One air fryer owner who was having a problem cleaning an awkward part of her fryer has prompted some concerning advice from others after posting a video of the grimy compartment online.

Air fryers have become a staple kitchen appliance in many households around the country, with many homes across Ireland having invested in an air fryer in a bid to eat healthier and cut costs.

The portable oven uses fan technology to rapidly circulate hot air over food in its tray, with advocates pointing out that cooking with less oil means healthier food and cooking food quicker leads to a smaller energy bill.

Keeping the devices clean is a must, as a dirty air fryer can lead to a bad smell and unhygienic cooking conditions.

Asking for some advice, one woman showed a picture of a compartment of her air fryer covered in brown grime on TikTok, asking followers: “How do you clean the top of an air fryer?”.

In the video, she shows her appliance without the drawer and films the section above where the heating element is located with the outside edges of the casing around the element covered in brown grime.

She takes a piece of kitchen roll, sprays a cleaning product onto it and wipes in between the element and the edges of the main body, showing that very little has come off of the surface onto the paper towel.

Over the top of the video she writes: “Is there a proper way to clean this or should I just pretend I didn’t notice?”

Many users were quick to chime in with their advice, ranging from useful and amusing to downright worrying.

“Fill the basket ½ way with warm water and lemon juice. Run it until it’s steamy and it all just wipes off and smells great,” wrote one poster.

“I dismantled mine and cleaned each piece during a 3am breakdown,” another air fryer owner added.

“The underside of my air fryer is none of my business,” another agreed. “The underside of my air fryer is not my problem, just like the back of my hair is not my business,” one more wrote.

The downside to leaving the surface covered in cooking debris and oil was highlighted by one user: “Mine caught on fire, cleaned herself.”

The same also happened to another person, who commented: “Thank god, everyone always makes fun of me for having caught mine on fire.”

“Mine did too and I’m still sceptical about using the replacement they sent me,” replied a third.

Some others suggested the brand of the fryer was the problem, one wrote: “I got a ninja fryer so don’t gotta worry about this.”

“This is meant for consumers to change a new one every two years,” agreed someone else.

Some were exhausted with having something else to scrub, one person penned: “How yall come up with more things to clean.”

“I didn’t want to notice,” answered someone else, “but I touched it once trying to move it.”