How to Winterize Your Grill So It Lasts Longer
Every time you use your grill, it’s good practice to give it a quick once-over afterward — by scraping food and gunk off of the grates and, for a charcoal or pellet grill, emptying any ashes. But at least once a year (or more, if you think your grill needs it), a thorough cleaning is necessary to keep your appliance performing at its best. And there’s one good reason for that: “Clean burners work more reliably,” Tim explained.
The perfect time to do this is at the end of the grilling season — ideally on a sunny day — to help the grill and its parts dry faster and more completely. “Even if you grill well into the fall season, it’s a good idea to wipe it clean of summer’s burgers and dogs and start fresh,” Lesley said. Tim agreed and rightly pointed out: “If you wait until winter when it’s genuinely cold outside, you’ll never do it.”
By doing a deep cleaning at the end of the grilling season, you also have the chance to check whether any parts need replacing before the next year. In her grill-cleaning guide, Lesley reports that “burner hoods and cooking grates in particular take a lot of abuse and aren’t meant to last forever.” But, as an added bonus, this actually makes the job easier to tackle.
“Grease hardens as it ages, becoming almost wax-like, so cleaning the thing now will be easier than in the spring,” Tim explained. “It also means you won’t begin the next season with a filthy, possibly rancid grill to deal with, because as your grill sits unused, food bits and grease left on the grill will go bad and possibly attract vermin.”
The grill-cleaning guide walks you through the steps — including what supplies you’ll need — whether you have a gas, charcoal, or pellet grill. Even if your grill is in disgusting shape, you should be able to deep-clean it in about an hour, tops.
We also recommend donning gloves to protect your hands while you work. (We like these dish gloves from Elgood). Grills have a lot of sharp parts. Plus, if you’re working with ash from a charcoal or pellet grill, remember that “ashes plus water equals lye,” Tim cautioned. You don’t want to come into contact with that stuff.
