You unbox a new air fryer, put some chips in, and the kitchen fills with a smell like a hot kettle that’s been left on an empty hob. It’s one of the most common complaints from new owners, and most of the time it’s harmless and fades within a few uses. Sometimes it isn’t, though, and it’s worth knowing which is which. Below: what’s actually causing the smell, how to get rid of it, when to stop using the thing, and an honest look at the Ninja CRISPi, a glass air fryer that a lot of people are buying precisely because they’re fed up with plastic and coated baskets.
At a glance
- Most likely cause: factory residue and coatings burning off the heating element and basket during the first few cooks
- Quick fix: wash every removable part, then run the fryer empty for 10 to 15 minutes with a window open
- Stop using it if: the smell is still strong after three or four uses, smells electrical or fishy, or comes with visible smoke from the body rather than the food
- The glass option: the Ninja CRISPi FN101UK cooks in glass containers instead of a coated metal drawer, but it still has a plastic power pod and non-stick crisper plates, so it isn’t a plastic-free machine
Why a new air fryer smells like plastic
An air fryer is basically a fan blowing very hot air past a heating element, inside a plastic shell. When it’s brand new, a few things get properly hot for the first time.
- Manufacturing residue. Heating elements and metal parts often carry a thin film of oil or protective coating from the factory. It burns off on the first few heats and smells sharp and chemical while it does.
- Fresh non-stick coating. A new coated basket can give off a faint smell the first time it gets hot. That should settle quickly.
- Leftover packaging. Worth checking before anything else. Cardboard inserts, protective film on the drawer, foam pads and stickers under the crisper plate all get missed. A sticker cooking at 200°C will absolutely smell like burning plastic, because it is.
- The housing itself. The outer shell warms up, especially round the exhaust vent at the back. New plastic can smell a bit when it’s warm for the first time, and more so if the vent is pushed up against a wall or tiles and the heat has nowhere to go.
Most manufacturers mention some smell or a little smoke on first use in their manuals, which is a good sign this is expected rather than a fault. It’s the persistence that tells you something else is going on.
How to get rid of the smell
- Take everything out of the drawer and the box. Peel off any film, check under the crisper plate, and look inside the cavity with a torch for anything stuck near the element.
- Wash the basket, drawer and plate in warm soapy water and dry them fully.
- Put the fryer on a clear bit of counter with at least 10cm of space behind the vent, open a window, and run it empty at a high setting for 10 to 15 minutes. Check your manual first, since a few brands give their own first-use instructions.
- Let it cool, wipe the inside of the cavity with a damp cloth, and repeat once if the smell is still noticeable.
- If it lingers on cooked food, a cut lemon or a small dish of water with a squeeze of lemon run for a few minutes at a moderate setting can help freshen it up.
After that, the smell you get should be the food. If the drawer starts to smell burnt rather than plasticky a few weeks in, it’s usually grease that’s baked onto the element or the bottom of the drawer, and our guide to cleaning an air fryer basket without scratching it covers that.
When it’s not normal
Unplug it and stop using it if any of these happen:
- The plastic smell is just as strong after three or four cooks.
- It smells fishy or like hot electrics. That’s often the smell of an overheating wire or component, not food.
- Smoke is coming from the body or the control panel rather than from the drawer.
- You can see warping, melting or discolouration on the housing.
- Something you put in the drawer (a plastic utensil, a liner that isn’t rated for air fryers, a silicone mat that’s too big and touches the element) has started to melt.
For a new machine in any of those situations, contact the retailer or brand and ask for a replacement rather than trying to burn it off.
Is a glass air fryer the answer? The Ninja CRISPi FN101UK
If the smell has put you off coated metal drawers for good, glass air fryers are the obvious alternative, and the Ninja CRISPi is the one most people in the UK land on. It’s a different shape from a normal drawer fryer. There’s a 1700W “power pod” that holds the fan and element, and it sits on top of one of two glass containers, a 3.8L one and a 1.4L one. You cook in the glass, take the pod off, and the container goes straight to the table or into the fridge with its own lid.
The UK model has four functions: Air Fry, Roast, Keep Warm and Recrisp. Ninja says the larger container handles a 1.2kg chicken with veg, and that the glass is thermal-shock resistant. Both containers, the lids and the crisper plates are dishwasher safe. It measures 34 x 30.4 x 34.5cm with the pod on and weighs 3.81kg as a set, according to the listing. On Amazon UK it holds 4.6 out of 5 from more than 1,800 ratings at the time of writing.
The honest bit, given the reason you might be looking at it: the food sits in glass, but it isn’t a plastic-free or coating-free machine. The power pod is a plastic housing that gets warm like any other air fryer, and the crisper plates that sit in the bottom of the glass are non-stick coated. So it removes the coated drawer, which is where most of the contact with food happens, but it won’t magically remove every new-appliance smell. Run it empty once, like any other.
Pros
- You can see the food cooking through the glass, so there’s no pulling the drawer out to check
- The containers double as storage with lids, which is handy for batch cooking and leftovers
- Glass is easy to clean and doesn’t scratch the way a coated basket does
- Two container sizes, so a small portion doesn’t rattle around in a big drawer
- One owner who also has a Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone said steak, salmon, sausages and bacon came out better in the CRISPi
Cons
- No manual temperature control. You pick one of the fixed functions and set the time, which one 4-star reviewer said worried them at first even though it worked out fine
- Only one power pod comes in the box, so you can’t run both containers at once without buying a second pod
- The rubber feet on the crisper plates are a weak spot. One reviewer had them break before the first use, said they’d seen other owners with the same problem, and couldn’t find replacement feet to buy
- Glass is heavier and more fragile than a metal drawer, so it’s not one to drop on a tiled floor
- The 3.8L container is a decent size for one to three people but will feel tight for a big family
- A few things just don’t suit it. One owner couldn’t poach eggs because the airflow spun the water around the container
Who it’s for
It makes most sense if you cook for one or two, batch cook into containers, or want an air fryer you can move around: a student kitchen, a caravan, a flat where the counter changes job every hour. It’s also a good fit if you’ve had a coated basket peel on you before and want to avoid that this time. If you want lots of presets, precise temperature control or two foods at once, a standard dual-drawer fryer will suit you better. Our list of the best air fryers for one person in the UK covers a few of those.
Using and cleaning it
Wash both containers, the plates and the lids before the first cook, then run the pod on the empty large container for a few minutes with a window open. Put the crisper plate in, add the food, lock the pod on, choose the function and set the time. Give the food a shake or turn halfway through, as you would with any air fryer.
Let the glass cool before it goes anywhere near cold water or a cold worktop. It’s rated for thermal shock, but there’s no reason to test it. The glass and plates go in the dishwasher, and the pod just needs a wipe with a damp cloth once it’s cold. Don’t put the pod in water.
FAQ
How long does the new air fryer smell last?
Usually one to three cooks. Running it empty once before you cook anything speeds that up a lot.
Is the plastic smell from a new air fryer dangerous?
A short-lived smell on first use is normal and expected. A smell that doesn’t fade, smells electrical or fishy, or comes with smoke from the body is not, and you should unplug it and contact the seller.
Does the Ninja CRISPi smell when it’s new?
It can, a little, because the power pod and crisper plates are new and heating up for the first time like any air fryer. Washing everything and doing one empty run first is still worth it.
Can I put the CRISPi glass containers in the oven or microwave?
Check Ninja’s manual for your model before doing this. Ninja lists the containers as dishwasher safe and the lids as storage lids, so don’t cook with a lid on.
Will lining my basket with foil or paper stop the smell?
No. It won’t affect a new-appliance smell, and badly placed liners that block the airflow or touch the element can create a burning smell of their own.
The verdict
A plastic smell from a new air fryer is normally just the factory burning off, and a wash plus one empty run sorts most of it out. If it doesn’t fade, take that seriously. If you’d rather cook in glass from now on, the Ninja CRISPi is a well-made, genuinely different take on an air fryer that suits small households and batch cooks, as long as you’re happy with fixed functions instead of a temperature dial and you treat the crisper plates gently.
