How Frequently to Clean Your Grill

If you are serious about grilling, you know that properly cleaning your grill is essential to keeping it in good working order. While we recommend at least scraping down the grates and removing the ash after each cook, here are a few other cleaning steps you’ll want to do.

Oiling the Grates: After Every Other Cook

Now if your grill is new, we recommend oiling the grates after every cook so they can get properly seasoned and the first seasoning is vital to getting the best life out of them.

After you’ve been using your grill for a while, you can cut back on oiling to after every other cook. Not only does this help get some of the stuck-on debris off the grates, it also gives them an extra layer of protection against rust.

If you aren’t cooking every day and are storing your grill for three or more days in between each cook, we recommend oiling your grates after each cook to keep them protected.

Live close to the beach or somewhere humid? The more oil the better as it will help protect against water getting to the grates and corroding the surface.

Clean Up Grease: Every Month on So

This step largely depends on how frequently you are cooking and what you are cooking but generally it is a good idea to at least check for grease build up in the ash pan, under the ash pan, and under the gas burners every month.

Scrape out any grease to help prevent flare ups and discourage any critters from taking up residence in your grill when it’s not in use.

A note about grease cups: Keep an eye on your grease cup. The last thing you want is for it to start overflowing in the middle of a cook. It’s a good idea to save up a few spare cans so you can easily just replace the can after the one you are using gets full.

Clean the Outside of the Grill: Twice a Year

Grills get dirty. Lots of smoke, ash and general outside build up can cause the outside of the grill to get pretty dirty. We recommend cleaning the outside of your grill thoroughly twice a year.

We do not recommend using water on your grill, but if you do, make sure that it is thoroughly dry before storing. In general, we find that a good wipe down with a cloth and then oiling the whole outside down is the best way to keep it clean and in great shape.

A lot of ambassadors swear by spray oil and will spray down their grills with oil inside and out after every third or so cook.

Side Fire Box: After Every Cook

If you have a Side Fire Box on your grill, you should be cleaning it out after every cook. Scrape out the ashes and give the whole thing a good spray down with oil on the outside. This will help keep it in the best shape and prevent rust.

Inside of the AKORN: Twice a Year

If you have an AKORN, you might have noticed what looks like paint peeling off the lid. Rest assured, this is not paint. This happens with other grills too. Char-Griller does NOT paint the inside lid of our grills.

Over time, carbon can build up on the lid of the grill and will eventually start to flake. This is easily removed. All you have to do is scrape it off. We usually use a grill brush for this.

One of the best ways to avoid this carbon build up is by making sure that your grill has been properly seasoned on the inside. Fire up the grill, cover the lid liberally in oil and let the oil “bake” on. Repeat this process three to four times until the grill fully cools down.

After this initial seasoning, hit the lid with some spray oil every so often so it stays seasoned.

It‘s possible that you might still get some build up but a proper seasoning will help you avoid the worst of it.

Finally, Keep it Covered

One of the most important grill cleaning tips is to keep it covered. This will protect it from dust, rust, pests, and weather. A cover will help protect your investment and keep your grill ready to go cook after cook.

Have a grill cleaning tip? Drop it in the comments!