How to Clean and Maintain Your Gas Grill

When the Season begins

• Clean the burner and tubes.

  Make sure the propane tank is turned off. Remove the briquettes and cooking grates, and carefully detach the gas tubes and burner. Clean the tubes with warm, soapy water and towel dry. Wipe the burner clean with a damp cloth. Towel dry the gas ports on the burner, then clean out each one with a toothpick.

• Wash the grill.

  First, cover the gas valves with aluminum foil to protect the connections from corrosion. Wash the grill's interior and exterior surfaces with a long-handled stiff-wire grill brush and warm, soapy water. Rinse thoroughly and towel dry, then reattach the gas tubes and burners.

• Burn off the grease.

  During the grill season, briquettes transfer heat to the cooking grates, leaving them coated with grease. Before firing up your grill for the season's inaugural cookout, flip over the briquettes, close the lid, and heat the grill on high for 15 minutes.

• Clean the cooking grates.

  Cool the grill after burning off the grease. Remove the briquettes and cooking grates and scrub the grates with a long-handled stiff-wire grill brush and warm, soapy water. Towel dry, then replace, along with the briquettes.

• Stock fuel levels.

  Check and replenish your propane or natural gas supply as necessary. Corroding and rusted tanks should be recycled; return your tank to a propane supplier or check local listings online for tank recycling companies.

When the Season Ends

• Burn off the grease.

  Just as you did at the start of the season, flip over the briquettes, close the lid, and heat the grill on high for 15 minutes. Then let cool.

• Clean the cooking grates.

  Remove the briquettes and cooking grates from the grill. Once it has cooled, scrub the grates as above, towel dry, and set aside.

• Clean the burner and tubes.

  Turn off the propane tank, and carefully detach the gas tubes and burner. Clean the unit as above, towel dry, and set aside.

• Wash the grill with a long-handled stiff-wire grill brush and warm, soapy water.

  Be sure to cover the gas valves with aluminum foil. Rinse thoroughly, towel dry, and reattach the gas tubes and burners.

• Store the grill.

  If storing outdoors, protect the grill's exterior with a vinyl cover and keep the propane tank attached. If storing the grill indoors, disconnect the tank and leave it outside, standing upright, in a shady location away from dryer or furnace vents. Cover the gas line connections on the grill to ward off insects.