Maintenance (Charcoal Grill)
Clean the cooking grate – after the coals have died out, brush off any loose particles on the warm (not hot) cooking grate with a brass grill brush or a handful of crumpled aluminium foil. For more thorough cleaning, use a wet, soapy, fine steel wool pad with only slight pressure. Rinse thoroughly and dry.
Remove cold ashes from the bottom of the kettle as this prevents airflow problems next time you grill. Ashes also absorb moisture, which may cause premature rusting of the One-Touch Cleaning System.
Maintenance (Gas Grill)
Clean the cooking grate – before or after grilling, burn off any residue by simply turning the grill on high until the smoke stops, then brush the cooking grates with a brass wire grill brush. Please note: cast iron cooking grates require slightly different care.
Cleaning
Clean the Flavorizer Bars. You really don’t ever need to remove the Flavorizer Bars from your grill to clean them, since preheating the grill and burning off residue by turning the grill on “high” is enough to turn any accumulated debris to ashes. Occasionally brushing the bars off with a brass grill brush or scraping them with a nylon or plastic putty knife should be sufficient maintenance. Just be careful not to gouge the porcelain-enamel finish.
Clean the warming racks and control panel. A soapy, fine steel wool pad will keep the warming racks clean and free of smoke stains and debris. It will also remove grease spots and stains from the control panel, but use a very light touch so as to not scratch the porcelain. Rinse thoroughly.
Clean the outside of the endcaps and cookbox. You should clean up grease drippings on these exterior surfaces as soon as possible. Grease is toxic to painted surfaces. Use mild, soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Harsh or lemon-based cleaners can ruin the paint finish on the endcaps and cookbox.
Clean the bottom tray. Remove the cool (never hot!) bottom tray from under the grill and place over a trash can. Carefully scrape the inside with a 1″ putty knife or other straight, flat object. Push the residue out through the bottom hole into the trash can. To ‘deep clean’ the tray, use warm, soapy water and a soapy, fine steel wool pad, being careful not to scratch the porcelain finish.
Recommendations
Never wax or paint the lid. The finish on your grill is baked-on porcelain enamel, so you never have to wax or paint it. This finish is glossier and much more durable than paint, and wax will only streak when the grill gets hot. So just wipe the lid down with warm, soapy water when it gets dusty or dirty. Easy!
Never line the bottom tray with foil as grease can accumulate in the creases in the foil and cause a grease fire.
Never use oven cleaner on your gas grill. Oven cleaner is not friendly to the painted surfaces of your grill; it can remove the paint.