How to look after your grill during the summer season

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How to look after your grill during the summer season

While enjoying the delicious cooking that your grill provides, do not forget about the maintenance it needs. Proper in-season care not only helps to prolong its lifespan and reduce the need for a grill repair service. It also helps to ensure your cooking is free from any unwanted off-flavours.

In this post, we will discuss how to look after your grill during the summer season.
How to look after your grill during summer season in London

Crucial maintenance tips

Quick cleaning after every use

To ensure your grill hygiene, keep the unit clean. So, after every use, arrange a quick cleaning for your grill:
  • Spray the grates with lemon juice or rub the cut onion along the hot grates, use tongs
  • Cool the unit down slightly and scrub the grates with a wire brush
  • Apply cooking oil to the grates to prevent rust

Deep cleaning after heavy use

Arrange deep cleaning at least every 3-4 cooking sessions. If you had a lot of cooking, arrange deep cleaning in addition to quick cleaning right after the cooking:
  • Burn off any residue by running your grill on high heat for 10 minutes, the lid closed
  • Soften built-up grime by soaking the grates in hot soapy water once your grill is cool
  • Get rid of the grime by scrubbing the grates with a stiff brush
  • Check for rust and scrub it away, if any
  • Dry the unit and apply cooking oil to the grates to prevent rust

Other maintenance tips

Quick scrape for pre-start

Even if your grill is in good condition after the previous use, it still needs pre-start care. To clarify, after reaching the right temperature and before putting food on it, give the grates a quick scrape to remove moisture and light rust that may have formed.

Managing the ash and drip tray

Grilling produces a lot of fat and juices that flow into the tray. The summer warmth can turn old grease rancid, which will create unpleasant odours when you use your grill next. So, after every use, once your grill is completely cool, empty the ash (for charcoal grills) or the drip tray (for gas grills).

If a sudden rain hits while you are cooking, once it stops and the coals have cooled, empty the ash immediately. Leftover wet ash turns into corrosive sludge and rots your grill metal.

To conclude, it is necessary to add that proper grill care also includes proper storage. To clarify, when your grill is not in use, keep it dry and use a weather-resistant grill cover to protect it from rain and moisture.

Start preparing your BBQ for the summer season

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Start preparing your BBQ for the summer season

Although there are still a few months until summer, it is high time to think about preparing your BBQ for the summer season. In short, we recommend breaking the process down into a few key steps – thorough inspection, deep cleaning, and oiling as finishing touches before your first grill.

Thorough inspection

Safety is king. Therefore, it's crucial first to make sure your grill is safe to use. To ensure this, inspect your BBQ, both the exterior and under the hood, for possible fire hazards:
  • Web or insect nests
  • Grease buildup
  • BBQ damage or worn-out parts

In case you find any of the mentioned issues, clean the appliance or repair it, what is applicable. 

If you have a gas BBQ, take a few extra steps to detect issues with its gas system:
  • Inspect the hoses for cracks
  • Check for tight connections
  • Test for gas leaks
  • Test the ignition

In case you find any of the issues, contact our Gas Safe engineer to fix it. If you do not have enough expertise to undertake gas-safety assessment, turn to us.

In some cases it is very easy to clean your bbq or grill appliance, however we still recommend to turn to a professional company for that job, so your appliance serve you longer. For more information visit any of these two pages: grill repair page or barbecue repair service.

Deep cleaning

Deep cleaning is not only about your safety but about the appliance performance and your future cookout taste.

Here is a brief guide on what your BBQ cleaning activities should include:
  • Removing old ashes from the bottom of the bowl
  • Soaking and scrubbing the grates
  • Cleaning the burner (for gas grills)
  • Cleaning or replacing the grease tray (if any)
  • Clean the exterior, including the lid and control knobs

For cleaning, use soapy water or a non-abrasive cleaner, applicable for your type of grill.

BBQ and Grill brands we can help you with

Twin Eagles Grill Repair
Wolf Grill Repair
AGA Grill Repair
BeefEater Grill Repair

Grate oiling

To prevent your BBQ and grates from excessive rusting, do not neglect their oiling. To clarify, oiling creates a non-stick surface and helps prevent rust. 

For oiling, apply high-heat cooking oil (for example, grapeseed or vegetable oil) on the grates, the insides of the cookbox and even the lid. Then, close the lid and run your BBQ at high heat for 20-30 minutes. This burns off excess oil and creates a polymerised surface on your BBQ components. As a result, food won't stick to your BBQ grates or cookbox. Besides, the polymerised oil creates a good barrier against rust.

So, by taking all these steps to prepare your grill for the summer season, you will get a safe, well-running appliance and can enjoy delicious cookouts without any hassle.
Grill repair service guide

How to choose the best barbeque in 2026

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How to choose the best barbeque in 2026

When choosing your best barbeque, your decision factors should include your BBQ priorities, cooking style, storage needs budget for upfront (purchase) and running costs.

Types of grills

Before diving into the question of how to choose the best barbeque, let’s discuss the grill range itself. Below we describe existing types of grilling appliances:
  • Charcoal grills – Use charcoal. Made from steel. Relatively lightweight. Provides a classic, smoky flavour. Offer the ritual of lighting and managing the fire as a part of the experience. Require minimal grill repair
  • Gas grills – Use gas. Made from steel. Relatively lightweight. Start instantly, heats evenly, offers precise temperature control
  • Pellet grills – Use wood pellets. Made from steel. Relatively lightweight. Provides a classic, smoky flavour. Can operate like an outdoor oven.
  • Kamado grills – Use charcoal. Made from ceramic. Heavy. Retains heat superbly. Can operate like an outdoor oven.
  • Electric grills – Use electricity. Made from steel. Relatively lightweight. Has no open flame. Start and heats quickly.

Consider your BBQ priorities

When taking into account BBQ priorities, there could be the following options:
  • For quick results, convenience, top control, and easy cleaning – gas or electric grill
  • For authentic smoky flavour and traditional ritual – charcoal, pellet, or kamado grill
  • For maximum versatility (grilling, roasting, and baking) – pellet or kamado grill
  • For using in enclosed spaces – electric grill

Consider your cooking style

When considering your cooking style, there could be the following options:
  • To enjoy the ritual – charcoal or kamado grill
  • To get the food with minimal effort – gas or electric grill

Consider storage needs

When taking into account storage needs, there could be the following options:
  • No need to store it away – any type of grill (a protective cover is recommended)
  • Need to store it away – electric and small gas grill (lightweight, foldable, or with wheels)

Consider upfront and running costs

When considering upfront and running costs, there could be the following options:
  • Focus on low upfront costs – charcoal kettles and electric grill
  • Focus on low running costs – gas grill
  • If premium price and high running costs are affordable – pellet and kamado grill
Note that after choosing the most suitable barbeque type, consider the grilling capacity of the unit (grill size) measured in square inches of cooking area. The size should fit your number of people you usually cook for. However, you may need to compromise on the barbeque size if you have space restraints.