Cleaning Your BBQ Equipment

If last night’s dishes are still waiting to be washed and your car is barely recognisable

through the mud, there’s a fair chance your barbecue is in a bit of a state too.

It needn’t be that way though, because, unlike cleaning your car, sorting out your gas

barbecue doesn’t take long at all - even when it’s been in hibernation for a good few

months.

True, a charcoal barbecue may need lots of care and attention, but with no hot, dirty ashes

to clean, gas grills are pleasingly low maintenance.

Follow this simple guide to easy BBQ cleaning:

Preparation and Cleaning

Remove the base rock and racks, and scrape out any debris from last season. Or if the rocks

are very greasy, turn them over and burn off the residue before replacing them*.

The natural lava rock in barbecues can be reheated - set the grill to a high temperature for

10 minutes to burn up any encrusted food that’s stuck. Some newer barbecues will even do

this for you – at the push of a dedicated ‘clean-up’ button.

Scrape away the charred remains with a wire brush – the Weber three-sided grill brush is

very effective, with a long handle to keep your hands at a safe distance.

Ignition

Spark ignition failure is a common occurrence after the winter break. If this happens:

Check the ignition cable is pushed well onto the connections at both ends. Clean the tip of

the ignitor and the area around it.

If the barbecue still fails to light, try lighting it manually*. If successful, this will confirm that

the problem lies with the ignitor.

Blockages

Brush the holes in the burner with a stiff brush to remove any build up of grease. As spiders

seem to be attracted to BBQs, check for webs and eggs as these can restrict the gas and

airflow.

Check the gas supply pipes. If you see cuts and cracks, ask a Calor Gas dealer to replace

them.

Sometimes problems are experienced with flare up. This can be identified as a yellow tipped

creeping flame, often with a smoky tip. In many cases this is due to low pressure, caused by

dirty or blocked burner parts, or in some cases, dirt and grease around the area of the gas

jets. Cleaning will generally rectify this.

Cooking

Before placing food on the heated barbecue, wipe the grill bars with a little vegetable oil to

stop food from sticking. Use tongs to do this, to keep your hands away from the heat. Never

spray oil onto a hot grill – you’ll almost certainly spark a flare-up.

Before or After?

Professionals argue that to keep your gas barbecue performing to its maximum, it's best to

clean it twice - once after you've preheated the grill and once after the cooking process is

complete. Of course, depending on how well you cleaned up after your barbecue's previous

outing, there may well be nothing to remove after pre-heating.

* Remember to refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.