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I’ve never been that fond of the grill. I think I can trace it back to when I was about 20 years old. I bought a charcoal grill that came in a box. I had to put it together. Even with perfectly clear directions, it still took me five hours to get that thing ready to cook a hotdog. It wasn’t the most expensive grill so it didn’t last more than one summer, either. I was so disappointed.

I’m also slightly afraid of propane. Now that we have a gas grill, I’m never the one to change the tank. I leave that to my husband.

Ever since I was a little kid I remember the day the grill got cleaned was a big, dirty deal. Now I realize you really shouldn’t wait for a big day to clean the grill. It should be done much more often than that. But as a kid, I can remember my mom getting out the bucket, the big rubber gloves, a hose, and cleaner. I think she even used oven cleaner on the grates. I can still conjure up that smell and see the grit and grease and goo. There was lots of grunting involved in cleaning the grill. It was all a big YUK.

Nowadays we don’t use things like smelly chemicals on the grill. So I did a little research on grill cleaning. I found a couple of YouTube clips that had some neat grill cleaning advice.

One of these has hints when you’re the chosen one to do the grilling at a party but you’re not at your own house. Or maybe you’re using a public grill in a park.

Another one is done by our Chicago buddy Lou Manfredini. He’s pretty famous in the do-it-yourselfer world. He owns an Ace Hardware store in the Chicago suburbs and is their spokesperson. He does a Saturday morning “Mr. Fix It” show that I used to listen to as I drove around doing my errands when we lived in Chicago. I learned a lot from Lou.

Now that grilling season is here I hope these things give you the incentive to take good care of your grill. I know I’m going to do a better job with mine.

Cheers,