TL;DR
Rinse an avocado tool immediately, while the pulp is still wet -- avocado flesh oxidizes and dries into a brown film wedged between the slicing fins within about ten minutes, and it takes a brush and a soak once it sets. Treat the pit remover as a blade: it is sharp enough to grip and pull a stone free, and it is sharp enough to cut a finger.
Handle the sharp parts first
A three in one avocado tool has three working ends, and two of them are sharp.
The splitter is a knife edge along one side, designed to cut through the skin and flesh to the pit. It cuts skin as readily.
The pit remover is a set of prongs or a toothed claw that bites into the stone. Those teeth are pointed.
The slicer fins are thin blades. They are less sharp than the splitter but they will still cut.
Wash the tool by holding the handle and directing water at the working end, not by wrapping your hand around it. Never leave one in a sink of soapy water where you cannot see it. Wash it as its own item, straight after use, and put it away rather than leaving it on a counter edge.
Why avocado residue is stubborn
Avocado flesh is soft and high in fat, which is a bad combination for narrow slots.
Wet, it is easy. The pulp rinses away in seconds. But avocado oxidizes fast, and as it browns it also dries, and the fat in it means the residue clings rather than flaking.
Between the slicer fins that residue becomes a thin brown wafer wedged in a slot barely wider than it is. Getting it out then needs a brush working along the slot, which is exactly the same problem as a slotted egg tool -- see how to clean an egg slicer.
The general rule is that anything with narrow parallel slots is a rinse now, not later job. That principle appears throughout the guide to cleaning kitchen tools without damaging them.
How do you clean an avocado slicer tool?
Rinse it under warm running water within a minute or two of use, directing the flow through the slicing fins from one side so the pulp is pushed out rather than compressed. Wash with dish soap and a small brush worked along each slot, rinse, and dry fully, keeping fingers clear of the splitter edge.
The routine
1. Rinse straight away. Warm running water while the pulp is still green and wet does most of the job.
2. Push water through the fins in one direction. Hold the tool at an angle under the tap so the flow travels along the slots rather than across them.
3. Brush each slot. A small nylon dish brush or a dedicated toothbrush. Work along the length of each slot, not across the blade edges.
4. Clean the pit remover teeth. Pulp and stone debris pack between the prongs. Brush from the base outward.
5. Do the splitter edge carefully. Hold the tool by the handle, lay the edge flat against a cloth or a brush, and wipe along the edge away from your hand.
6. Get the handle joints. Where the working parts meet the handle body there are seams and, on some designs, screws. Pulp collects there.
7. Rinse and dry fully. Any steel parts should be dried rather than left to drip.
Rescuing a tool with dried on pulp
Soak the head in warm soapy water for ten to fifteen minutes. Dried avocado rehydrates readily and there is no reason to scrub hard.
After the soak, brush along the slots again. A wooden toothpick clears a single stubborn slot without touching the blade edges.
For a brown stain that will not lift, a baking soda paste on a soft cloth removes it. This is cosmetic rather than necessary, since avocado leaves a faint stain on plastic that does not affect the tool.
Do not put a metal pick between the fins. Bending a fin means the tool no longer slices evenly, and the bent edge is more likely to cut you.
Plastic and metal tools
All plastic tools are the most common. They are dishwasher safe as a rule, they stain, and they can be cracked by heavy force on a firm pit.
Stainless steel tools are more durable and resist staining. Avoid chlorine bleach on stainless, because chloride bleach pits it and leaves permanent marks. There is no need for bleach here in any case, and bleach must never be combined with ammonia, with vinegar or any other acid, or with rubbing alcohol, since each combination releases a toxic gas.
Tools with wooden handles should be hand washed only and never soaked, since water swells the joint and the wood roughens.
Can an avocado tool go in the dishwasher?
Most are labeled dishwasher safe, and dishwasher heat handles the fat film well.
Place it on the top rack with the sharp end pointing down or inward, so nobody reaches into an upward facing splitter blade when unloading.
The one weakness is that dishwasher spray does not always reach between narrow fins. Rinse the pulp out by hand first and let the machine do the washing, which is the same approach that works for other slotted tools.
Keeping the tool working
Rinse it as part of using it. Ten seconds at the tap immediately after the last slice removes the whole problem.
Do not use it as a pry bar. Forcing a stubborn pit with the pit remover snaps plastic prongs and bends metal ones.
Do not put it in a knife drawer loose. Store it where the splitter edge is protected, and where a hand reaching in does not meet the blade.
Replace it when the fins bend or the plastic cracks. A cracked tool traps residue in the crack where nothing can reach.
Other bladed tools with pivots and edges follow the same handling rules, covered in how to clean kitchen shears and how to clean a vegetable peeler.
Cleaning a tool reduces residue and cross contact between foods. It is not a food safety program on its own.
Source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service guidance on cleaning food contact utensils
FAQ
How do you get avocado out of the slicer fins?
Rinse under warm running water within a minute of use, angling the tool so the flow travels along the slots rather than across them. If it has dried, soak the head in warm soapy water for ten to fifteen minutes, then brush along each slot or use a wooden toothpick.
Is an avocado tool sharp?
Yes, in two places. The splitter edge is a knife blade, and the pit remover has pointed prongs designed to bite into a stone. Hold the tool by the handle when washing it, direct water at the working end rather than gripping it, and never leave it in a sink of soapy water.
Can an avocado slicer go in the dishwasher?
Most are dishwasher safe on the top rack, placed with the sharp end pointing down or inward for safety when unloading. Rinse the pulp out by hand first, because dishwasher spray does not reliably reach between narrow slicing fins.
Why does my avocado tool have a brown stain?
Avocado oxidizes and leaves a faint brown mark on plastic, which is cosmetic and does not affect how the tool works. A baking soda paste on a soft cloth will lift most of it. Stainless steel tools resist staining better than plastic ones.
How do you clean the pit remover prongs?
Brush between the prongs from the base outward with a small nylon brush, under warm running water. Pulp and fragments of the stone pack in there and are easy to miss. Keep your fingers away from the points, which are designed to grip a hard pit.
When should you replace an avocado tool?
When a slicing fin is bent, when plastic prongs have cracked or snapped, or when the body has a crack that traps residue where a brush cannot reach. A bent fin also slices unevenly and its distorted edge is more likely to catch a finger.
Small bladed tools take a minute with the right handling. The kitchen around them takes longer. If you would rather hand that off, get a quote or read more about house cleaning services.