There is a mouse in my new freebie!!! Mold too :(


 
J

JimV

TVWBB All-Star
Im gunna call this resto Mousinmold. So I picked this grill up the other night for free so no complaints here. That said this is the most disgusting grill I have poked my nose into. I guess it wasnt used for a long time and it sat covered under a tree with a cover that stayed wet for a while...didnt dry quick. When I opened the hood I guess what I was seeing in the cook box was mold. Usually its just caked on grease but this was kind of fuzzy and just had a moldy smell. I could also see some insulation so i was ready for a vermin as I disassembled. As it turns out the vermin was actually there but he was dead. So I ask u guys....what is the protocol for a Mousinmold grill? For me its a flipper but I dont want to get anyone sick. I sucked it up and dove in scraping and brushing away all of the heavy stuff. The I decided the best way to clean this grill was heat and lots of it!!! I put a good set of burners in the grill and just let it rip up to 600 degrees and stay there for 20 to 30 minutes. I figure that would kill any living organism immediately. Now the cook box looks more like a normal cook box. I plan to do a full Monty on this cook box so I can assure my buyer gets a clean safe grill for their money. So I will grind out the cook box back to fresh aluminum. Do u guys think that is enough to kill all of the nasty stuff?
 

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Yes, I think what you've done with a burn-out and what you plan to do with grinding out the box is a good strategy and sufficient to make the grill safe for its next owner.

I had a rat take up residence in my Weber Summit. I lit the grill, which caused it to flee quickly, then I scraped out the inside, did a long, hot burn-out, and did a final brush-out. Been enjoying it ever since...but hard to get the image of that dude sitting on top of the Flavorizer bars but under the cooking grates out of my head. 😬
 
Ya u have been violated! Rats are not allowed in such a beautiful grill. I feel confident a long burn kills anything. Heck when we were young we used to use the grills in the park without much thought but we got them mega hot first. Thanks for the follow up.
 
Those little critters love the inside of grills if the sit for any amount of time. I helped get grills ready at property way out in the boondocks that our church in Florida owns. Besides hornet nests, at least two of the grills had well crafted rodent nests in them made while nobody was out there for several months.
 
Put it on the rotisserie. Tastes like chicken :D I would not grind out that box. There may be virus or such. I would get it to a blaster
 
I am pretty sure the burn in killed any microbes, but a full grind out will be you best bet to be sure. Then another burn in.

When Jon T visited and I took him out back to check out some of my restoration candidates, we had the pleasure of seeing a couple grills with nests and scurrying mice. If you have a grill that won't be used for a long time, you might want to drop a Bounce dryer sheet in the drip pan. I use them in my RV to keep the mice out and they work great. Through 7 winters, I have never gotten my camper out of storage to find mice in it even once. I just lay several of the dryer sheets around the camper and in each storage area.
I don't suggest putting them directly inside the grill such as on the grates or even inside the bottom of the cook box since they are toxic and may leave a lingering odor in the grill.
 
Hantavirus is nothing to mess around with. I would not be worried about the area above the burners, but I would be concerned about the area below the burners. I’ve never put a temp probe down there and I have no idea what the temp would be down there with the burners running full blast.
 
Just throw some tin foil over the grates and turn it up on high. I guarantee you that you will see 500 through out the whole bottom of the grill. Just don't over due it, because eventually the temps will get much higher than that.
 
Yeah, I would have to believe a good long burn-off would kill anything inside a grill. But being safe is a good idea. I am not sure you need to do a complete media blasting, but using a real disinfectant and a long burn-off would seem sufficient to me.
 
To clarify, I don't think grinding out the firebox is necessary, just that if you're doing that anyway as part of the flip, doing a burn-out + grind-out will be like belt and suspenders, if you catch my drift. ;)
 
By the way, Weber.com says scrape out the stuff and burn-out "for at least 15 minutes". At least that's their story and they're sticking to it.
 
I suggested media blasting it INSTEAD of grinding it out. I don't think inhaling those viral particles from the dead creature is a good idea. Media blasting is done in a closed and sealed environment
 
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