Cookout season is officially here, and with all that al fresco dining and Fourth of July on the horizon, your grill is likely already looking a little worse for wear.
It's a task that can be tricky and time-consuming, but there's one surprising fridge staple cleaning experts recommend using to get your grill sparkling like new. What goes hand in hand with a cookout? Beer.
Here, our cleaning pros share how to clean a grill with this beverage in no time at all.
Why is beer good for cleaning a grill?
You might have heard of using beer as a slug control method, but why exactly is it this a good cleaning tip for filthy grills?
Karina Toner, cleaning expert and operations manager at Spekless, explains, 'Beer’s natural carbonation and acidity work wonders on cooked-on grease and food residue. The carbonation helps lift grime from grill grates, while the alcohol acts as a solvent that cuts through oils.
'Its mild acidity can also break down gunk without the harshness of commercial cleaners, making it an effective and surprisingly gentle option for a quick grill refresh.'
And, as Alessandro Gazzo, cleaning expert at Emily's Maids, adds, you usually have beer on hand during a barbecue, and therefore hopefully, some leftovers to tick off this essential outdoor cleaning task.
How to clean your grill using beer
Sprucing up your grill with beer is easy, but you'll need to make sure it's hot before you get started.
So, either use it on your grill directly after cooking on it, or preheat it for 15 minutes to loosen any food debris or grease. 'Use a high heat setting to help carbonize stuck-on food,' advises Karina.
Then, you're ready to follow this step-by-step method:
- Pour on the beer: Once your grill is hot but turned off, pour about a half a can or bottle of beer directly over the warm, not hot, grates, directs Karina. 'A light lager works well because it's fizzy and not too sticky,' she says.
- Scrub the grates: Then, 'use a sturdy grill brush to scrub down the grates while the beer fizzes,' advises Karina. She recommends the Kona 360 Clean Grill Brush available at Amazon, as it has a wide reach and is safe for all grill types.
- Wipe down and rinse: Once scrubbed and cooled, use a damp microfiber cloth, such as the Great Value Microfiber Cloth available at Walmart, to remove residue, before rinsing with water, if needed, to remove any lingering smell, continues Karina.
- Optional final polish: Finally, suggests Karina, you can add a little vegetable oil to a paper towel, such as the bestselling Sparkle Tear-a-Square Paper Towels available at Walmart, and wipe the grates to re-season them slightly.
If beer is not something you keep at home, you can also try cleaning with vinegar instead.
'It's cheaper, more acidic, and sometimes more effective,' Alessandro says. 'Just mix with water and spray on a warm grill. Let it sit for five minutes, then scrub with a brush.'
We recommend mixing your DIY cleaning solution in a 1:1 ratio, using a spray bottle such as the Mainstays Empty Plastic Spray Bottle available at Walmart.
What to shop
All prices were correct at the time of publication.
Once finished with your cleaning chores, pop the cloth in your washing machine to freshen it up. Just be aware that washing them is one of the times you should never use fabric softener in laundry.
This top-rated grill brush is bristle-free, to prevent any bristles from ending up in your food, and built to last with a tough, durable plastic handle.
This effective cleaning spray works on caked-on food, baked-on deposits, carbon, and grease, and works in only 10 minutes.
Meet our experts
Interested in more household methods to clean a grill? You can actually use both onion and lemon for an effective clean, too.
