How do you clean your grills?


 
J

James Harvey

TVWBB Pro
I know I'll get everything from degreasers to non cleaners but what does the average backyard cook use?
I use the green plastic scouring pads after soaking the grills for a few hours in hot water (much to my wife's displeasure as I soak them in the kitchen). Just curious as to what you all use.
 
I'm with Mike and just use a wire brush. I'll give the inside of the gasser a good scrubing in the spring,but that's about it.
 
Although I clean my grills with the wire. Brush while still hot and then again when cool, I use CitruSafe on my smoker. Just stray it on, let it set a few minutes and then a quick stroke with the brush before hosing off. Works pretty good and is all outside so I don't hear the comments that I got when I once tried cleaning a grate in the kitchen sink.

Mike
 
I used a stainless steel pot and pan cleaner ( a powder like Barkeepers friend) and a scotch brite pad. Worked pretty good at getting the heavy crust off the grates and almost brought it back to it's original form. Still took a lot of elbow grease and the set tub I cleaned them in got pretty stained.
 
For grates on my WSM-OTG. First a scrape and a couple strokes with a SS brush followed by a brass brush and a final wipe with a paper towel. If thar really crusty I use a 1/4" open end wrench.
It's allot easier cleaning em right after a cook, but I sometimes forget till the next day.
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Tim
 
for the grill, wire brush right after I'm done cooking.

For the WSM, nothing. I throw those grates onto my kettle once done cooking so that the heat "sterilizes" the WSM grates.

Never a problem.
 
Clean? I don't scrub the insides. At most, I'll hose out ash and let it dry completely in the sun. Grates get a grate brush. When I get goop on the outside, like around the top vent or around the thermometer on the WSM, I'll use Simple Green, or 409, TSP or whatever general purpose cleaner I have.
 
Brush the grates before each cook, after they've heated up for 5-10 minutes. (I leave the gunk on after cooking).

This summer, I gave the Performer the oven cleaner treatment for the first time. I was amazed how good she looked. That may become an annual tradition.
 
Up to now I've been stacking the dirty grates grates in a plastic trash bag which is tied closed, grates covered with water with two shots of ERA laundry soap added. Let them sit overnight. Next day spray them off and it cleans pretty much everything except the carbon down to the chrome, at least where the food was sticking.

Next, instead of the plastic bag, which can leak sometimes, I'll try a plastic hot water heater drip pan. Have to plug the hole somehow.

For the carbon buildup I have some stuff called Carbon-Off! but I haven't tried it yet - haven't really seen the need at this point.
 
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