How to clean a BBQ grill!

Before Cleaning

After Cleaning

The easiest way to get your grill ready for the season is to schedule a grill service or cleaning with us over the phone or in one of our stores (click here to schedule a cleaning).  With a little elbow grease, it’s not too hard to do it yourself. Here’s what we recommend:

• Dismantle: Remove the grates, briquettes & trays, (or metal flavor trays), drip pan and burners from your grill. 
• Firebox: With everything removed; clean up any grease and food particles that may have accumulated on the bottom of the barbecue.  Use a good scraper (even a putty knife will do) to rid the inside firebox of most grease and garbage that has collected there.  Make sure all holes are open so that future grease will make its way to the drip pan.  CAUTION: Do not use a high powered sprayer to clean your grill it may damage the grill beyond repair.
• Cooking Grates: Remove the grates and spray them with warm soapy water or Carbon Off and let sit for 15 minutes.  Wipe off with a rag or paper towels (no scrubbing necessary) and then wash them with hot soapy water.  Carbon Off is available at both locations and also works wonderfully on the inside hood and sides of the grill.
• Valve Orifice: Check the valve orifice and Venturi tube connection (where the burner meets the valve) to make sure that spiders have not built a web inside…spiders are attracted by the smell of gas to gas valves and burners. CAUTION: Be sure to consult your owner's manual for the instructions on how to remove the burner. Also, before removing the burner, take particular note of the position of the Venturi tube(s) at the gas control valve. Do not try to remove the Venturi tube(s) from the burner base itself as it is easy to damage the sealing gasket.
• Burners: Check the burners to see if any opening is clogged with grease or food.  If so, use a small nail or drill bit to open the clogged holes.  Do not make the hole bigger; just free it of any blockage. Replace the burners and test fire them to maker sure that all holes or supplying gas and that the flame is a nice blue color.  An orange flame means there is too little or too much air.  Most burners have an air adjustment which you can use to correct the mixture of air & gas to get a clean burning flame.  CAUTION: Be sure to consult your owner's manual for instructions on how to remove the burner. Also, before removing the burner, take particular note of the position of the Venturi tube(s) at the gas control valve. Do not try to remove the Venturi tube(s) from the burner base itself as it is extremely easy to damage the sealing gasket and break the seal.
• Igniters: Check the igniters to make sure they have a fresh battery and that the electrode is one-eighth of an inch from the burner to generate a spark (not necessary with electronic igniters).
• Flavor Trays or Briquettes: If the grill has metal flavor trays, clean them with a grill brush to remove most grease and any food particles. If the grill has briquettes remove as much grease and food particles as you can.  If the briquettes are locked into a tray turn the tray upside down over the burners and turn the burners on high for 5 minutes to burn off the waste.
• Lights: If any lights have burned out, remove the cover and replace the bulb.
• Hood: Polish the outside of the grill with a high quality stainless steel cleaner.  We recommend Bayes since it’s very effective and environmentally friendly.  We sell Bayes in 4 oz. and 16 oz. bottles.  If your hood has scratches, we recommend Scratch-B-Gone stainless refinishes kits.  It comes with an instructional DVD, multiple grid buffer pads and polishing solution.
• Tools, Covers & Parts: If you need to replace any parts, cooking tools or need a new grill cover, now is the time to get it done.  We’d be happy to help and can be reached in our stores or by phone.
• Prep the Grates: After cleaning, coat your cooking grates with olive oil using a clean cloth or paper towels; never use cooking oil from an aerosol can on your cooking grates. Pre-heat your grill on high for 10 minutes to bake-off any remaining cleaners.  You are now ready for the season!