How to Take Care of Your Outdoor Grill

Steps to keep your gas grill in good shape

There’s nothing more enjoyable to food lovers everywhere than firing up the gas grill and creating some delicious meals, whether steaks, burgers, bratwursts, or healthy home-grown vegetables. Keeping that gas grill in good shape is, therefore, paramount to happy outdoor barbecues and family gatherings. And here’s something we all know: Outdoor gas grills don’t clean or take care of themselves. It takes determination on your part to keep them working for you, meal after meal after meal. Here are a few easy steps to keeping your gas grill in good shape. Step 1: After cooking your favorite treat on the grill (after removing all the food to a platter, of course) keep the grill on. In fact, turn it up a bit, and let all the bits of meat and drippings burn to a crisp so after everything cools you can scrape them off the grill grate. If you don’t do this, the next time you fire up the grill means you will be dealing with the remnants of the previous meal. That’s not tasty. Step 2: Look underneath… no matter the quality of your grill, if you have a storage area for pans, spatulas and the propane tank, food drippings and debris can quickly create a problem. Clean out that storage area on a regular basis, keeping everything neat and ready for the next meal. Step 3: Don’t ignore the exterior of the grill. Washing the outside of the grill with warm, soapy water keeps grime from building up. Step 4: When not in use, keep everything covered up. Some feel that with warmer weather, they can leave the grill exposed to the elements. Hey, it’s meant to be outside, right? Yet keeping the grill under a quality grill cover can add years of life to your trusty outdoor cooking partner. Of course, with outdoor grilling comes greasy spills that can spot and stain your carpet. Nearly everyone has dropped a burger or a hot dog on the floor when bringing the food inside. Even worse is when your tasty treat is covered with mustard or ketchup. Do your carpet a favor and call your professional carpet cleaning company when that happens.