Knowing the proper techniques of how to clean a gas grill with minimal effort is sure to save your day and uplift your mood if you were tense regarding cleaning it. A BBQ party is one of the most favorite and enjoyable parties that all love to have, especially with our family and friends.
But after such tasty grills, the next thing that makes us worry is none other than cleaning it. Moreover, if you don't clean it properly, you will get the desired taste, and slowly, it will lose its longevity. Obviously, you will not want any one of them to happen to you.
So, here we are to make your life easier and comfortable by bringing the exact and easy steps following which your life will become easier than ever. And next time, instead of worrying about the cleaning, you will find yourself love it.
Most importantly, how can we forget, you will get to have more BBQ parties with mouth-watering and tasty grills. Even talking about such things is enough to raise the desire to have a BBQ party. Hence let's start our cleaning journey to make your life simpler with these techniques that are sure to save your time and effort.
How to Clean a Gas Grill With Minimal Effort?
Some gas grill takes less time and effort to clean, while some need much time and effort. That's why the best is to clean it immediately after using it. In this way, the stains will not get that much stubborn and will be easy to clean. Otherwise, it will get harder with time and affect the heating system along with the taste of our food.
That's why we have come with the quickest and easiest cleaning procedure that can help you get the best possible result without making you tiring anymore. Before beginning the cleaning procedure, you must know and gather all the below things so that you don't face any problem while cleaning:
Now that you have gathered these things, so let's move to our cleaning process (step by step guide), so you can benefit yourself from it:
Step 1: Warm The Gas Grill
Tun on the gas for at least 15-20 minutes with the highest flame and close the cover. As a result, the burner will get warm, and the remains will burn off any large deposits of the cooked food. In addition, the oils and other greases will get softened, which will thus make the cleaning faster and easier.
Moreover, you can brush the grates with the grill brush or aluminum foil. It is optional but will make the grates an additional cleaning treatment as they are typically the dirtiest ones.
Step 2: Turning the gas supply off
Once it is adequately cooled (not to cause any burn), the next step is turning off the gas supply and remove the propane tank pipe. Don't try to clean your gas grill even by mistake while hot or in a turned-on state.
Both of these things are risky enough to harm anyone severely. Hence, though it seems a no-job to do, we have still included it in our step as, in reality, it is one of the top factors that you require to check properly. Nothing can be more important than one's life safety, so make sure that it is cool enough not to burn, and the gas valve is turned off.
Step 3: Take out and clean the grill grates and smokebox
It is the step where the actual cleaning process gets started. The grates are where we grill our food, for which it gets dirty the most compared to other parts. Hence it needs to be kept clean as much as possible. Otherwise, the new food will taste like the previous one and thus we will not be able to enjoy our food and cravings.
You can wear gloves before removing the grates and smokebox if it is hot, and you don't want your hand to get dirty. After removing, make a warm water solution with liquid soap and then soak the grates on it for at least 30 minutes to soften the grease. If your grease is stubborn to get removed, you may have to re-soak it for more than 30 minutes.
After then, using a wire or grill brush or crumpled aluminum foil, scrub both the sides of the grates until all the grease is totally removed. Once your cleaning is done, wash them with clean water and let the grates dry under the sun. In the case of the smokebox, it should be emptied at first, after then wash it properly, and finally let it dry.
Step 4: Take out and clean the metal parts
Once you are done cleaning the grates, your next step is removing the metal parts (placed under the grates) which cover the burners. The cleaning process of these is almost similar to grates, except that it needs to be scrubbed using a soft sponge.
And also, the scrubbing must be done gently with soft hands. While cleaning the burners, make sure that you don't use any soaked sponge; instead, let it be moist. Besides, check the burner's holes and clean them. So the gas flow doesn't get disturbed due to the presence of anything in those holes. Finally, let the burners dry after you are done wiping them.
Step 5: Clean the bottom pot
In case your gas grill has a detachable bottom pan, you must also remove and clean them. For cleaning it, you can use a spatula to brush them but be gentle while scrubbing unless you don't want your one to get any scratches.
Some grillers come with unremovable bottom pots. So if your one is not removable, use a spatula for scrubbing and then wipe it using a soft bubbly sponge. Once your cleaning is complete, wash it with clean water and then let it dry before putting back the metal parts.
Step 6: Fix the gas grill
Once all the parts are dried completely, set them in their designated location. After then, set the grill to the gas supply. But before doing these, make sure to check the gas valves.
Once you are done, lighten up the grill to burn any other soap (if present) and dries off all the other wet places. Continue doing it for at least 5-10 minutes constantly. After then turn off the gas grill and remove it from the gas supply again. For keeping the dirt away, you can cover the grill grates with aluminum foil until use for the next time.
Step 7: Wipe the external parts
Now that you have cleaned all the other essential parts, the next and final step is wiping and cleaning the exterior parts like the cover, handles, knobs, and gas valves. If your gas grill is stainless steel, then cleaning and wiping will be much easier, and after each clean, you will find it sparkling like the new one.
For cleaning the external parts, you can use warm foamy water and a soft sponge for scrubbing. Do it gently with soft hands; otherwise, it will get scratches. Once you are done with your cleaning, wash it with clean water and spray using a stainless cleaner. You can skip the spraying option; it is not mandatory.
But better to spray if you want to give it a new fresh and sparkle look. Try to keep your griller in a dustless area with no chance of direct contact with the sunlight. It will increase the longevity of your gas grill. Lastly, a piece of advice for your safety:
Always check the gas valves properly before using to make sure that it is tightly attached to lessen any leakage chance.
Now that you know the cleaning techniques of a gas grill with minimal effort, let's look at the method for cleaning the inside of a gas grill and how to clean using vinegar:
How to Clean The Inside of a Gas Grill?
The gas grill inside also needs to be cleaned properly in order to get the exact desired and savoring taste from your BBQ. That's why we have come with the exact method you can use for cleaning the inside of a gas grill. Check out the below stated step by step procedure to grace yourself:
Step 1: Turning the gas off
The first and foremost job of yours while cleaning a gas grill is to make sure that you have turned the gas off properly. However, it may look like a simple and easy job, but it is one of the crucial factors that you need to do seriously.
After all, it is for your own safety, and nothing can be more important than this. As these slight mistakes of yours can cost you a lot of damages and in worse cases, it can even take your precious life.
Accidents can happen at any time, anywhere. That's why you must check that you have turned the gas off while cleaning to be on the safe side. Hence, turn off the valves of the gas and disconnect the grill from the gas source. The gas valves are usually placed adjacent to the backyard or maybe even in the front yard.
Step 2: Take out the grates
The 2nd step is to remove the grill grates and set them aside in a safe place for the time being. As these grates are not connected to the grill, so it is easy to separate them. If you don't want your hands to get dirty, you can wear latex gloves while taking out the grates.
Step 3: Detach the metal plates
Underneath the grates, some metal parts are used for covering the burners. Make sure to remove them as well after removing the grill grates. Many people think that it is an unnecessary step that needs no cleaning. But it is a wrong concept because while cooking the oils, and other substances from the meat fall via the top grill grates on them.
For which they also get oily, dirty and catch stains marks on them. Obviously, after knowing these, you will not keep them unclean anymore, Right!!!
Hence, your next step after removing the grill grates is to remove the metal pieces. Keep them in a safe place as like the grill grates until it is washed.
Step 4: Vacuum the grime and charcoal
Once you remove the grill grates and the metal parts, you will find many specks of dirt, charcoal, and charred food in the inner part of the gas grill. One of the easiest methods to remove all of these things is using the handheld vacuum cleaner. Moreover, you can also use an extension cable along with the vacuum, if needed.
Use of the vacuum cleaner will undoubtedly save plenty of your time and effort. However, if you don't want to use it or don't have any, then you can just wipe the dirt and burnt food using a cloth.
The gas grill can be quite dirty, so it is better not to use those clothes that you don't want to get any stains or dirt. Any old cloth can do the work. So why use a new cloth, after all, it is dust that you are cleaning. If you still want to use a new one, it's up to you. I have just said it to make you aware of the fact in case you don't know.
Step 5: Soak the grates and metal plates
The next step is soaking the grill grates and the metal plates either in your sink or in a big-sized plastic container. Don't worry, in these steps you don't need to rub anything. Instead, you just have to fill your sink or plastic container with warm water and dishwashing soap after placing the grates and metal parts there.
After then, you have to let them get set and immersed entirely with the warm soapy water and wait for the magic. Within 15-25 minutes, you will see that the stains are getting loose. The main purpose of soaking then is to make the stains get loose.
Many grates are big-sized and may not fit the sink. So if your one also doesn't work properly, then the better option is to soak it in a plastic container with warm bubbly water that can accommodate it perfectly.
Note:
If your stains are very old, you need to soak them for at least 30 minutes or more to get loose. And if they are very stubborn stains, you may require to add more hot water and soap to re-immerse them for some more times.
Step 6: Wipe grates and metal plates
After the soaking is complete, you need to wipe the soap and other dirt using a moist cloth or duster. Again, make sure to use old cloth for doing these jobs. Otherwise, that cloth can get pretty dirty, and indeed, you will not want your new piece of cloth to get that filthy or stains that may remain forever.
Step 7: Use a grill brush
After following all the steps, if you still face problems while removing the hard stains, you can soak it multiple times till the dirt fully get softened enough to remove. Another thing that you can try is using a grill brush instead of using a cloth to wipe. These brushes are pretty handy for removing stubborn stains and quicker to get the result compared to wiping.
How to Clean a Gas Grill With Vinegar?
Generally, we tend to use dishwashing soap for cleaning our gas grill. In fact, if you think about it, you will find that it has become a norm for us. On the other hand, the dedicated and formulated mixtures such as degreasers often feel that it is excess and suitable to use only in serious conditions.
Some stains are so adamant that they don't even want to take the name of getting removed no matter how much soap you use or how much pressure you give while rubbing. In the whole process, you will only get tired, and a lot of your valuable time will be spent doing this stuff that will not even give your desired output.
So what to do in these situations?
Perhaps you have heard that high-acidity cleaning mixtures are an excellent hack for fighting against the stubborn stains that don't want to leave. If you didn't know or haven't applied it, try doing it as the outcome will undoubtedly make you happy and amazed. Moreover, you just need only two ingredients for making this strong and effective mixture.
Though it is simple, it still needs no saying that it is one hell of a stain remover. Why am I saying this? Try it, and you will know it by yourself. You may have guessed the mixture, yet let me tell you, it is none other than the mixture of powerful vinegar and baking soda.
All you need is an exact proportion and mix of the solution of vinegar, water, and baking soda. Thus, your mixture is ready to begin the fight with the oily and challenging stains.
How to Clean a Gas Grill (normal grates) with Vinegar
Now, let's talk about the techniques (step by step) about how to clean a gas grill (normal grates) with vinegar so you can quickly benefit yourself from it:
Cleaning the Caked-on and Brittle Grates Using the Vinegar Mixture
These are the easy steps you can follow for cleaning gas grill using the vinegar mixture and that too with much comfort at a minimum expense. However, for cleaning the caked-on and brittle grates using the vinegar mixture, you need to follow a different technique compared to the above one.
Hence, follow the below-mentioned process in case you have brittle or caked-on grates that require a proper cleaning:
Caution Note:
Only the grates can be cleaned using the vinegar mixture, not the entire gas grill. So keep these things in mind while cleaning.
Some life-saving hacks for you
Before cleaning your gas grill, you must know and take some safety measures and tips for your own safety. We care for you. That's why you want to share these safety instructions so you can follow and protect yourself from any harm or danger:
The Bottom Line
Cleaning a gas grill is a must if you want to get the relishing and mouth-watery taste from your meals. Otherwise, if your gas grill is not cleaned, you will find that the taste gets affected by the remaining burn foods and stains, no matter how tasty ingredients you use in your food.
Moreover, if you don't clean it for months, you will find that the longevity of your gas grill has lessened. Most importantly, these greases can cause several health-related problems, like food poisoning. Therefore, don't cook on an unclean gas grill and clean it after each use to get the best result, service, and maintain our precious health.
Hopefully, this article regarding how to clean a gas grill with minimal effort was a useful one for you. So the next time anyone asks you these questions or gets surprised seeing your clean one, make sure to give them the answer like a pro. Hence, follow the techniques and tips as instructed and benefit yourself. Lastly, enjoy your grilling without having to worry anymore!!!