After making a large purchase on a stainless steel grill you will want to do your best to preserve it. In doing so you will need to make sure that it is cleaned properly, exterior and interior and that includes with the proper chemicals.
With the input of our local grill cleaning service, Bar-B-Clean Southwest Florida, a Ft. Myers grill cleaning service, they helped me put together these handy grill cleaning tips. Let me walk you through these steps one by one.
What products are best?
Weber.com has cleaning kits for your stainless steel grill and gives out a review of information on how to fix certain things that can happen with a stainless steel grill including rusting. We are trying to prevent that all together. You can get Weber Grill cleaner spray on Amazon.com for $7.95 which is really reasonable and it will help protect your steel finish. There is also a Grill Cleaner Pro which is another really good option to clean and preserve your grill or to make it really shiny you can get Stainless Steel Polish that is streak free and adds extra shine.
What about the inside?
Of course, the chemicals you use on the outside are not going to work to as well on the inside grate. Don’t fret I have a few suggestions and stay with me and I will walk you through on how to properly use these products because there is a method.
Amazon has this robot grill cleaner for the inside of the grill, of course. It is a cool little device that works automatically and scrubs until finished if you are interested in that. If you are more traditional there is the Magic Stone that you manually rub across the cool grate and it cleans without harsh chemicals but I always recommend some kind of cleaner to go with it.
If you are not interested in either of those you can always use regular dish soap and warm water to wash the grate. Always make sure it is dry or it will rust through.
What tools would come in handy?
It is a necessity to have a grill brush. Trust me on this it will make your life so much easier. A non-wire grill brush will scrub away any cooked on food and it gets in between those little racks. Some great ones to buy at an affordable price are on Amazon. The Unicook Premium Safe Nylon Grill Brush has a flip side to scrub at grime too. When it comes to the outside, believe it or not, a drying towel comes in handy. Amazon also has them for $16.99 for a 12 pack.
Now I know what use, how do I use them properly?
First, let us start with the inside. The inside has been cleaned in past with a wire brush on the grate. I am not going to recommend that due to clear safety risks. Plus it eats up your brush when using it on a hot grate. Definitely a big no! All you have to do is buy some of the sprays I mentioned above and spray it on the grate then use your brush and wipe clean. It is as simple as that.
It is recommended that you use in a well-ventilated area, so take your grill out of the garage before you attempt that. If you do not mind an overnight soak and a little more work, you can soak your grill grate in baking soda and vinegar. You can find more information on how to use that method on Charbroil.com.
What about the outside?
This is the easy part but it does tend to get meticulous when it comes to drying and that is why I recommended the drying towels. You first must wipe down the grill with the stainless steel cleaner listed above. It is very important to wipe away any food or grease. If you miss any it can cause damage to the grill sitting over time. Plus it looks better clean.
Once you clean everything, you can wipe it down with the polish wipes. If you decide you want to do the traditional warm water and soap prior to the wipes make sure you dry your grill all the way or it will cause damage. The drying towels will help to ensure that all the water is removed. It is a good keynote to still use the polish wipes even after the soap and water. It is like wax for your car.
When cleaning your grill, never rush through it. Take your time and make sure you remove all old food or grease. Remember that grease smears, so having plenty of paper towels are a must if you don’t have wipes. Keep sticking to whatever method you choose and over time you will become a pro at it and be able to clean your stainless steel grill in minutes. Enjoy your cookout!