Haven’t cleaned your grill in a while? If you’ve got an upcoming backyard party planned out here’s how to keep your gas grill spic and span.
Most of us love using a grill to cook dinner every now and then in our backyard or our lawn and have an amazing and fun day with our friends and family. It is actually more enjoyable to grill outside when it is warm and sunny and you get to eat something new and refreshing which is freshly cooked. A gas grill, often considered to be the best bbq grill type can be used for cooking numerous food items and helps you in adding a smokey flavor to your grilled dishes which makes it really delicious and aromatic.
A gas grill can ideally last for many years but can get damaged soon if you don’t take proper care and maintenance of it. Your grill can get clogged with build-ups that can result in accidental fires and can also lead to the rusting of your amazing grill. This is why cleaning your gas grill regularly is important if you want your gas grill to work efficiently for a long time and don’t want it to get damaged after just a few years of use.
However, there is a common myth about cleaning your gas grill which should be avoided at all costs.
If you want to deep clean your grill yourself and are looking for a safe and natural method to do that then just follow these steps:
Step 1: Turn off the gas grill
As is the case with most electrical and non-electrical appliances, make sure you keep your grill off and also turn off the gas tank as any leakage might cause accidental fires while you are working on it. This means you also need to disconnect the propane line because it is crucial for your safety.
Don’t neglect this step and double-check the gas connections before you start cleaning your grill.
Step 2: Remove the grates and the burner
Once the gas line has been disconnected and shut off, you need to disassemble your grill and clean all the grill components with soapy water too. So just open the grill’s lid and take out your dirty burner covers, warming rack, and the grill’s cooking grates. Just follow these steps to clean them thoroughly:
- Soak all the grill parts in a warm soapy water
- Use a dishwashing liquid and a scrubbing pad to scrub the components clean.
- Check if there is any rusting of the components. If yes, then plan to replace the rusty and the worn-out parts.
- Rinse the grill parts with clean water and let it dry.
Step 3: Clean the Burners
Once you cleaned all the small grill parts, you can now focus on cleaning the burner covers. If you kept your burner covered then you might not need to perform a deep cleaning, a little wipe down might be more than enough.
If they weren’t covered then you would need to scrub it with a wire brush/steel wool and then spray it with a degreaser and then scrub away all the dirt. Make sure that the burner holes are unclogged with the help of a nail or a straight pin.
Step 4: Give your Grate a good scrape
If your grill has a lot of buildups then you would need to use a putty knife to scrape the hood and the grill. You can spray a degreaser on your grill and the hood and leave it for a few minutes to get rid of the gunk. After that, you can use a garden hose to rinse it clean.
Step 5: Rinse your Grill
Once you have cleaned and scrubbed your grill thoroughly, you need to rinse it clean with a water so make sure you don’t do this on a cemented area as the grease and oil from the grill can leave the area stained. Use a pressure washer or a garden hose to rinse your grill free of all the grease, detergent, degreaser, and the residue.
Step 6: Test the Functioning
Now that you have completely cleaned your grill, you need to ensure that it functions properly so you need to test the various knobs and the buttons and see if everything is fine or not. If you find some fault with one of the buttons/knobs then you can get it replaced/repaired after reading the manufacturer’s instructions.
How not to Clean your Grill
A lot of people think this is the best way to clean a gas grill as this cleaning remedy has been used for a long time but it is not true. This method is similar to a self-cleaning kitchen oven however it is not a good way to clean your grill and can actually be harmful to it.
The method includes the following steps:
- Cover the cooking grate of your grill with an aluminum foil.
- Turn on your grill and let it be for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the grill and then let it cool off.
- Remove the ashes from your grill.
In this method, the foil will trap the heat from the gas burners and will turn everything into fine dry ash so that it can be easily cleaned up. While this was a great cleaning method for old grills, it is simply dangerous to be used with a modern grill.
Most modern grills cannot take that much heat because they are usually made up of stamped steel and burners are temporary components that are to be replaced after sometime. This is completely different from the old gas grills which were made of heavy cast-iron parts and could endure the heat produced by this method.
This method can lead to the following results:
- Warp the cooking grates and damage it permanently.
- Crack ceramic igniters in the gas grill
- Cause metal fatigue in the grill burners
- Combustion of the captured gases
- Melt the gas lines and the hoses
- Exceed the safety temperature inside the closed carts
A lot of gas grill manufacturers also support that this cleaning method should not be used as it could trap the gas and become a fire hazard. Also, blocking the airflow can result in high heat which will end up damaging the valves, supply lines, and burners which will make grill unsafe for use. Instead, users can preheat the grill to burn off food particles and clean their gas grill quickly.
Many manufacturers void the warranty if you use this method to clean your gas grill so avoid using it. It might seem like not a big deal if you use this method once or twice for cleaning but ultimately, it will end up damaging your grill or will cause a serious accident.
Tips to Maintain and Clean Your Gas Grill
There are several other ways to clean your gas grill and take care of it which is safer than the above-mentioned method. Here are a few tips for maintaining your grill and taking care of it so that it keeps working for a long time.
Routine Check for Propane
One of the most important things to check in your gas grill is whether there is a propane leak or not because if left unattended, it could cause accidental fires when you next use it. So make sure that every month you run a little soapy water through the gas line and the connections while you keep the gas turned on in your grill. If you find some bubbles in the water then this means that there is a leak in the gas connection.
So, you need to either tighten your gas lines and connections or you need to replace the gas line completely.
Keep your Grill Covered
Keeping your grill in open or uncovered can make it vulnerable to rust or dirt which can damage the grill parts and affect the life of your grill. This is why manufacturers often advise users to keep their grill stored in a dry place covered from all the dust and the weather conditions.
You can keep your grill in the garage or your storage room with a covering on top of it so that it is not open to dust, rain, snow, etc. which could harm the functioning of your grill.
Clean it often
This is an obvious maintenance tip for your gas grill. Clean your gas grill at regular intervals to ensure that all the grill parts are in good shape and work smoothly. It is important to deep clean your grill every few weeks but it is more important to perform a spot clean after every use.
Cleaning your grill after use will ensure that there is no food stuck to the grill and will keep it safe and hygienic and takes barely 15 minutes of your time. Just brush the grill grates and wipe down the surface after every use. You can also turn on the grill for 15 minutes every week to burn off the gunk and grime that builds upon the grill grates.
Yes, washing your grill can be a little messy but it is an important task to be performed if you want your grill to work efficiently for a long time.
