How thoroughly do you clean your grill?

How do you usually clean it?

  • Doesn't the fire do that for you?

    Votes: 17 30.9%

  • Quick wire brushing to get all the big chunks off

    Votes: 23 41.8%

  • Thorough wire brushing to get all visible matter off

    Votes: 14 25.5%

  • Scrub down with wet pad/paper towel to steam clean

    Votes: 1 1.8%

  • Pull it out and wash it in the sink with soap- we're gonna eat off that!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    55
cowman

cowman

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Honestly I've probably done all of the above at different points, but usually it's just the wire brushing. Curious what the norm is.
 
I occasionally do a full burn off (max heat for 15 mins - I use gas) so that your steak doesn't taste like chicken.
Always between each use I 'scrub' it with one of those wooden paddles designed for grills.
I recently bought a brush with very stiff nylon? bristles but not so sure about it.
I've seen wire on the grill after using a wire brush. My employee gagged on wire that she made when grilling at her home too. So no wire brushes.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Never wire brush.
Check out the many stories of people eating the wires and having serious problems.
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I'm aware of that but I've never found an alternative that really works. The nylon ones are useless. I just look it over before using it, so far I've never seen a wire remaining on the cooking surface. I have found a few deep inside the grill when doing a major cleaning but never on the cooking surface.
 
Gas grill: I do use a wire brush but I’m very careful about inspecting afterwards. My brush is so grease-laden that bristles would probably have a hard time getting loose. I do have a wood paddle scraper but I don’t use it as often as I should.

I also pull out the lower drip tray and scrape it clean each time to prevent buildup from catching fire. It also helps with reflecting heat back upwards.

Once a year I pretty much disassemble the thing, scrape everything clean, take a toothbrush to all the burner ports, and inspect everything. Then I set it to full heat for 30-45 minutes and burn it thoroughly. I can usually get the thermometer to wrap past whatever the max says. I’ll probably do that over the weekend.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I occasionally do a full burn off (max heat for 15 mins - I use gas) so that your steak doesn't taste like chicken.
Always between each use I 'scrub' it with one of those wooden paddles designed for grills.
I recently bought a brush with very stiff nylon? bristles but not so sure about it.
I've seen wire on the grill after using a wire brush. My employee gagged on wire that she made when grilling at her home too. So no wire brushes.
Click to expand...
I'm one of those that picked a piece of wire out of a steak. It still scares me what would have happened if I hadn't caught it.
I voted "Quick wire brush" but I use a different type of brush.
cowman said:
I'm aware of that but I've never found an alternative that really works. The nylon ones are useless.
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Mine (I think it's nylon; its a red bristly, scratchy thing that I got from Lowe's) does a pretty good job, but you can only use it on a cold grill. I use it for a few swiped just before starting the grill. It knocks off the big chunks.

If you even put it close to a hot grill it will be ruined instantly.
 
I don’t have a gas grill. What I’ve done in the past is burn it off at max, then while it’s hot, run a water soaked rag across it. Next time, after pre-heating, run a water soaked rag across the grates, then once all the steam and water is gone, a light coating of cooking oil.
 
TCABM said:
I don’t have a gas grill. What I’ve done in the past is burn it off at max, then while it’s hot, run a water soaked rag across it. Next time, after pre-heating, run a water soaked rag across the grates, then once all the steam and water is gone, a light coating of cooking oil.
Click to expand...
I have a gas grill that I use more than I should because the Green Egg takes too much effort on a weeknight, or for a quick couple of hamburgers.
But I still use the nylon brush on the Egg just before lighting it up. If for some weird reason I don't use the egg for a few weeks, then it needs more brushing and a light coat of oil.
 
Combination of A and B. Get the grill hot and light wire brush.
 
I used to be one of those people that would scrub the (charcoal) grill in the sink years ago but quit because it's pointless. After I get the coals hot and arranged, I give it a quick brush on the bottom and top, inspect it for wire debris and go for it. When I'm done I don't touch it until next time.
 
I used to be one of those people that would scrub the (charcoal) grill in the sink years ago but quit because it's pointless. After I get the coals hot and arranged, I give it a quick brush on the bottom and top, inspect it for wire debris and go for it. When I'm done I don't touch it until next time.
 
The scrubber I have is a large handle with two metal scrub pads on it.
1711140427069.png
 
A quick brush before cooking and turn the burners up to "kiln" after the food comes off.

Once a year I pull everything apart and give the entire grill a good cleaning, inside and out.
 
Preheat to about 500, hit it with coiled grill scrubber similar to this and a little water to knock the nastiest stuff off, then cook.

1711141054339.png
 
Scrape off the big chunks and then let the fire do the rest.
 
We started using grill mats. We clean them instead of the grate. Yes, it screws up the sear marks. Oh well.
 
Charcoal only grill for me, get it hotter than hades so any grease or char residue turns to ash then scrape it with the cut half of an onion on a grill fork.
 
On the wire brushes - if you get the cheap soft ones, when they fall off they are somewhat invisible and thin gauge wire. I use a heavy duty wire brush, like used for welding. Those bristles still do come off, but it’d be hard to miss on the grill and certainly in your mouth. Not that it can’t still happen, but less likely.

I’ve used a hunk of wadded up foil and tongs to scrub and it works ok.
 
Bill said:
Preheat to about 500, hit it with coiled grill scrubber similar to this and a little water to knock the nastiest stuff off, then cook.

1711459420105.png
Click to expand...
I have one like this, but it's rings on both sides. Supposed to be "safer". However, the rings will eventually break down and can also leave metal shards--in fact, they start working better as scrubbers when the rings break and you get the sharp, pointy bits digging into the grates (they're almost useless before that!). At least the metal bits are a lot larger and slightly curved, so they're easier to see on the grate before grilling and easier to knock off the grate with other sweepers (see below).

I have found metal bits from the thinner wire brushes (like the bottom part of the photo above) in my food more than once. I wonder if I've ever swallowed anything and just got lucky.

I still scrub with wire to get the big chunks off, but then I do a few quick swipes with a palmyra-bristle brush like this one to (hopefully) shove any lingering metal bristles off the grates:
1711460457195.png

You have to be quick with it, though, because those palm-based bristles are delicate and flammable and get scorched easily. I really only use it like a broom, very quickly, right before putting the food down.
 
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cowman said:
I'm aware of that but I've never found an alternative that really works. The nylon ones are useless. I just look it over before using it, so far I've never seen a wire remaining on the cooking surface. I have found a few deep inside the grill when doing a major cleaning but never on the cooking surface.
Click to expand...
Aluminum foil works pretty well.
 
Doesn’t anyone use a pressure washer on the cooking grates?
We keep our pressure washer always hooked up and use it a lot during the warm months including on the grill grates. Works good and no risk of wires stuck in your gut.

Do not use a brush on a hot grate, the wires are more likely to come out on a hot grate.

If gas it is a good idea to use hi heat to clean your grill. Just got to remember to turn it off.
Sometimes I take the grates out and bake it clean and use the PW on the grates so not to overheat them.
 
Lycosaurus said:
Spend the money and buy a quality locally made wire brush. The cheap imported ones will likely shed.
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All of them will shed. Thin metal strands used in applications like this are eventually going to fatigue and break, regardless of where it is manufactured.
 
Jim_R said:
All of them will shed. Thin metal strands used in applications like this are eventually going to fatigue and break, regardless of where it is manufactured.
Click to expand...
We had a friend get a piece of wire from a metal grill cleaner stuck in their mouth. It took a trip to the urgent care to remove it. Since then, we only use plastic grill brushes.
 
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