You cook a lot, right?  With all that cooking comes some cleaning too. Keeping your grill clean and tidy will help you make even more flavorful food.  Plus, all the cleaning helps prevent flare ups and the occasional fire. These tips and tricks are designed to give you an overview of the cleaning steps and a few examples of our favorite cleaning tools for cleaning a Kettle Charcoal Grill.

 Print Tips Here: Clean Charcoal Grill

Cleaning Tips:

Knowing when to clean your grill

DEEP cleaning your Kettle Charcoal Grill is expected every 3-5 cooks. More often if  you're cooking higher fatty foods.

Cleaning your Weber Kettle Grill

1. 1. Make sure kettle is cool and there are no embers remaining. Keep the lower damper open to allow ash to drop into the ash catcher.
   2. Remove the lid of the kettle and using a grill brush clean the grill grates top side and bottom side.
   3. Remove the grates and set aside.
   4. Remove the Char-baskets and dump any charcoal or ash.
   5. Remove any un-burned charcoal and clean out until the bottom of the kettle is fully exposed.
   6. Assess the amount of soot or particulate on the inside of the kettle.

The Finishing Touches

1. Lightly scrape with the  Ace 6-1 paint tool or light brush.
   • • Do NOT clean to a brand new look, leave it well seasoned and focus on removing any buildup or large particles (bbq crumbs).
2. Use the paint tool to get around the edges of the grill and into the ledges. Caution: don’t scrape too hard or it will remove paint.
3. Push all crumbs into the bottom of the kettle and into the ash catcher.
4. Using a rag or bunched up shop towels, wipe the inside of the kettle down and push all debris into the ash catcher.

The Clean Up

1. Using a Vacuum, clean out ALL of the ash and crumbs inside the grill – if needed or desired.
2. Remove the ash catcher carefully and assess any other cleaning needs, set aside.
3. INSPECT ALL KETTLE PARTS FOR ANY CRACKS OR DAMAGE PRIOR TO PUTTING THE GRILL BACK TOGETHER
4. INSPECT ALL KETTLE NUTS, BOLTS, ETC FOR ANY ADJUSTMENT NEEDS
5. INSPECT THE LOWER AND UPPER DAMPERS FOR ANY CLEANING NEEDS
6. Verify inside of the kettle is clean and all parts/bolts are tight, and everything is in working order
7. Rebuild the grill from the bottom up starting with the Ash Catcher, Fire Grate, Charcoal Baskets, and top grate
8. Refill with fresh or recycled charcoal if using, or leave empty until the next cook
9. Using Traeger Grill cleaner, spray exterior of Egg as heavy as needed, allow to soak for 1 minute and wipe down the grill from top to bottom. Spot clean again if heavier cleaning is needed.  I wipe down the sides of the grill and modular nest as well

**NOTE – Traeger cleaner is a FOOD SAFE cleaner and can be used on food contact surfaces**