How to Prepare Your Outdoor Grill for Winter

Summer begs us to use our outdoor grills. From simple burgers to ribs to whole turkeys, our outdoor grills provide some of the most memorable summer meals.

At the end of the grill season, however, your grill deserves a good cleaning in preparation for winter storage.

Just follow the steps outline below and your grill will not only survive the winter but be ready for you in the spring.

Things You'll Need: Rubber gloves. Large tub or bucket. Scouring brush or pads. Detergent and grease remover. Two Beers.

Step 1: Brush loose debris from the grates before removing them from the grill. You can do this task with a wire brush, a heavy-duty scrub brush or even paper towels.

Step 2: Find a large tub, pan or bucket. Make sure this is a hard-working, industrial grade utility tub, not something that is going to have to look nice after you get done scrubbing your grill grates. (If you have a wife or girlfriend, this is the most important step).

Step 3: Fill the tub with hot water and add detergent. Ordinary dish washing detergent will work fine

Step 4: Place your grilling grates into the tub and scrub them until the burned on grease and debris are removed. This may require considerable elbow grease

Step 5: Set the grates aside to dry. You should dry the grates on old newspapers, paper towels or some other surface that will not be damaged or stained by the grates.

Step 6: If you have a gas grill, remove the burner shields and clean them the same way you cleaned the grill grates. Often these are made of sharp metal, so you should wear gloves to protect you hands. Lay these out to day beside your grill grates.

Step 7: If you use a charcoal grill, remove ashes and old charcoal at this point. This is a very messy procedure. Be careful not to spread ashes and charcoal dust on your deck. A heavy duty plastic bag works well for this step.

Step 8: Wipe down the inside of your grill with wet rags or paper towels. Make certain that you remove an loose greasy debris.

Step 9: Scrub the inside of the grill after spraying it with a commercial de-greaser. Any brand will do, but I use Formula 409. Let the degreaser sit for about 5 minutes and wipe down the inside of the grill. Repeat this step as many times as needed to remove the grease.

Step 10: After the grease is gone, wipe down the inside of the grill with wet rags or paper towels to remove and trace of the de-greaser.

Step 11: Clean the outside of the grill using the same approach that you used on the inside. Remove loose debris, de-grease, wipe down with water and let dry.

Step 12: Clean underneath your grill, removing spider webs and other debris.

Step 13: After everything is thorougly dry, re-assemble your grill, move it into the garage or protect it with a cover. Now you are ready for next season.

Tips & Warnings Turn off the natural gas or propane to the grill. Do not put your grill grates in your dishwasher. Do not use any flammables to attempt to clean your grill.

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