How to clean your grill, safely and efficiently

By Bonnie Mo, Special to CTVNews.ca

Before the sun sets on summer grill season, give your barbecue a proper power wash. An annual clean up not only ensures optimal steak-cooking conditions, but will keep it working safely and efficiently. Here are tips on how to deep clean your grill without making a total mess.

Turn up the heat

An annual scrub and polish of your barbecue is especially important after a winter spent hiber-nating under a foot of snow, when chances are good there are some mummified remnants of barbecues past lurking under the hood. The good news, most of the cooked-on gunk can be singed off by cranking up the heat to incinerate any long-forgotten bits from last Labour Day’s steak dinner.

Check for blockages

To check for anything that could potentially slow the gas flow, inspect the burner and gas supply tubes for spider webs, caked on grease or areas that are rusted over. Clear them out using a pipe cleaner or long wire brush.

Soak it up

Remove the grates and metal plates and soak them in hot, soapy water (dish soap works like a dream) to help lift and remove old, cooked on grease. Meanwhile, clean the underside of the lid first with a stainless steel brush, then with a soap-soaked sponge. Buff dry with a soft cloth. Next, remove the drip pan, scrape out as much debris as possible and set it in a bucket of hot soapy water to start loosening stubborn grease.

Get scrubbing

To really make it sing, a good old-fashioned elbow-grease session is in order. Take the grates and drip pan out of their bubble bath and scrub them with a grill brush. Rinse everything off with a quick spray of the hose and set aside to dry.

Clean the outside

Don’t use harsh cleaners or steel wool to clean stainless steel or porcelain exteriors since they can scratch or damage it. This is especially important when cleaning on and around the areas of the barbecue that have printing, since it can render it illegible or even it rub it off completely. In-stead, wash the outer portion of your barbecue with warm soapy water and a microfibre or other soft cloth that won’t leave bits of fibre behind.

Underneath it all

Don’t forget to clean out the under cabinet if you have one. This often-neglected area is a good place to store your barbecue cooking utensils, so it’s a good idea to keep it tidy and fresh.

Season the grill

After reassembling your now-sparkling grill, season it with a little canola oil to keep anything from sticking.