Just How Clean Does It Need to Be?

[mnavarre]

This is about as clean as the inside gets except for every couple of years when I come down with a bad case of ambition I can't drink away and they get deep cleaned.



More than sufficient, I'd say.

[Bulldog]

That's how mine looks now.

[Finster]

"Ambition I cant drink away"
There's a country song just waiting to happen in them words.. lol

[Attjack]

Perfect start for the season. The grate is where you can take it to a higher level. Stainless steel makes it easy to have pristine grates.

[Bulldog]

Thanks for everyone's advice. It's all good now.

[JLR]

I guess I'm in the minority. I clean my thoroughly, inside and outside, after almost every cook. I keep all my cleaning supplies outside next to my stable of grills/smokers.

[Donw]

My family calls me a clean freak often. I clean all my cookers throughly after every cook too except my kettle. I’ve only taken up the kettle seriously in the past year and now use it about 3 times a week. I finally gave up throughly cleaning after every cook and do it once a month now. And, so far I haven’t killed anyone with my food. Well, not since I got the kettle.🙂

[fkrall]

There are at least three of us, and by all means each to his own. But I clean my grills, including my Traeger, after every cook. I actually enjoy it. I can't imagine not cleaning the broiler pan after using the oven, and I feel the same way about my grills.

[rlozinak]

I make sure that the grate is clean for each cook. That is about it.

[Bkhuna]

When the lid looks like it needs it, I spray down the inside of the entire bowl with Dawn Powerwash and let it sit for an hour. Then blast it clean with the pressure washer. The grates are heat scrubbed before and after use. I don't worry about the build up on the grates. I like the carbonized build up on them and as long as they are heat sterilized I don't care if their shiny. I keep my kettle covered when not in use so the exterior never gets very dirty.

One thing I don't do is use Easy-Off inside. I keep that stuff away from the One touch cleaning parts.

[N227GB]

Dawn Powerwash is good stuff. I use it on the Weber Q grates.

[Purc]

Well there was a pitmaster here who had several kettles and he kept them not only cleaned but waxed on the outside. I have shined mine up several times in the past year or so.

[JoeSousa]

I have been meaning to do my "beginning of the season" cleaning for about 5 years now. Just never get around to giving my grills a deep clean. I brush the grates before most cooks and once every month or two I give the inside a quick scrape with a putty knife or razor scraper if they are getting particularly gunky but haven't deep cleaned for quite a while.

[Spinaker]

As clean as you want it to be. It is your grill.

I try to keep the ash cleaned up as much as possible. Especially on ash that is in contact with metal. Ash is corrosive, and really corrosive once it gets wet. So, I try to keep ash cleaned up as much as I can. I use a small shop vac for cleaning up the ash. (Obviously wait till things are totally cooled)

As for the grates, I really do not worry about them too much. The fire kills pretty much anything that could harm you. If you have mold, then burn it off with a high heat run in the kettle. Problem solved.

If you want to scape the lid, you can, but it really does not matter. I like to keep things clean, but more because it looks nice, rather than me being worried about getting sick or making others sick.

[jfmorris]

I *wish* my stainless steel grates would look as clean as some of the ones you guys show in your cooks, but mine get sooty and/or heat discolored from use. I scrub them with a wire brush while hot, and if they are gunky, wipe them down with some damp paper towels or rags. If they are real bad, I get the hose and some Brillo pads and go to town, and get the stainless bars as shiny and clean as I can. The inside of the grill gets cleaned once or twice a year, aside from cleaning ashes out of the kettle and such.

[sjg1980]

I also have some cleaning questions:

I'd like to keep my grates nice and shiny before each cook. What's the best approach, just use some barkeepers friend, a brillo pad or foil and elbow grease?

As for my SNS and my kettle, how does using dish soap and hosing with water on the interior sound? That's what I've been doing. I don't want my kettle to rust if I can avoid it. So far it hasn't, but I'd like to ensure I'm doing the right thing

[Attjack]

Clean enough so that it wouldn't mold if left unused for a few months.

[jehlydonuts]

I avoid introducing anything that isn’t food or wood into the grill. I raise the temp on the grill to 500+ at the end of every cook for 10 mins, then wire brush the grates. If I use my caste iron grate, I will wipe it with oil after brushing, then close the lid and vents and leave it until the next cook…usually no more than 3 days away. Making pizza also burns off all residue, as the target temp is 700F+.

[smokenoob]

I toss the SS grate in a tub and hit with SOS after messy cooks like chicken. The kettle 🤔 ….. not sure I ever cleaned it.. 😁

[jfmorris]

I will add this link for those who REALLY want their kettles to look like new:

http://weberkettleclub.com/weber-grill-restoration-interior-and-exterior-kettle-cleaning/

I've not done that in a few years. I mostly worry about keeping it clean enough to where the ash sweeps work freely and seal good. Any time I have hosed it out, I made absolutely sure everything was bone dry before I covered the kettle for storage, up to and including burning a chimney of briquettes in it to dry it out.

[Alan Brice]

Excellent Link jfmorris I would do this seeing how it is done.

[fracmeister]

Also not overly concerned with cosmetics. So long as stuff doesn't flake off the inside of the lid and fall on the food, I'm good

So long as A LOT OF stuff doesn't flake off