Are your irritated by strange smells coming from your gas grill? Or, really worried about heavy grease build-up? You don’t need to worry at all. This guide is entirely dedicated to you because below, we have a complete detailed guide on how to clean your gas grill properly. This valuable article will guide you on how to thoroughly and properly clean your gas grill cooking grates, favourite bars, grease tray, burner tubes, the inside of the firebox, and the entire outside.
It is a moral duty to keep your gas grill clean. A clean and well-maintained grill will be going to function for several years. You don’t need to buy a new gas grill every season if your gas grill is well-maintained. A gas grill full of grease build-up can cause scary flare-ups anytime. It is very common for dirty grills to have strange smells. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with cleaning and maintaining your gas grill.
By the end, the result of your hard work will be a sparkling clean gas grill like new. You need to invest your next ten minutes in reading this informational guide completely not to miss any important information. Let’s begin with a shortlist of handy grill cleaning tools that you will be going to need in properly cleaning your gas grill. Here we go…
Useful Grill Cleaning Tools
1. Stainless steel cleaner for adding a little extra shine on stainless steel exterior surfaces.
2. A long-handled wire brush to scrub off gunks from hot cooking grates.
3. A five-gallon bucket to fill some warm soapy water for cleaning.
4. A grease-cutting dish soap for cleaning.
5. A few disposable scouring sponges.
6. A mixed paste of white vinegar and baking soda.
7. A pair of long-cuffed rubber gloves.
8. Soap and water.
Properly Cleaning Your Entire Gas Grill
We have well-described each step for cleaning the entire gas grill. We will start by cleaning the interior grill components like cast-iron cooking grates, favourite bars, grease tray then move to the inside of the firebox. Once done, we will discuss thoroughly cleaning the entire outside of the gas grill.
Burning to the highest temperature
You have to start by burning your gas grill to the highest temperature, close the hood and fire up the burners. Now, set your gas grill to the highest temperature and wait for at least thirty minutes. This high burning procedure will burn off and lose all the grease and food stuck on the grill grates. Therefore, you are granting your gas grill to the next cleaning steps.
Now, take a bucket of warm soapy water and dip the long handle wire brush into the bucket. It’s time to scrub this long handle brush on the grill grates. This step will scrub off all the carbon from the grill grates. Once done, turn off the gas supply then disconnect and remove the propane tank.
Caution: Make sure to carefully detach and remove the propane gas tank from your gas grill.
Soaking the Cooking Grates
Here, you have to wait for a few minutes to let your gas grill cool completely. Once your gas grill is cold, you have to remove all the flavourizer bars and grill grates. Now, fill your tab with warm soapy water and submerge all grill grates and flavourizer bars into the tub.
You have to wait for at least thirty minutes to let them soak in between, head over to the gas grill and remove parts. This will make thoroughly cleaning the grill a lot easier. You can drag components like grease trays, burner-control knobs, and warming racks. If the burner tubes of your gas grill are removable, then take them out. You can find a single screw or cotter pin on one end of each burner tube.
Cleaning the Inside of Firebox
Once, you have removed all the flavourizer bars and grill grates, and you will find a direct view of the inside firebox. It’s time to clean this firebox thoroughly. It would be best if you placed an empty bucket underneath the firebox where you find the grease tray opening. This empty bucket will play a vital role in catching all the flushed out debris, burning residues, and soapy water.
Now, take a plastic made putty knife and use it to scrape off all the debris and caked on gunk from the inside of the firebox. Once done, you will need a dry vacuum. You can also use a dry and portable vacuum like Milwaukee’s M18 hand vacuum. This vacuum will be going to collect all the left and lose debris and remainings. Once you are satisfied that the inside of the firebox is clean, take a garden house to rinse it out.
Cleaning the Internal Components
After working on the inside of the firebox, it’s time to get back to the soaked grill grates and favourite bars. Now, you will need a wire brush. , take out these soaked gas grill components then scrub them with the wire brush. If the grill grates have some obstinate gunks, then you will need to prepare a unique mixture for it. Don’t worry. We need baking soda and white vinegar. Now, mix both items to make a paste.
Thoroughly apply this prepared paste on the obstinate gunks. If your cooking grill grates have baked-on food particles, then take a large piece of aluminium foil. Now, crumble this aluminium foil into a ball. You can use this crumpled ball to clean the baked-on food particles on cooking grill grates. Once done, rinse all the surfaces clean. Now, leave the grill grates to dry entirely because wet cast-iron grill grates are prone to rust.
Note: While cleaning the grill grates, you can also check them for chips. These will also lead your grill grates to rust. If you found any chunks, then it’s our recommendation to apply the porcelain touch-up plaint on them.
Now, move to the burners, you can take advantage here to inspect any clues of corrosions. Also, insects these flame-emitting holes. If your gas grill is not in use for a while, then there are chances of spider eggs in them. You need a wire brush. Now, move the meeting across the row of holes in the direction of back and forth. The next step is to clean out the inside of each tube using a wire bottle brush.
Cleaning the Outside of Gas Grill
Here, you have entirely done cleaning the inside and interior components of your gas grills. It’s time to clean the outside. Start by taking out the dirty water bucket that we further placed underneath the grill where the grease tray has an opening. Now, fill this bucket with fresh, clean water. Now, pit inside a few squirts of dish soap.
Take a large kitchen sponge and scrub down the entire outside of your gas grill. When working on the finished surfaces, do not use items that can cause scratches, including metal sponges, coarse scouring pads, and steel wool. You can take your time and clean the entire outside thoroughly. Once you are satisfied that the outside looks clean, then use a super-absorbent microfiber towel to wipe down. This will dry outside as the whole completely.
Now, use a stainless steel cleaner to make your gas grill sparkling clean. You need to spray the cleaner on the outside of the gas grill. Now, wait for a few minutes. Use a dry clean cloth to wipe it off. It will be clean all the remaining residues. In case, if you don’t have a stainless steel cleaner, then use undiluted white vinegar. This works pretty much the same as the stainless steel cleaner.
Let the grill grates, favourite bars, grease tray, inside of the firebox, and outside of the grill completely dry. Once done, you can resemble all the components into your gas grill. Fix the burner tubes in place using cotter pins and screws. Before, fixing the cooking grates, make sure to rub them with a light coating of vegetable oil.
After fixing the cast-iron cooking grates, you can reconnect the propane tank. Now, close the hood and light up the burners. You have to wait for at least fifteen minutes and let this initial fire. This fire will season the cast-iron cooking grates and burn off any cleaning residues. Now, you have successfully assembled every component and thoroughly cleaned your gas grill.
Bonus Tips on Maintaining Your Gas Grill
1. Before grilling delicious steaks, burgers, and other mouthwatering dishes, make sure that the grease tray is not full. An overfill grease tray will lead to a dangerous and instant grease fire.
2. Once you have pre-heated the cooking grates, you can use a wadded piece of foil or a grill brush to scrub off any stuck food residue from the last cooking session. When the cooking grates get pre-heated, it becomes easier to lose these burner bits.
3. Apply a light coating of oil on hot grill grates. This will prevent the food from sticking.
4. You can also brush the cooking grates once you have done grilling. It’s totally upon you if you have time.
5. Periodically clean your gas grill to prevent any extensive damages.
Don’ts While Cleaning the Gas Grill
1. Don’t use your gas Grill cooking grates if they have significant rust on them. This will affect the overall functionality of your gas grill, discard this grill grate and buy a new one from the market.
2. Don’t forget to read the cleaning instructions manual given by the manufacturer carefully. This dedicated manual will contain some essential points for specific grill components because different brands use different materials in the grill construction.
3. Don’t use a gas grill fully covered with grease and caked-on gunks. These prevent the grill grates from infusing flavours to your grilled food.
4. Don’t use a gas grill with a full grease tray. It is essential to take care of the grease tray because it can cause sudden and scary flare-ups.
5. Do not scrub those materials on the stainless steel surface that can cause unwanted scratches.
Conclusion
Congrats! Your gas grill is sparkling clean. Above, we have featured the detailed step-by-step guide on how to clean your gas grill properly. This guide will help you to convert your dirty gas grill into a clean one. Make sure to disconnect and remove the propane gas tank after the initial fire of thirty minutes.
Do not use a metal scrub or anything that can make scratches on the stainless steel areas if you know about any further deep cleaning steps then you can share with the community in the comments section below. You can also ask your queries. Keep reading and keep grilling.
