A dirty grill cooks unevenly, flares up, and rusts. Grease builds up in the drip tray until it catches fire, old food sticks to the grates and burns into the next meal, and the burners clog until half the grill runs cold. Cleaning is mostly heat, a brush, and a little soapy water — and it is the difference between a grill that lasts a decade and one that rusts out in three years. The routine below is for a gas grill — if you are still deciding between gas and charcoal, the gas vs charcoal comparison covers the trade-offs first.
After you cook, close the lid and turn the burners to high for 10–15 minutes. The heat burns the residue on the grates to ash. Then brush the hot grates with a wire brush or a grill stone until they are clean, and turn the burners off. That is the whole routine, and it takes five minutes of actual work. The grates should be clean metal when you are done — if they are still black and sticky, they were not hot enough or not brushed long enough.
Burn it off first. Heat the grill on high, lid closed, for 15 minutes. Let it cool until the grates are warm, not hot — you should be able to hold your hand near them. Working on a cold grill means scrubbing instead of brushing, and scrubbing is the slow way.
Brush the grates. Brush the grates with a wire brush or a grill stone, top and bottom, until the ash and old food come off. Check the brush before you use it: loose or bent bristles can break off onto the grates and end up in food. Replace a worn brush instead of gambling on it.
Scrub the inside. Take the grates out and scrub the inside of the firebox with hot soapy water and a stiff brush or a putty knife for the baked-on buildup. Rinse with a damp cloth. Do not use oven cleaner on the grates or inside the firebox unless the manual allows it — it is caustic, and any residue ends up in the food.
Empty the drip tray and grease cup. Pull the drip tray and grease cup out and scrape the grease into the trash, then wash them with hot soapy water. A full grease tray is the most common cause of grill fires, and it is the part people forget most. If the tray is disposable, replace it.
Check the burners and the gas. Look at the burner tubes for clogs — spiders love to nest in them, and a clogged burner is why half the grill runs cold. Clear the holes with a thin wire or a venturi brush. Check the gas connections with soapy water: bubbles mean a leak, and a leak means the gas stays off until it is fixed.
Oil the grates and cover it. Wipe a thin coat of high-heat cooking oil on the grates with a paper towel held in tongs. It stops the next meal from sticking and keeps the grates from rusting. When the grill is cool and dry, put the cover on. A covered grill stays clean; an uncovered one fills with rain and leaves.
Never spray WD-40, solvents, or household cleaners on the cooking surfaces — they are not food-safe and the residue burns into the next meal. Never pressure wash the inside of a gas grill: the jet forces water into the igniter and the burner tubes. Never clean porcelain-coated grates with a steel brush — it chips the coating and the steel underneath rusts. And never hose a hot grill down with cold water: the thermal shock can crack porcelain and warp thin steel.
Rust on the grates is usually surface rust: brush it off, oil the grates, and heat the grill — the oil seasons the metal the same way it does a cast iron pan. Rust on the firebox or the lid is more serious: sand it, paint it with high-heat paint, and keep the cover on. If the firebox has rusted through, the grill is done — no amount of cleaning saves a hole. The same care that keeps a deck clean keeps a grill alive: the deck washing guide covers the surface the grill sits on, and grease on the deck is a slip hazard as well as a stain.
Twice a season for a grill used weekly — once at the start and once in the middle — plus the five-minute burn-off and brush after every cook. A grill that is only used monthly needs one deep clean a year.
Only if the manual allows it, and rinse thoroughly afterward. Oven cleaner is caustic and any residue ends up in the food. Hot water, dish soap, and a brush handle most grills without it.
Usually grease: a full drip tray, fatty meat dripping onto the burners, or buildup on the flavorizer bars. Clean the tray, trim excess fat, and keep the lid closed — opening it feeds the fire with oxygen.
Yes, when it is cool and dry. A cover keeps rain and leaves out and slows rust. Do not cover a hot or wet grill — trapped moisture rusts it faster than rain does.