Does anything scream nice weather more than dinner cooked on the grill? A good grill can last you a long time with proper maintenance, but a dirty grill can lead to rust, clogged burners, and even small fires. In addition to regularly removing spots and gunk after each use, it’s a good idea to give your grill a deep clean after a few months of heavy use. Here’s a complete guide to how to clean a grill thoroughly and effectively!
How to Clean a Grill
Products needed: Grill brush, Oxi Booster Pods, Bucket of water, empty bucket for debris, old sponge
Step 1: Prepare
Are you ready to learn the best way to clean a grill? Read on! The first step to cleaning a grill is assembling your tools. Gather the products listed above. Add one Oxi Booster Pod to a bucket of warm water to create a soapy solution that bites through gunk and grease. Stir gently and allow it to fully dissolve.
Step 2: Clean the Grate
Without holding back, scrape the grate to remove all stuck gunk and vegetable leftovers. Use both the bristles and the flat metal blade on the grill brush for extra leverage. When you’re done with one side, remove the grate and turn it over. Be sure to scrape away debris on the underside so that the grate is totally gunk-free.
Step 3: Clean Burner Protectors
The burner protectors reside just above the burner to prevent the burner mechanisms from becoming clogged. Remove all burner protectors. Wash each burner protector with the Oxi Booster Solution and a sponge.
Step 4: Clean Burners
Onto the burners themselves! Some grills have easily removable burners, while others make outdoor grill cleaning more difficult. If you are able to remove the burners, do so and clean them with Oxi Booster Solution. If it is difficult to remove the burners, you can use a damp sponge to remove the grime. Without proper cleaning, grime can build up and clog the burners, so it’s important to clean them thoroughly!
Step 5: Clean Bottom of the Grill
After cleaning the burners, it’s time to move on to the plate underneath. The plates at the bottom of the grill work to collect large chunks of debris and ashen food–so they can get pretty dirty! Remove the plates and scrape the debris off and into the debris bucket. Since this is the place where the most debris accumulates, you don’t need to worry about scrubbing it with a sponge. Think about the plates more like a cast iron skillet: it’s ok to be left with a layer of char, but you don’t want large chunks of burnt food down there.
Step 6: Remove Final Debris
Once the plates are out, all that remains is the removable bottom tray. With the grill brush, scrape any extra debris on the tray and dump into the dirty bucket. Continue until all debris is removed from the bottom of the grill.
Step 7: Reassemble Grill
The final step is to retrace your steps and put the grill back together. Bottom tray, plates, burners, burner protectors, and the grate! Now you’re an expert on how to clean a grill and ready for a few months of great grilling!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have more questions about how to clean a grill? We have answers!
What is the best way to clean the inside of a grill?
A grill may be an intimidating appliance to clean, which is why we recommend breaking it down into steps! Take one piece of the grill at a time. The pieces closer to the top should be washed with a soapy solution made from a product designed to cut through grease, like our Oxi Booster pods. The bottom plates and tray don’t need as thorough a scrub, but should be scraped clean to prevent buildup and fires.
What is the easiest way to clean grill grates?
To easily clean grill grates, first preheat the grill for 10-15 minutes. This should warm it up enough to loosen any stuck food particles, without being so hot as to be dangerous. Scrub the grates with a wire grill brush. If it is particularly dirty, you can scrub again using an Oxi Booster solution to cut through grease and grime.
Do you clean the grill hot or cold?
For regular cleaning after each use, allow the grill to cool enough to not burn yourself, then use a brush to clean off food particles. The grill should be warm, but not hot. When deep cleaning your grill before winter, you can preheat the grill for 10-15 minutes so it is easier to remove food particles, but we do not recommend heating it longer than that or cleaning when it is very hotl, as you will be disassembling it in order to clean each part.
What to use to clean a very dirty grill?
Neglect your grill for a season or two? You may be dealing with some major buildup! If scrubbing isn’t quite doing the trick when you’re cleaning a grill, try soaking any removable pieces in a bucket full of Oxi Booster Solution for a few hours–or, depending on how dirty they are, even overnight. The Oxi Booster should cut through the grease and grime, making it easier to loosen and clean!