Cleaning Your Grill
I put some grill cleaning hacks to the test to see which one would work the best. Here are the results! You can see more of my crazy creations here
Our grill sits outside and is exposed to all of the elements, as many grills do. We also use our grill heavily in the summer months to avoid cooking in the house when it's so hot.
Today we're putting these 3 cleaning methods to the test!
- Vinegar
- Dawn Dish Soap
- Ammonia
In addition to that, you'll need some garbage bags to soak your grates and flavor bricks in.
I have 2 grates and placed each one in a garbage bag, and in the 3rd bag, I placed the metal flavor bricks that sit under the grates.
Here's what I put in each bag to test which one would work best...
- Dawn Dish Soap - I covered the grate with water, and then placed 1/2 cup of Dawn in the bag.
- Ammonia & Vinegar Combo - I placed 3 cups of Ammonia & 3 cups of Vinegar in the bag with a grate.
- Vinegar - I placed the flavor bars in a bag and poured in vinegar to cover the flavor bars.
I let these bags soak overnight.
While the bags were soaking I sprayed the inside with vinegar, let that soak for a few minutes, and used my grill scraper to remove as much loose debris, and grease as possible. I then hosed out the inside of the grill.
Next, I washed the outside and rinsed it off.
The next day I removed each item from the bag.
I used my grill brush to see which one removed the most grease and burned on items.
Here is the order of the results...
- Dawn Dish Soap - easy removal and cleaning the best
- Vinegar - a close second, easy removal of debris
- Ammonia - was just "okay" and didn't move as much as I had hoped.
I washed off the grates and put them back on the grill.
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Resources for this project:
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Comments
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Thanks for all of the cleaning hacks and I have the same Weber grill!
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I always use ammonia but you used it in a different way than I do. It is easier and uses less water than than Dawn option .
Put in the bag a layer of paper towels and then one grate and then another layer of paper towels and then the next grate and another layer of paper towels. Then pour the ammonia over the top making sure that it saturates layers of paper towels. Leave overnight or for at least four hours during the day (heat of sun helps but isnt totally necessary). Next day open it up take those paper towels and just wipe the grates with them and toss out. Then rinse grates with water to remove all the ammonia.
no scrubbing necessary.
- See 1 previous
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That is how I do it. Do not mix the vinegar with the ammonia. Just use the ammonia straight up!!!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Could you soak the grates in a tub or sink overnight with Dawn and water to get the same results?
Have you tried the ammonia WITHOUT vinegar? No wonder it did not clean the grates when mixed together--each neutralized the other. Ammonia is super at cutting grease, even baked on.
Should you attempt to wash (flavor bricks)..? Isn’t the whole idea to infuse what flavor ya got on there? I’ve never heard of them so just wondering…