How do I clean and service a barbecue?

Cleaning a barbecue is routine. Servicing one is the annual check that its gas system is safe, and it is the part almost nobody does — which matters, because the failures are hose perishing and blocked burners rather than dirt.

Safety

Step by step

1. Burn off the residue first.Lid down, high heat, fifteen minutes. It carbonises what is stuck on so it brushes off as ash. Far easier than scrubbing cold grates, and it should be routine after every cook.
2. Do not use a wire brush.Bristles break off, lodge in food and cause serious internal injuries — there are documented hospital cases every summer. Use a bristle-free coil brush, a wooden scraper, or a ball of foil held in tongs.
3. Clean the grates warm.Not hot enough to burn you, not cold. Warm grates release residue that cold ones hold onto. Finish with a lightly oiled cloth, which seasons them and reduces sticking.
4. Empty and clean the grease tray.The single most common cause of a barbecue fire. Accumulated fat ignites and the flames are hard to control. Empty it every few cooks, not annually.
5. Clear the burner ports.On gas, the small holes along each burner block with grease and spiders' webs. Clear each with a pin or a thin wire. Uneven flames and cold spots are almost always this.
6. Check the burners for corrosion.Rusted-through burners give uneven heat and are a fire risk. They are a replaceable part on most models and worth ordering rather than working around.
7. Clean the flame tamers or lava rocks.The plates or rocks above the burners collect fat and cause flare-ups. Scrape the plates; replace lava rocks every couple of seasons since they cannot be cleaned properly.
8. Inspect the gas hose properly.Cracks, perishing, stiffness, or a date stamp more than five years old. Flex it and look. Hoses are inexpensive and are the most likely gas component to fail.
9. Check the regulator and the connection.Secure, correct type for the gas, and no damage to the seal. Regulators have a service life too — replace one that is more than about ten years old.
10. Leak-test every joint.Gas on, burners off, brush soapy water over every connection. Bubbles mean a leak. Turn the gas off, tighten or replace, retest. Never search for a leak with a flame. This is the annual check that matters most.
11. Test the ignition.Battery igniters fail in storage. Change the battery and check each burner lights. A barbecue that will not light is usually this or a blocked port rather than an empty bottle.
12. Check the charcoal model's vents and body.On charcoal, clear the ash and check the vents move freely — airflow is the whole temperature control. Look for rust-through in the bowl, which is what ends a kettle barbecue's life.
13. Store it dry and covered.Grease and moisture together cause the corrosion that kills barbecues. Clean it before it goes away, cover it, and keep the gas bottle outside and upright — never in a shed or a house.

Tips

• Do the gas checks at the start of the season rather than at the first cook with people waiting. Hoses and regulators are stocked everywhere in April and nowhere in July.
• Half an onion on a fork rubbed over warm grates cleans them surprisingly well and costs nothing.
• Photograph the model and serial plate. Burner and grate replacements are usually available and much cheaper than a new barbecue.

Common mistakes

• Using a wire brush on the grates — Bristles break off, stick to food and cause serious internal injuries. Bristle-free brushes and foil balls do the same job with no risk.
• Skipping the leak test — Hoses perish and connections loosen over a winter in a shed. Soapy water on every joint takes two minutes and is the only check that finds it.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask