I pulled out the grill and it's moldy. I've never seen this before.

[GeHmTS]

Hi all, I pulled out my grill from the winter to start cooking some meats. When I opened it up, it's all molded. Can I still safely use the grill if I burn off the mold with a hot fire? Has anyone else had this issue?

Is there a temperature I would have to reach to ensure that all the mold is dead and gone bye bye?

 

[Hogwildz]

I'd clean it first.

 

[festerw]

x2, hit everything with some oven cleaner. Then you know you're good.

 

[heat seeker]

Or maybe some bleach.

 

[Highbeam]

A bed of charcoal makes grate temps in excess of 1000 degrees. Cooking it off plus a brushing is perfectly safe but then there is the yuk factor. The visible mold will easily wash away with a sponge. Your shell is probably moldy too.

I get this in my vertical charcoal smoker when the spattered grease is not removed. My grates get cleaned every time but I don't worry about the shell.

 

[vinny11950]

What Highbeam says. Make a nice, hot fire and let it burn everything off. Once it cools down, wash off the residue and let it dry in the sun. The left over grease and dark storage must have been a great place for a mold colony.

 

[twd000]

Burn it off before cooking, you'll survive. I always leave my grill lid cracked open a few inches to avoid this problem now.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Burn it off. Wire brush it. Add meat.

 

[twd000]

Burn it off. Wire brush it. Add meat.

actually don't wire brush it: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/barbecue-brushes-dangers-swallow-throat-wire-bristle-dempsey-1.3741578

 

[sportbikerider78]

I usually chew my food. The amount of chewing is inversely proportional to beer consumption.

Seriously though...I've also heard the same about wire brushes. They're safe..just make sure you don't leave any on the grill when you are done.

 

[Highbeam]

I usually chew my food. The amount of chewing is inversely proportional to beer consumption.

Seriously though...I've also heard the same about wire brushes. They're safe..just make sure you don't leave any on the grill when you are done.

Don't eat the bristles. Seems pretty easy. The alternative is eating all that crusty cooked on food each time. Is that what most folks do? Crunch crunch on the carbon?

 

[lml999]

Here's an option. I think I'll order one and see how it works...

grille brush

 

[Highbeam]

Here's an option. I think I'll order one and see how it works...

grille brush

I tried that kind but they didn't work well for me. Waste of money. These days, they sell a plastic version of a brush that seems to work about as well as a metal brush. I still don't plan on eating the bristles.

 

[maple1]

I never brush my grill anymore. I did have a couple of bristle brushes. The bristles seemed to deteriorate even without being used much. What I did was remove the bristles (they were on a pad held on with a screw), get out the angle grinder, and cut little notches in the stainless steel scraper that was still on the brush handle at the same spacing as the grid. Took 5 minutes. Did that with two brushes, different spacings for upper & lower grids. Upper grid scraper has 4 notches in it, lower one has 3. Did that 2 or 3 or 4 years ago. Over time they wear to the girds pretty well exact, if you happen to get off with the grinder a tiny bit. Does a great job.

About the mold - I found that in my smoker this spring. Was kind of ugly looking. It had sat there dirty all winter. Plus most of the fall & spring. I scraped them then washed them in the sink. Wiped the sides down. Then rolled the smoke. This year I cleaned it up pretty good after the last use - so will see what it looks like next spring.

 

[wahoowad]

Had a little white surface mold in the smoker after a long multiyear stint in the shed. I gave it a wipedown with a soapy rag, then a high temp burnout with a load of charcoal and all open vents. It ran at 450 darn near all night. The grates looked good as new when I was done and no trace of mold. I've been using it a lot the past few weeks.