Mold


 
F

fritz

Guest
Every year when i break out the WSM I always have a bit of mold - just some white spots hear and there. Now ive read on the Amazing Ribs sight that when he finds this (which he says WSM's are notorious for this) he scrubs the whole thing and basically disinfects it with a bleach solution. ?! In essence, removing all seasoning. Is this necessary? I usually just give it a very hot run, full throttle 350*-400* and wipe away mold that i find that has turned brown. I cant imagine any pathogens being able to survive all that smoke and heat for 6 hrs.

Ive been wondering the thoughts on this and how the rest of the you all deal with this issue.
 
Burning it off works fine. If the grates have mold just wash them in hot soapy water. I think some people are just a little to paranoid.
 
I'm a washer of grates on WSM only. It just doesn't get hot enough to burn off like my grill.
Thanks for the input
 
I never had mold in my WSM...I read somewhere that after you close all vents when you are done cooking the next day the pan needs to be cleaned. Then leave the bottom vents open. Hope this helps.
 
You could potentially utilize a diluted simple green solution or vinegar (acetic acid) and Lemon juice mix with a high salt content.
 
I am new to the WSM but have been using Weber grills for many, many years and have never seen any mold growing in my kettles. Is this only WSM or other Weber kettles as well?
 
Bob Sample said:
Burning it off works fine. If the grates have mold just wash them in hot soapy water. I think some people are just a little to paranoid.
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Bob is right. Mould is way over stated in some situations. It's fungal growth. Moisture, low light and warmth. It thrives on those three ingredients. Kinda like mushrooms! Burn it off and you'll be fine.
 
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Bob Ivey said:
I am new to the WSM but have been using Weber grills for many, many years and have never seen any mold growing in my kettles. Is this only WSM or other Weber kettles as well?
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It is a WSM issue. As other posters said the best is the preventative measure of leaving the vents open. I have had it from time to time in the past growing on the sides of the middle section. I just fired the cooker up and let it rip. It is not coming in direct contact with the food. I always remove the cooking grates and water pan during storage between cooks so mold growing on them was never an issue.
 
I guess i use mine to consistant to get a grow. But i never have mine covered. Vents not really fully closed.(but my WSM stands under a roof) Open vents must be the key. And to dat i almost never remove my clay after a smoke and only empty the ash when its in the way.
 
Like others.. Use it often and when something looks off, just do a quick burn-off.
If it looks like a mad science experiment with some alien green stuff growing in thar, than definitely do the whole sanitizing thing. :)

Tim
 
Fritz,

If I see any gunk on my wsm grates I toss them on my grill after a cook and let them burn off. Works like a charm, with little or no waste.
 
I live in one of the darkest, wet climates around and I have not ever seen any mold on the WSM...leave the vents open and clean up the water pan and you should be golden! To clean I'd run a load of coals fully lit, no water pan and let her rip for a bit!!
 
Morgan C is right. Leave all the vents open. Mold grows when there is no airflow. With a constant airflow, mold spores don't get a chance to grow. I live in Puget Sound area of Washington and we're almost as wet and dark as Juneau. I've never had a problem with mold. Mold is over-blown by the media types looking to pump up ratings. On any given day, we are all exposed to dozens or hundreds of mold spores (can you say Gorgonzola???) , as well as thousands of different germs and bacteria. There are maybe three molds that are considered toxic, and none of them will be growing on the grates of a WSM or any other smoker or grill, so relax!

I will give my Smokey Joe, Kettle and now WSM grates an annual cleaning by putting them in the oven and running the self-clean cycle. This kills two birds with one stone. The rest of the time, a good scrubbing with a grill brush after each use and I'm good to go. FYI, I also have cast iron grates for my Genesis, so no annual cleaning for them. They get a scraping and an olive oil wipe-donw after each use, followed by a blast of heat.
 
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Well my first wisecrack remark would be to use it year round:wsm:

But as others have said, keep the water pan clean regardless if you use water or just foil and store with vents open
 
I store my cooker in the garage uncovered when not in use. I always dump my water pan out and I store my water pan upside down in my 22'' kettle. Unless you take a towel to the pan there will be at least a couple drops of moisture and I don't want that to sit in there. My buddy in Mississippi leaves his on his deck covered and he gets mold pretty often.
 



This is what I woke up to this morning as I wanted to cook some ABTs......looks like the Weber kettle gets the job and I'll have to strip this down for a big clean up.

Davo
 
Own all three WSM's and have never had that problem. If I did, I would scrub the grate and do a burn-out. I don't use water in the water pan. They are all stored with all vents open and with covers on outside.
 
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