There's One Part Of The Grill You're Probably Forgetting To Clean

A freshly-cleaned grill is always the best way to start off a barbecue session. And while cleaning and seasoning the grates is a grilling basic, there's one part you may be overlooking: the inside of the lid. Food may not touch the lid, but as you cook, smoke, grease, and other particles hit the inside before seeping out and escaping into the air. Just because that smoke escapes doesn't mean everything it carries with it goes away.

Over time, all those little particles build up on the inside of your grill's lid, leading to a blackened mess that –  once heavy enough — can fall off and land directly on to the food you've worked so hard to prepare. Even if the residue doesn't flake off or fall, a dirty grill is still an unhygienic and unsafe cooking environment. The layer of filth can grow bacteria and mold, and at worst, the grease could even ignite and start a bigger fire than you'd planned for. 

Regularly and properly cleaning your grill lid is a vital part of maintaining your appliance. Luckily, there are tons of methods and cleaning agents available to get the job done. Strong cleaning sprays, natural alternatives like baking soda, and a few extra tools make it easy.

Whether you scrub grease off your grill with baking soda or wipe the parts down with oven cleaner, always be sure to clean your grill in an outside area, so you can hose it off after. If you remove the lid to scrub it, you'll also want to do so over some trash bags or cardboard boxes you won't mind throwing away later.

Scrub brushes add some abrasive action into your cleaning, but aren't strictly necessary if you keep up with your maintenance regimen. Mildly dirty grills that have already been cleaned once or twice only need a washcloth or a paper towel to remove most of the grime after each use. Soak the towel in your preferred cleaning agent and give the inside of the lid a brisk rub-down, paying close attention to any nooks and crannies that may have more build-up. The metal around the bolts or the lid's lip are especially tricky to reach and may require extra scrubbing.

If your lid is especially dirty, remove it from the grill, then try spraying it down with oven cleaner and letting it sit for up to one hour. This lets the cleaning product do more of the heavy lifting, requiring more patience but less elbow grease on your part. Once your lid is nice and clean, give it a thorough rinsing to wash off any chemicals or baking soda residue, then let it dry thoroughly before using it again.