What's your best DO's and DONT's for Cleaning Grill and Grill Grates

[WillTravelForFood]

Inspired by https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...ew#post1209952

It's time to clean the grates (and scrape down the rest of the grill innards. What are your DOs and DONT's for getting the grates cleaned during your annual scrubdown?

Is the best method to shove the stainless grates into a Giant Garbage Bag, then spray the EZ OFF on the grate, seal it up, and leave it on the back deck in the sun all day? Still haven't figured out what size tub to use for soaking (in part because we want to do the same thing with the oven racks, which are significantly larger than the grill grates)

What tools are y'all using -- should we get a wire brush attachment for the drill or just rely on Scrub Daddys to get the job done?

How are you cleaning Flavorizer Bars on Webers?

What should/shouldn't get the EZ Off Treatment?

And as always on this topic: which cycle do you set the dishwasher on?

[bbqLuv]

EZ off may damage the finish on the grill. So grill grate only.
I now use Traeger's grill cleaner. Good Stuff. Works Great.

[radiodome21]

I have to admit that I don’t do any annual scrub down. I used to do one on my old Weber Spirit NG grill but I never used any cleaner. I bought a paint scraper and used that to clean out the firebox. I used a sink full of Dawn to clean my grates and flavorizer bars. I stopped doing that though as I never noticed any difference other than me wasting a day doing it. My pellet smoker just turned one and my grill grates are only 4 months old. I didn’t even know there were companies that did that. I do regular cleaning on my grills but I am curious about this EZ off. Might give that a shot.

[rlozinak]

For the grates, I just use a piece of oak board from the workshop. I use to scrap the bits off of the grate. Works well enough, plus I do not have to worry about leaving bristles on the grate from a grill brush.

[shify]

I haven't really done a deep dive on the grates of my gasser, as I usually burn off the gunk at the start of a new cook and that gets them good enough for me. But I do clean the flavorizer bars and the inside to remove the built up gunk just about once a year. Usually a paint scraper has been sufficient for me as I'm not looking for brand new, just trying to get rid of built up grease and leftover burnt bits to avoid flare ups.

[STEbbq]

Use a steam brush like the Grill Rescue brush. You will wonder why you waited so long to do this I promise.

I am waiting to hear any reviews on this one:

https://www.cuisinart.com/shopping/outdoor-grilling/cleaning/cgwm-077

[GolfGeezer]

For GGs and regular grates, I have a large plastic tub I bought at Walmart. I soak the grates in a medium concentrate of Simple Green for several hours in the tub, then use Scrub Daddy's - they come out great, including the baked-on gunk on the GGs and their "channels". I use Weber's grill cleaner for the outside on the MAK and the Napoleon.

Finally, for a quick clean, I use the Grill Rescue brush on either kind of grates after heating the grates (before or after a cook). The water steams gunk off without a bunch of scrubbing with the bristle kind of brush.

[CandySueQ]

Since I'm the starter of the EZ Off method -- First, only use it on the insides not the outer SS walls of the FEC100, a stainless cabinet pellet smoker. Wear gloves! After a period of time in the garbage bag with EZ Off, the grates will spray wash clean with a hose. EZ!

Jambo goes to the car wash for a hot soap and rinse with the drain open. Expanded metal cooking grates get the same treatment. OG I wipe and scrape down and vacuum out ash. I'll do the same on the RecTeq Bullseye and GMGs. Weber kettles are scraped out to get any loose black stuff off the walls. Shiny steel cooking grates get EZ Off.

Hope this helps!

[Murdy]

I recently started using one of these stones on the stainless grate on my kettle:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Grillsto...04HD/312921907

Works good, easy, but you have to rinse it off when done to remove any remaining grit.

[Rod]

I do a burn off after each cook whether it be my kettles or the gasser. For the kettles, I scrap them out with a plastic putty knife the next day after each cook. Even after no mess cooks. With accessories like the DnG wrapped in foil and using wire racks in foiled baking sheets for anything that requires saucing, that keeps heavy gunk from building up. Vortex wings/thighs are about the only thing I do that leaves a mess in the bottom. I'll also use the Grill Rescue when needed. Otherwise, balled up foil works pretty good for the grates. Especially after post cook burn offs. I almost always use too much charcoal and that's ok as that allows me to open all vents and do the post cook burn offs.

The gasser only gets used for searing, veggies, toasting buns and heating up hot dogs. So it never gets very dirty. Everything gets an annual quick scrape. It's a SS Genesis and I did one time a few years ago clean and polish the outside. Damn, it looked great when done. Then about 3 or 4 cooks later it was as if I never did it. So I probably won't ever do that again.

With that being said, I did do a deep clean to both my kettles this past winter after 3-4 years of regular use. I forget the degreaser I used (Simple Green?), but after letting that soak I used razor blades followed by scrubbing with non-abrasive scotch brite pads and Dawn dish soap. They were like new when done. Took me probably 4hrs for each kettle.

So the PM I do after each cook, while a PITA, saves a lot of elbow grease in the end.

[Donw]

For routine cleaning I just use crunched up aluminum foil and sometimes a little degreaser followed by a rinse. For my semi-annual cleaning I use a power washer and a wire brush attached to a portable drill.

[MBMorgan]

Nothing too special here.

The Weber gasser gets a scrape-down once a year (with a small paint scraper) and, if it's really a mess, I might bring out the steam cleaner. The flavorizer bars get scraped clean with the paint scraper but I don't do anything more to try and keep them pretty. Removable parts (except for the flavorizer bars) get brought inside (much to my wife's annual dismay) and scrubbed thoroughly with dishwashing liquid and her favorite sponge.

The OG stays pretty clean so I normally just keep it wiped down (inside and out) and vacuum out the ashes after every few cooks. The ambient temperature probe is kept spotless with a wipe down before and after every cook.

I guess that my only big DON'T amounts to not using much in the way of chemical cleaners and, if I've introduced any moisture at all into the cooker (like with the steam cleaner), I always follow up with a long, hot, burnout.

[TripleB]

What MBMorgan said.

[Timbo54]

Weed burner and paint scraper followed up with non-stick spray. For the outside, a quick shot with the pressure washer and some Dawn. I clean my grates before every cook with the weed burner followed by wet paper towels to get any residue off.

[HawkerXP]

I follow the Weber Grill Restoration: Interior and Exterior Kettle Cleaning - Weber Kettle Club

[HawkerXP]

I've bought SS grates and just use a brush on them.

I always wonder what you folks do with the nasty oven cleaner residue when you're done.