Summer is just around the corner, which means everyone is going to be taking out their BBQ grills and calling their friends over for summer BBQs. Given that summers are short-lived in most areas and the sun is rare, a lot of people love to make the best out of this season, and what better way than to throw BBQ parties?

Although everyone loves a perfect steak, not everyone is very good at cleaning their BBQ grills afterwards. While you might have come across several tips and tricks on the internet to clean the grill, in real life, these tricks don’t work most of the time.

Doesn’t that leave you frustrated? When you just cannot get those grease and spots out of your BBQ grills? So we will just skip right to the point on how you clean your grills, be it gas, charcoal, or wood palette with an oven cleaner.

So while last year you might have encountered accidents like knocking your charcoal grill on your lawn, or killed a large chunk of grass in the process of cleaning your grill, after reading this article having a BBQ day and cleaning after your BBQ parties may become a whole lot easier.

How to Clean your Gas, Charcoal, and Palette BBQ Grills with an Oven Cleaner?

We will divide our article into three parts:

• How to clean your Gas BBQ Grill
• How to clean your Charcoal BBQ Grill
• How to clean your Palette BBQ Grill

How to Clean Your Gas BBQ Grill?

First thing first, since most of us have Gas BBQ grills because they are easy to use and easy to clean as well, given that you clean it after each use. A Gas BBQ grill is easy to use, all you have to do is turn the knob and light the grill. 

Before using the Gas grills, you must get a secure gas line for your grill and make sure you have a gas safety certificate to ensure that there won’t be any accidents or gas leakages from your grill. Next, when you have made sure of the safety check, now we will tell you how to clean your Gas BBQ grill after each use.

The challenge comes when there are some leftovers of tough melted cheese residue, grease, spatters and food particles, etc. If you do not clean the grill after each use, these leftovers might end up building onto your burners, making your grills less effective.

Remember the more you take care of your grill and clean it routinely the longer you’re BBQ grill will be the life of it. Before starting to clean your BBQ grill, make sure you have the following items:

• Disposable gloves (Latex or Nitrile)
• Paper Towels
• Grill brush made of metal bristles or a scrub brush made of non-metal bristles
• Oven cleaner (Any Brand would do)
• Oil
• Water
• A Plastic Box

Now let us guide you with the step-by-step procedure to clean the gas grill.

Steps to Clean a Gas Grill

1. Put on your gloves and get ready
2. High heat your grill for 10 minutes
3. The scrape of the grates and residue with the grill brush off the surface
4. Spray the interiors and exteriors of your gas grill with the oven cleaner. Remember to spray it enough that it covers all parts of the grill and forms a foamy layer on top of it.
5. Use the non-metal grill brush now and use it to scrub every inch of your grill.
6. If you have a grease tray, it’s time to take that out and scrub it
7. If you do not have a grease tray, try to locate the grease near the burners and scrub it off
8. Use water and a paper towel to wipe off what you can off the grill
9. Now use water pressure to get rid of all the residue you scrubbed of. You better do this part where your grass or your cleaning area won’t be affected.
10. Again use the paper towel and water to get rid of the leftover residue and let it dry.
11. After the grill is dry, rub it with a thin layer of vegetable oil.
12. Close the lid of the grill and clean the outside of it with a paper towel and cover the grill for next time.

How to Clean your Charcoal Grill?

Did you know that charcoal grill is banned in many areas of the U.S.A? Similarly in the UK, there are a few states that have prohibited the use of charcoal grills as well. Nonetheless, the taste of that charcoal grill in our BBQ food is so rich that it is literally to die for.

Did you know, today we even have charcoal pizzas? Some of us just love the taste of that burnt charcoal on our food. And charcoal BBQ is just amazing. While the food is tasty, the cleaning process is not that simple.

Charcoal grills can have some carbon build-up in them. These grills also tend to get a little rusty and those ashes can end up blocking the dampers. Nonetheless, it’s a lot easier to clean the charcoal grill compared to the gas grills. 

You need to have the following products to clean your charcoal grill:

• Disposable gloves (Latex or Nitrile)
• Paper Towels
• Grill brush made of metal bristles or a scrub brush made of non-metal bristles
• Oven cleaner (Any Brand would do)
• Vegetable oil

Steps to Clean a Charcoal Grill

1. Wear your gloves
2. Dampen your grill brush and start scrubbing the grill gates. You have to do this as soon as you are done with cooking.
3. Wipe the ashes off the pan of your grill with a paper towel
4. Now spray the grates and interior of your grill with the oven cleaner till a foaming layer appears. Let it sit on the surface for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Use both the brushes and scrub everything out.
6. Use water pressure or simple water to rinse everything out.
7. Let the grill dry
8. Put the grill back together, clean the exterior the same way and let it dry.
9. Cover your grill with a tarp or anything else until next use.

How to Clean Palette BBQ Grills?

Cleaning a wood Palette BBQ grill is the same as cleaning the Gas grill and the charcoal grill. The key element in cleaning both the grills is to take out every component, scrub it off and put it back together.

You will need all the same things for cleaning that you needed for Gas BBQ grill. This includes the following products:

• Disposable gloves (Latex or Nitrile)
• Paper Towels
• Grill brush made of metal bristles or a scrub brush made of non-metal bristles
• Oven cleaner (Any Brand would do)
• Oil
• Water
• A Plastic Box

Steps to Clean a Palette BBQ Grill

1. Wear your gloves
2. Remove all the components of your BBQ grill
3. Clean and scrub the grill parts using the scrub and grill brush.
4. Use the oven cleaner and spray it on all the components till a foaming layer is made.
5. Let it sit for a few minutes
6. Scrub it off with a brush to get rid of stubborn residue.
7. Rinse with water and let it dry
8. Get the ash out of the bottom of the grill. You can do this with a vacuum or just scoop it out, or you can also use a dustpan.
9. Put everything back together.
10. Clean the exterior of the grill and let it dry.

Conclusion

A lot of us are too lazy to clean our BBQ Grill but just remember this, the more you take care of your grills the longer the grill will work effectively and efficiently for you.

And let us be honest, be it summer or winter BBQ makes every meal special. Given that a lot of us are stuck at our homes in lockdowns and indoor dining is now something we can only dream about, outdoor BBQ food is something that can make our foods special and eventful.

So whether it is just your family in your Sunday BBQ lunch, be sure to clean your grill afterwards. If you make this a habit, grilling is going to get a whole lot easier for you as well. The thing you need to take care of is to be safe when grilling out any accidents or mishaps. A lot of landowners provide insurance for accidents like these.

So now that you know how to clean your BBQ grill, we hope your summers are full of health and tasty food! And most of all, make sure you do everything safely.