Power Wash the WSM


 
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Albert Sanchez

TVWBB Super Fan
Colleagues,

Noticed some heavy deposits of soot and concentrations of grease in certain interior areas of my WSM.

Has anybody power-washed the interior of their WSM? Perhaps at a coin wash place for cars?

Or is soot/grease build up just a part of the WSM "seasoning" process?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Albert:
[qb]Has anybody power-washed the interior of their WSM? Perhaps at a coin wash place for cars?[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Heck, no. The only thing I wash out is ashes from the charcoal bowl, and only brush off flakes from the inside of the dome lid. Soot on the inside of the WSM is your friend.
 
I agree with Doug for a couple of reasons, not the least of which I'm lazy. But, except for knocking the loose stuff off the inside of the lid, sweeping out the ashes, and burning off the grates. I haven't done anything to clean the build up inside the WSM in the year and a half I've owned it and cooked in it. At about the 10th cook in the then-new WSM, my temps became noticably more stable due in large part of the build up of crud inside. Why mess with a good thing? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
 
I give all of mine a nice spring power washing. Then I don't deal with them until the black flakes start looking bad on my food. Going to be working on some stainless steel grills for the spring. Handles on the lower grill, 1/4 inch grills, no rust ever, hit them with a weed burner and no problem. Will post pictures when I am done.
 
There comes a point when the build up in the lid can start to come off and end up on the your food. The lenght of time that it takes to create that build up depends on how much you cook. I have seem it come off in sheets, not a great thing if it's in the middle of a competition. I clean out the interior of mine twice a year with a presurer washer.
Jim
 
Bruce:

I've always used Simple Green with a spritz or two of Castrol Degreaser (the purple bottle). Then I rinse my grill very well (no pressure on the nozzle, just one flood of water from the hose). Then I take a chamois (one just for my grill; it will NEVER caress the sides of my car, ever!) and wipe everything down.

Now, I don't have a WSM yet, so I'm not sure if the above will work for it.

Hope this helps!
Mark
 
Wesley:
Check out Harbor Freight and look up "propane weed burner" or "propane torch".

www.harborfreight.com

I call it the Gas Hoe, as opposed to Liquid Hoe (a.k.a. Roundup). /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Mark
 
Think I'll try the power wash - to preempt any potential flaking onto the food.

Thanks for the suggestions! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

-Albert
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Albert:
[qb] Think I'll try the power wash - to preempt any potential flaking onto the food.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I would just mention a ball of paper towel-- or even newspaper-- would do as good a job as is needed, removing the flakes, but not the base soot layer.
 
Not sure if you have this stuff over there, but for anyone who like to keep things clean, I've been using a product called "BBQ Magic". This stuff is magic, you spray it on and instantly the BBQ looks new again. It cuts right through everything, grease, soot, grime, waterspots, whatever. It smells like a combination of window cleaner and the orange oil based goo removers. So maybe there's a clue there. It's the same color as Windex.
 
Sean,

Sounds good.

Some of our WSM veterans are advising that soot is good.

So, I may pressure wash the interior of my WSM to knock off any flakey stuff - but keep the soot.
There's several ways to knock off the flakey stuff too.

Thanks for the tip!

-Albert
 
Oh I know I shouldn't clean things really, but I can't help it! LOL Mostly I guess I want to keep things presentable, but as well I like the idea of it being hygienic and lasting a long time, both of which cleaning helps.

Speaking of the WSM, I have a cook on right now. I just pulled a ham out (home made) and am leaving a lamb casserole/stew in to cook for dinner. Never tried a casserole, let along a barbequed one. Crossing my fingers on the casserole, I know smoke cooking the ham in the WSM turns out sublime? only problem is I?ll have to wait until tomorrow to slice it! :-)
 
Ya, I'm fairly fastidious too - so I understand!

After emptying the ashes, cleaning the water pan and grates, I wipe down the exterior of my WSM after each use (with 409), then put the cover on.

Probably a common practice for folks around here. /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif


-Albert
 
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