As the grilling season comes to a close, it’s getting to be time to store your grill until next year. In order to prolong the life of your grill and make sure it will do its job as intended for years to come, you’ll need to do a deep cleaning before covering and storing it away.
Make no mistake, grill cleaning is just as important to ensuring good and tasty foods as any other step in the grilling and barbeque process. Here is a tutorial that will walk you through the steps needed for how to clean your grill, but also how to keep it in top condition when it’s not in use for a long while.
First, assemble the tools you’ll need.
Things You'll Need
- Wire Grill Brush
- Scouring Pad
- Microfiber Cloth
- Dish Soap
- Warm Water
- Bucket Or Pail
- Vegetable Oil
- Paper Towels
- Soaking Pan
Wire Brush Action First!
First, heat the grill for at least 15 minutes to remove any leftover food and grease that might be clinging to the parts. Take your stiff wire brush and while the grill is turned on and hot, scrub the racks with a soapy water solution. This will create steam and the dish soap will cut through the grease to make cleanup easier and more thorough. After a good scouring, turn off the heat.
A Well-Deserved Soak
Once the grates are cool to the touch, you’ll want to soak them in soapy water for a couple of hours. Any left behind stickiness can be wire brushed away. While the grates are soaking, you can use your soapy water and a microfiber towel to clean the outside of the grill.
Take It Apart and Get Inside
Now you have to get inside the grill and pull out the metal heat deflectors which lie on top of the burners. These can be scrubbed with a scouring pad or sponge. Getting this part of the grill clean will reduce flare-ups from food that drips onto them in the cooking process. This will make your food cook more evenly and can even prevent some flavors and aromas from cookouts past from returning uninvited.
Next you’ll take your wire brush to the burners and scrub off any food, rust or carbon that may have collected over a spring and summer of grill use. Take this time to inspect if any of your grill components are rusted or in need of repair. Consult the user manual, or even seek out an online tutorial for the make and model of your grill to check if you’re uncertain about the integrity of any parts.
Putting it Back Together
Swap out any drip pans at this point, and take a cloth to the inside parts where the propane tank is held. Then, reassemble your grill. After all of that’s completed, you’ll want to heat the grill again for 10 or 15 minutes to evaporate any remaining water before you cover the grill for storage. Using enough vegetable oil to moisten a folded paper towel, lightly coat the grates to make it less likely that food will stick the next time you break out the grill for use.
Cover it Up!
Now, you’ve gone through a bit of work and you should be proud of your efforts! Your grill has been scrubbed clean, and the last thing you want is to put a vinyl cover on it for long-term storage. One of our custom grill covers will surely be a great fit for your grill.
No matter if you have a standard grill or smoker or you’ve invested in a custom cooker, you can find or design a cover that you can rest assured will secure your grill until you’re ready to put it to work once again. You can see the available selection at .
Now all that’s left to do is for you to relax and be confident that your equipment will be ready and waiting for you to pull it out for the next grilling season.