in your air fryer, followed by discussion on why air fryers peel and what you can do to prevent this.
Disclaimer!! I am not a doctor or scientist! In fact, I am not qualified to answer this question properly from a medical or technical point of view. Please consult such a professional if you are truly worried. I am simply speaking from my experience with air fryers!
Is my air fryer’s non-stick coating safe?
Good Housekeeping were able to talk to someone more qualified, with a PHD none the less! His name was Paul Honigfort, and he worked for the food and drug administration. He said if it is just a small flake then it would probably just pass through your system without being absorbed!
Outside of simply eating flaking non-stick coating, some people are worried about them giving off unwanted chemicals! In the very same Good Housekeeping article, they also talked about non-stick surfaces generally being safe as long as they are not overheated. As non-stick surfaces in air fryers are in a controlled environment temperature wise, this is unlikely to happen. Good to know. I would recommend you to read that article if you want the finer details 🙂
Regarding air fryer material safety, my bro advice would be as follows:
1. Only buy your air fryer from a reputable brand, one that you should be able to trust with sourcing high quality materials for their air fryers! Then when the company says all of the materials inside their air fryer are food safe and of high quality, you know to trust them.
2. Check the manual of your air fryer and find out if all of the materials the air fryer is made out of are food safe (meaning you can ingest it with no problems). If you lost the physical manual, you should find it with a simple Google search, or even by refering to the air fryer’s Amazon listing! Look for FDA approved non-stick coatings, and if you want to be really safe those without polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE – better known as Teflon) or bisphenol (BPA).
3. If you still don’t know whether your air fryer flakes are safe or not, in this day and age it is really easy to find this information out online or contact the company through email or social media to find out. For example, Philips have THIS answer on their website on the subject. Tweeting a quick question to the company would also get you an answer in double quick time! In this situation, social media is a good thing!!
You may think I am crazy talking about whether non stick flakes are safe to ingest, a lot of you will probably just want to get your hands on a new air fryer or a new basket all together. But, trust me, there will be people out there that would consider continuing with a flaky air fryer. Or maybe the flaking is happening somewhere that is not in direct contact with food, but still inside the cooking compartment. If your non stick coating is food safe, you may consider soldiering on with it!
If you are not comfortable with having a flaky air fryer basket, unless it is still under warranty and can be replaced for free, your only real option is to buy a new (and hopefully non flaky) one!
Do ALL air fryer baskets peel?
Now that we know what the problem is, you may be looking at your shiny new air fryer and wondering what might happen to it in the future! Wondering whether it is something all air fryers are prone to.
I would liken this situation to buying and owning non-stick frying pans. I have bought many non stick frying pans over the years, and some have worked out better than others. Sometimes, you feel the non stick coating will last forever. Other times you feel it is paper thin and will get worn out with the slightest rub from a wooden spoon! Any non stick surface is prone to quality issues, and an air fryer basket is no different.
In this section of the article, as well as talking about my own experiences, I also want to talk about the air fryers that I have seen mentioned a lot when it comes to air fryer peeling! Please bear in mind, it is literally impossible for me to mention ALL air fryers with this problem. So, I would always recommend that you do your own due diligence and research any air fryer product before you buy it. Simply, look at the consumer reviews and see if a lot of people are complaining about having the peeling problem. Or join a Facebook air fryer group and ask the question.
I recently did an article talking about some major air fryer brands, which goes over quality issues. I called it air fryer brands 101, and this could be a starting point of your research!
Personally, I have owned two air fryers in my life (something you will be sick of reading if you are a regular to this website!!), a generic Chinese branded one and more recently a Philips model.
To be honest, I can’t even remember the brand of my generic Chinese air fryer, it has already been erased from my memory. The thing wasn’t awful by any means, but owning the Philips air fryer has totally changed my perspective on the first model I owned.
And, guess what, my generic Chinese air fryer did suffer from this basket peeling problem. I started to notice this after about a year of heavy use. I don’t know about you, but if you end up with a flaky air fryer basket, the last place you want it to come from is the factory of a generic Chinese brand. I wouldn’t have thought they have the best quality and/or safety control when it comes to picking materials for their products.
My Philips air fryer is about 2 years old (at the time of writing), and I can wholeheartedly say that so far the peeling hasn’t been an issue for me at all. The basket is still as good as new, as is the additional grill pan accessory that we purchased to go with it. See my low rent photos below as evidence!!
So, to start the selection process, don’t buy a generic air fryer. Buy a known brand that has good quality.
In the air fryer circles that I mix in (no really, I do!!), the biggest offender I have heard of is the Power Fryer XL. Numerous times, this is the name I hear when people talk about the basket peeling. These people usually accuse the Power Fryer of being “made famous” by TV shopping and infomercials, and not having the quality to back that up.
Of course, this could just be the case in these particular air fryer groups, so do your own research! But, from what I have heard it might be an idea to steer clear of this brand. The last thing us air fryer geeks want is a flaky basket!
What can we do about this peeling?
After discovering this problem (or at least being aware that the problem exists), most air fryer users will be wondering what they can do to prevent this from happening.
The best thing to say, is to treat it like a non stick pan, and a delicate one at that!. I am sure many people have used non stick pans and know the drill!
Don’t scratch the non stick surface with any metal utensils or scrub it with anything overly harsh. That means no crazy metal scrubbing pads!! It works exactly the same with an air fryer.
What I do with my air fryer, is I will always soak my air fryer after use with boiling water and a little washing up liquid. Then, after about 15 minutes (making sure the water is still hot), I will be able to easily clean the air fryer without any intensive scrubbing. Just make sure not to let the water go cold, as it will be much harder at this point. Of course, this is only possible for an air fryer with a removable cooking compartment.
You could also try soaking your air fryer’s basket in a vinegar solution before washing. You should find that any baked on mess will come off after that!
It might also be an idea to use a good non-stick oil or similar product to prevent any food from sticking to your air fryer basket. That would mean you never have to scrub it and the problem should never arise.
For me, personally, I would recommend heating up your air fryer basket and then rubbing some kind of avocado oil on it to prevent food sticking. Either that, or just use some parchment paper instead. You may find other oils that work, but just watch out for smoking! Only use pure oil on your air fryer. Some of the oil sprays have additives in them that can actually harm your air fryer’s non stick coating. We have an article here talking about good oil to use in an air fryer!
To Wrap Up…..
As always, thank you for taking the time to read some bro advice on another topical issue with air fryers.
As I always say, I am an air fryer geek, rather than an expert. If you have any of your own advice when it comes to preventing or dealing with a flaking air fryer basket, please feel free to add a comment to the section below this article.
Also, we want to hear from you if you have had this specific problem with your air fryer? What brand was it and how bad was the problem? What did you do?
I am always looking for new ideas and inspiration when it comes to my beloved air fryer!
Air Fryer Bro over and out!!
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My dash air fryer basket peeled after the 2nd use. Had to return it but i want to try another brand.
Hi There,
Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately, I have heard this so many times 🙁 This is why I always talk about trying to find an air fryer of higher quality. Hope you find it with the next one 🙂
My power XL air fryer is peeling so I’m shopping for a higher quality air fryer. I love cooking with the air fryer but don’t want to deal with this issue. Phillips brand?
Honestly, the ultimate thing you can do to totally avoid peeling is choose an air fryer oven with no non-stick surfaces inside. Then you only have to worry about these on baking trays etc. which are easier and cheaper to replace. Otherwise, yes buy a good quality air fryer such as Philips and treat it well 🙂 Think about non-stick frying pans….even the best ones will degrade eventually 🙂 So any air fryer with non stick surfaces will eventually degrade but the better quality ones will last longer. Hope this helps!!
I bought one and used it three times and the third time only cooking a whole chicken twice and wings once. It is peeling in 3 places and I have not scrubbed with anything.
Hi Darlene. Which brand did you buy, I hope you were able to get a refund or a replacement. There are too many air fryers with this problem!!
After 2 years my Nuwave air fryer is peeling. The company rep told me they don’t warrant the paint. What????? This is so bad!!!!!
Hi there Lynda, thanks for your comment. I am afraid peeling is the number one issue on a lot of air fryers. Hopefully, over time they will get better. I wish you better luck with your next air fryer. I recently did an article on here talking about the main air fryer brands. You might want to read that or just do a lot of your own research before you buy another air fryer 🙂
Bought a Best Choice Products air fryer and just today the cooking compartment flaked badly. The basket is fine. Just emailed company to see if I can get a replacement or replacement part.
Hi Donna. Sorry to hear about your flaking issue and I hope that you get it covered by the warranty. At least it is not the main area where your food touches, but still not ideal. Especially as the air blowing around an air fryer might move any flakes around and onto your food!! Is your air fryer old?
Our GoWise air fryer was a Christmas 2018 gift that started flaking about 6 months after we’d had it. Of course, the warranty is only 60 days. We love our air fryer and use it daily. Since the flaking is only on the bottom, will using parchment (with holes) keep the flakes from our food?
Hi Anna. It seems GoWise often have these peeling issues, and it is especially annoying you had this problem after only 6 months! It sounds like your solution is a good way to not have to fork out for a new air fryer!
Have the GoWiseUSA replacement basket & catch pan purchased replace twice , peeling again ,I give up checking into different brand .Cosri 5.8 at Premium Air Fryer,Was suggested but in one of their reviews one person said flaked after 5 mos. ?? Truthfully I think they all eventually will flake so do I ignore and eat it or put my wings back in the oil and enjoy!
Thats a lot of GoWise air fryer baskets you have flaked through Shirley. With proper care, there are brands that should be better. For example, I have had my own Philips air fryer for several years, with very little peeling.
I have had 3 air fryer brands (and 4 appliances) all of them returned within 6 months because of peeling baskets.
2 x Power XL
1 x Swan
1 x Pro Breeze XL
Washed in dishwasher and never scraped
Wow, that’s not good. Hopefully you can find a better brand soon! And maybe try hand washing instead of using a dishwasher.
Why don’t they use stainless steel in the basket?
My Nuwave is peeling. Stainless steel would solve it.
Some do, but they are in the minority at the moment.
Hey Bro! I’ve been wanting to purchase a new air fryer after my Paula Deen 8qt fryer died after only a year of moderate use. I was only interested in the ceramic coated ones but was considering the Phillips brand or Gourmia. I’m super paranoid about a flaming flaking mess! Have you heard anything horrific about Gourmia? And what model and size is your Phillips? Thanks for the great review!
Hi Juanita, that’s one big air fryer at 8 quart. It’s crazy it died after only a year! My Philips is a Turbostar model around the 3 quart mark. I have had little to no problems with peeling on my model, and it is several years old at this point. I have no personal experience with Gourmia, but my research tells me it doesn’t seem to suffer from peeling. But, reliability seems to be an issue, with some users reporting them popping, sparking and breaking after a few months. Picking an air fryer can be a minefield!
You’re so right about the minefield. Thankfully, I read your other bro tip where you reviewed popular brands for all us mine-dodgers. Ended up ordering the Cosori XL air fryer (5.8qt). Can’t wait to try it. Thanks again for doing most of the hard work for me!
No problem. I sincerely hope this new air fryer works out for you. Air frying is the best!! 🙂
Hi Airfryerbro, thx for the research and sharing. We are having a Philips (the smallest one) for about 1 year. Now we have a few spots that were peeled off at the bottom of the fryer. Checking on their website, it did say all the materials are food safe. We are not sure what to expect if buying another Philips. Wonder if there is any other coating for the fryer or not. -thx in advance.
Our model is Philips HD9220/29 Airfryer.
That’s weird, I have had my Philips air fryer for several years with very little peeling.It sounds like it is not peeling off the basket but the bottom of the cooking compartment. If that is the case, it isn’t such a bad thing as it isn’t in contact with the food. As long as it is not serious flaking that will fly around your air fryer whilst cooking, you shouldn’t have much to worry about. And it’s a shame you are just over your one year warranty, or maybe you could have returned it.
I bought 6 qt Gourmia YESTERDAY Nov 29, 2020 at Costco. I tried it today for first time. I put thin Haddock filets on the coated Crisper rack that you insert into the basket. No plastic smell, cooked well. I washed the metal coated Crisper rack BY HAND with warm water, dawn liquid and a soft sponge. Now that it is dry, I see that the Crisper rack has peeled in several places down to the grey metal. I am very disappointed. I like the Concept of air-frying. But what gives after one use?
Guess I will pack up and return to Costco. But then what? Price was right. If I pay more for another air fryer, it seems like the Peeling problem will still exist
Hi Ellen. I agree this is a real issue in the air fryer world, but there are some brands that don’t suffer so badly. I personally have a Philips air fryer (which is several years old) and has minimal peeling. Better luck with your next purchase!
Hi! I just found your article because my Gourmia, which I bought February 23, 2020 and use 3-4 times a week, JUST started flaking on the tray and the basket bottom. I’m returning it to Target tomorrow, and get this–they don’t even sell Gourmia anymore.
I’m looking at the Ninja because I’ve long been a fan of their blenders, and saw on their site that its basket is ceramic lined (yay!), but at 4 qt, is it significantly smaller than my 5qt Gourmia?
Thanks for your research!
Yeah I haven’t always heard the best about the Gourmia air fryers! You are in luck as Ninja have a 5.5quart version https://amzn.to/2T2peQL I think you will struggle with 4 quart after getting used to a larger size.
I have a Cook’s air fryer that started peeling after the fifth use. I had hand washed it and didn’t use metal utensils and yet it peeled. Really bad. I still use it and use parchment paper but wonder if I’m slowly poisoning myself!
Yeah, that’s not an ideal situation! It’s a shame so many air fryers have such bad quality non stick coatings!
I have a 3.4 qt digital air fryer and the basket got rusty( I use it a lot )
I want to know how can I buy another one? Who do I contact.
I love my fryer and it works perfectly, don’t want to throw it away.
Awaiting your reply,
Thank you.
Ana Concepcion
787)479-7886
anaconcepcion@hotmail.com
Hi Ana, sorry about your rusty air fryer. If I were you, I would contact the manufacturer of your air fryer, to see if they would send you another one. Also, check the warranty of your air fryer to see if it is possible to get it replaced for free. Hope that helps.
I have a Bella 1.2 qt Air Fryer. It was very inexpensive, and I was able to get it in white, which is almost impossible with all the other brands. There is a flimsy tray (held up by 4 removable rubber feet, easily losable) that the food sits on above the basket. The powder coating of that tray started peeling off after a few weeks of use. I tried painting the tray with heat-resistant black paint, but that leeched onto my food! That was gross! I returned that Bella and bought another, willing to try again and hoping to have better luck. I did NOT, even tho i made sure not to use any abrasive cleansers or brushes on it. There is obviousy a flaw in the materials they are using for this tray (which is very flimsy as well) and the basket. I have seen the same problem mentioned on other reviews. I love my air fryer…but very disappointed that I have to use an inferior product or toss this one and look around for another.
Hi Penny, thanks for sharing your experiences with the Bella air fryer, it will really help others reading this article! It’s a shame you had so many issues with this air fryer, a tale I hear way too often! I wish you better luck with your next purchase 🙂
I just purchased a NuWave Bio 6 QT air fryer for my wife for Christmas at Kohl’s, some reviews mention peeling Teflon,should I take it back ?
When looking at most Nuwave air fryer reviews on Amazon, you can see most of their air fryers struggle to get a 4 out of 5 rating. I can see a good amount of quality issues being raised during these reviews. However, the most important thing now that you have actually bought the air fryer, is to go read up on your warranty here: https://mynuwavebrio.com/resource/pdf/BRIO10Q_WARRANTY.pdf
As long as you can return a peeling basket to get a replacement, I would stick with what you have (you might want to call them to double check this). I assume you got a good deal for it. However, if you paid full price, you might be better served refunding it and paying for another model you have researched more first 🙂 I know it’s a tough choice! Hope I could help!
I have a power airfryer xl 5.3 qt. The outer basket paint began to peel…which isnt that big of a deal since it only catches grease. However, a couple more times using it, and the copper coating on the inner basket began to peel. Thus, it began to develop a little rust. I’ve only had the Airfryer for 5-6 months. I called up Tristar Products INC and explained that the bacteria in the rust could infect my food with the tetanus infection. They are sending me an inner basket no charge. My next question is, what is the best way to care for the copper-coated inner basket so that it doesn’t peel again (where i’m in the same situation with the replacement basket)? Thanks in advance, Anne
Hi Anne, my basic rule of thumb is to treat it like a non-stick frying pan. Don’t use metal utensils on it, don’t scrub it with anything abrasive. Usually, you can wipe most things off with a damp cloth. Otherwise, soak in dish soap and boiling water for a while before wiping. This is what I do and I find it helps a lot with preserving my air fryer’s non-stick coating. Also rub a little oil before placing food so that it doesn’t stick in the first place (and require scrubbing). Hope this helps.
Hi there, I was looking at getting an air fryer and came across your site, seems like you’re the guy to ask! My first contact with an air fryer was last month (yes, i live under a rock), it was the Big Boss air fryer, which had a glass bowl that I really liked. After some research though, the heating element is infrared and halogen, halogen is thought to be cancer causing, what is your take on this air fryer?
So then I looked at some drawer style air fryers and notice that alot of people get peeling baskets. Which lead me to ask some manufacturers what their coating is made of. So some of them are ceramic non stick coating, and some are PFTE. Do the ceramic coatings leech chemicals at all? I know the PFTE ones do. But if the ceramic ones start flaking, is that poisonous? So much to consider… -_-
Hi Jess, its funny you are asking about this because I did an article yesterday talking about teflon free air fryers. You might want to take a look if you haven’t already, I found an air fryer that has a stainless steel basket. You seem very concerned about the materials in your air fryer, so this might be a good fit for you. You can find that article here: http://airfryerbro.com/best-air-fryer-without-teflon/
I am not a big fan of halogen style fryers like the Big Boss. I had one before and to me they are not true air fryers, more like a slightly glorified regular oven IMHO.
And other than the stainless steel traditional air fryer, your best bet would be an oven style air fryer. You can find these with very little non-stick surfaces as they use stainless steel racks like in an oven.
Just curious, the recipes with a batter that are runny, do you use parchment paper in the air fryer? would it disrupt it’s air frying capacity? Thx
I’ll stop you right there and direct you to this article http://airfryerbro.com/can-an-air-fryer-fry-battered-food/
We love our halogen style…..if it goes out, we go find another!! We put down a layer of paper towel and then a piece of foil to cover the bottom and then the grill….clean up is simple..just scoop up the layers, and wash the bowl if necessary or put into dishwasher, and no worries about peeling!
Hi AFBro, THANKS for that review, what a coincidence! Lol.
After reading your review, I bought the Ninja air fryer today! I’ll test run it tmr. =) I wouldn’t be too overly concerned about the material of the fryer if I was using it a few times only, but from what I read, I might end up using this appliance every other day! So I invested some time in weighing the pros and cons and getting one that I don’t have to worry about later on.
Now, the next step is choosing what recipes to use =P
OK, well good luck with your new purchase 🙂 I have really grown to love air fried food as long as you don’t expect it to taste exactly like oil fried food 🙂 Please let me know how you go.
I purchased a Cooks air fryer. After less than a month using it daily it started to peel. This is my first air fryer. I really am disappointed with it; cannot return it cause Pennys is going out of business… I don’t know if Cooks is in business any longer with a website.. what a shame.. I could try using the parachement paper and see how it works… great idea. any suggestions?
Is it the actual air fryer basket that is peeling or only the cooking compartment? If it is an area that doesn’t directly touch food maybe you can get away with it. Otherwise, do some research and buy a better quality air fryer 🙂
There is always the assumption that cleaning and using abrasive methods is the cause of peeling. This is not necessarily so. The peeling on my Salter air fryer began during the first cook! Surely these things were trialled and tested before going on sale to the general public?
Peeling is not only caused by scrubbing, this is one of the causes. A manufacturer using poor quality materials or bad design is the other. Sounds like you had the later. This is why I often talk about the importance of researching before buying an air fryer.
Thanks for your comment and good luck with your next air fryer.
My fryair which I bought last summer, is peeling already I only sponge out clean, it is an expensive one as well, can you re-coat them with special coating
I wouldn’t try respraying it yourself, as air fryers get pretty hot inside and you risk using something that with degrade and emit gas. Can you ask the manufacturer to replace your basket or at least let you buy one at cost price? It seems air fryer ovens are the best way to avoid peeling these days 🙁
With all of the peeling issues in basket type air fryers, I am thinking of getting an oven/toaster design air fryer. What are your thoughts on the differences in cooking and issues that particular design may have. Thank you!
I have an article for that http://airfryerbro.com/air-fryer-oven-vs-air-fryer-basket-whats-the-deal/ 🙂 Just get a good one that has enough power for the larger space 🙂
my man is getting me cosori airfryer for Christmas is that a good warrentine on it?
If you register your Cosori air fryer they will extend the warranty to 2 years FYI.
Would a high temperature spray paint fix a small peeled spot or would that bee too risky?
Or could the basket be powder coated by a professional?
A pro fix might work but i would avoid any DIY fixes when such high temperatures are involved.
I purchased a tower vortex air fryer, I’ve used half a dozen times (it’s 30 days old) only washed by hand,in hot soapy water (once cooled ) and it’s coated with teflon, noticed today while washing it the edges of both baskets are peeling.
I would try to return it in box, I hope where you bought it has a good returns policy. This is the problem with buying relatively random brands when it comes to air fryers.