A good grill is a special thing. It isn’t just a way to prepare incredible food, but a place around which to congregate with friends and family during barbeques.
You love your grill, and want it to stay in good shape for a long time.
Unfortunately, as with many outdoor features, there is always the potential for it to rust.
You want to do your best to prevent this. These six tips can help keep your barbeque rust-free.
How to Keep a Grill from Rusting
1. Keep it Liquid-Free
When it comes to trying to prevent your grill from rusting, liquids are your enemy.
The more they collect on the iron grating, the greater the potential for a rusty buildup. You, thus, want to make sure you keep your grill as dry as possible.
This includes things that you may not immediately think of as a rust-causing liquid.
While barbeque sauce getting on the grill may just seem like part of the cooking process, it is nevertheless something that can lead to rusting later on.
You, thus, want to do everything you can to keep excess sauce from spilling into your grill. In particular, you want to keep it away from the grating and burners.
Instead of allowing it to spill onto the grill, apply any sauces directly to the food instead.
2. Keep it Clean
Closely related to that, you want to do everything you can to keep your grill as clean as possible. For one thing, as alluded to above, that means doing everything you can to prevent spills and splattering.
Grills that have a high quality exterior surface such as Weber grills are generally easier to clean.
Make sure that it is shut off all the way so you don’t burn yourself. A bristle-free brush can be a good way to clean the gaps between the grating.
You should also take care to clean your grill after every use. What’s more, you should clean it as soon after usage as possible so as to avoid grease and other particulates building up.
Be sure to throw away any remains from the grilling process and to wash everything with soap.
3. Use Oil
Another way to keep sauces and other liquids from sticking to your grating and, thus, potentially causing rust is to apply grease beforehand.
Adding vegetable oil before grilling can help ensure that food does not stick to your grate while it cooks.
Not only can this help keep the grate cleaner, but oil also naturally repels moisture, thus, helping keep your grate rust-free.
That said, vegetable oil can be a big help, you should never apply it with an aerosol can.
For one thing, these cans can explode when exposed to heat and flames. Aerosol is also bad for the environment.
Do it the old-fashioned way instead and simply apply it to the grill’s grating with a rag.
4. Give it a Deep Clean
To stop grease from building up over time, thus, making your grill filthy and putting it at risk of rusting, you should give it a deep clean every few months while using it.
Detach the grates and pour a solution of hot soapy water into the grill. You can also add baking soda. Allow them to soak for a few hours, and then scrub the area further with a brush.
5. Keep it Covered
Another leading cause of grills becoming rusty is exposure to the elements.
If it rains or snows a lot where you are, you’ll need to keep your grill covered during inclement weather.
6. Move it Indoors
If weather conditions are really bad, or you live somewhere with long sustained rainy or snowy seasons, then you’ll want to take things a step further and move your barbeque indoors during the worst of the weather.
When doing this, you want to be careful not to jostle the grill too much. Doing so can accidentally break something or knock it loose.
Of course, if you have an inground barbeque pit, this is not an option. However, you may still be able to take some of the iron grating off and store it indoors until it’s barbeque season again.
By following a few basic precautions, you can prevent rust from building up on your grill, thereby keeping it in good condition for many barbeque seasons to come.
