How clean is clean

If this is already posted the I apologize. I just bought a WSM and turned out two delicious turkeys. My question is "How clean should my smoker be for my next cook"?
I cleaned both grates back to a shiny silver, soaked and scrubbed the water bowl (bowl still has a little baked on grease) and emptied the ash catcher.
How clean should I get the insides of the smoker and the lid? I've read that you want a coating or seasoning for optimum performance but I don't want any science experiments growing when I'm not looking.
I've read cleaning techniques on other forums but advice from real WSM users would be great.

First welcome to the forum. Sometimes subjects have been discussed in the past, but they also can be difficult to find at times. So don't be afraid to ask anything, there is a bunch of great knowledgeable people on here and they will steer you in the right direction.

That's what I do and I'll also wipe off the edge where the lid goes. For the water bowl wrap it in foil and just have a shallow depression you don't have to foil all the way to the bottom of the bowl, just cover it. That will make your clean up much easier, just take the foil off and put new foil on between cooks.
I also try and do a high heat no water pan chicken cook about every third or forth time to really heat it up to kill off any critters that might be taking up residence inside.
Safest thing is" look before you cook" to make sure no fuzzes are growing inside. I also leave all my vents open so there is good air flow when not in use.

I clean the grates and that's about it. When I open the lid, there's an aroma that you'll smell, but it's a good aroma.

The grates need to be scraped off each time you cook.
You have to look inside the lid sometimes to look for something that needs to be scraped off.
That is all you need.

I just wire brush the grates to knock off any crud, a thin layer of leftover BBQ grease protects the nickel plated grates from surface rust.
I don't do the water, but if you do than give the lid a few whacks with the side of your hand to knock off any flakes.
Science experiments are usually caused from leaving a water pan filled with whatever, or rainwater seeping in your WSM.

Tim

You can wrap the water pan in foil, makes it easier to keep clean.

I normally scrap off the grates before and after each cook. Besides that I don't clean anything unless stuff is flaking off and it could fall on the food. Goodluck!