Even if Punxsutawney Phil was correct, warm weather is still right around the corner. That means its time to prepare your outdoor space for maximum relaxation when temperatures begin to rise. Since this will likely include flexing your culinary muscle on the grill, nows the time to do a deep clean so youre ready for action.I dont blame you if you opted to let your grill hibernate during the winter months, but if thats the case, itll probably need a tune-up before spring arrives. If you did keep the grill in working order over the last few months, this is a good time for a scrub and polish before warmer temperatures inspire heavy use. Here are a few tips and tricks that will hopefully make things easier.Disassemble, scrub, reassembleBilly Steele/EngadgetA good rule of thumb when it comes to cleaning anything you havent used in a while is to take it apart as much as you feel comfortable and give it a thorough wipe down. For grills, this means removing the grates and any bars or burner covers basically, anything you can take out thats not the heating element. This gives you a chance to inspect the burners of your gas grill or the fire pot of a pellet model for any unsightly wear and tear. If those components are worn out or overly rusted, most companies offer replacements that you can easily swap out with a few basic tools.Once all the pieces are out, start by scraping excess debris off all sides of the interior with the help of some cleaner if needed. For a gas grill, this likely means pushing everything out through the grease trap. On a pellet grill, youll want to scrape the grease chute clear and out into the catch can, but youll also need to vacuum the interior with a shop vac just like you would after every few hours of use. And while youre at it, go ahead and empty the hopper of any old pellets that have been sitting since Labor Day. Fuel thats been sitting in the grill for months wont give you the best results when it comes time to cook so you might as well start fresh.Thankfully, pellet grill companies have made easy cleaning a key part of their designs. Webers SmokeFire has a set of metal bars on the inside that can be removed quickly to open up the bottom of the chamber. This is also a design feature of the companys gas grills. Simply vacuum or push the debris out the grease chute. The catch pan where all of the garbage ends up is also easy to access from the front of the grill, and you can remove the aluminum liner and replace it with a new one in seconds.Traegers most recent pellet grills were also redesigned to improve cleaning. Most notably, grease and ash end up in the same keg thats easy to detach from the front of the grill. The company also allows you to quickly remove all of the interior components, though theyre larger than what you find on the SmokeFire. Lastly, Traeger moved the pellet chute to the front of the Timberline and Ironwood, making it a lot more convenient to swap out wood varieties or empty an old supply.Youll want to get as much of the food leftovers out of your grill as possible for a few reasons. First, that stuff is old and lots of build-up over time can hinder cooking performance and might impact flavor. The last thing you want is old food or grease burning off right under an expensive ribeye. Second, in the case of pellet grills, not properly clearing out grease and dust can be dangerous. Its easy for grease fires to start at searing temperatures and if theres enough pellet dust in the bottom of your grill, it can actually ignite or explode. Thats why companies tell you to vacuum it out after every few hours of use.All of that dust, grease and debris should be removed before you fire the grill back up.Billy Steele/EngadgetTo actually clean the surfaces, youll want to get an all-natural grill cleaner. There are tons of options here, and it may take some time to find one you like. I typically use Traegers formula since its readily available at the places I buy pellets and Ive found it works well cutting through stuck-on muck. You want an all-natural grill cleaner over a regular household product as its safe to use on surfaces that will touch your food. Theyre also safe to use on the exterior of your grill without doing any damage to chrome, stainless steel or any other materials.Spray down the inside and give things a few minutes to work. Wipe it all clean and go back over any super dirty spots as needed. Ditto for the grates, bars and any other pieces you removed. I like to lay these out on a yard waste trash bag (theyre bigger than kitchen bags) so all the stuff I scrape or clean off doesnt get all over my deck. You can use shop towels if you want to recycle or paper towels if not, but just know whatever you choose will be covered in nasty black grime so you wont want to just toss them in the clothes washer when youre done. A pre-wash in a bucket or sink is needed to make sure you dont transfer gunk from your grill to your business casuals.In terms of tools, you dont need much. Ive tried that grill robot that claims to do the job for you, but Ive found sticking to the basics is more efficient. And honestly, when you get the hang of it, it doesnt take all that long. Its a good idea to have a wire brush specifically for the grates that you dont use to clean anything else. After all, this will be touching the same surfaces you put food on. I recommend another, smaller wire brush the ones that look like big toothbrushes for cleaning the burners on a gas grill. If you notice the flame isnt firing through one of the holes, you can use this to clean the pathway. Lastly, plastic is the way to go for a scraper, anything else and you risk scratching the surfaces of your grill. Sure, any damage done would be on the inside, but its still not a great feeling to knick up your previous investment.Check for updates before your first cookTraegerIf you have a smart grill from the likes of Traeger, Weber or another company, youll want to plug it in and check for software updates well in advance of your first grilling session. Chances are you havent cooked much since last fall, which means companies have had months to push updates to their devices. Trust me, theres nothing worse than spending an hour trimming and seasoning a brisket only to walk outside to start the grill and it immediately launches into the update process. This could extend the whole cooking time significantly depending on the extent of the firmware additions and strength of your WiFi.Thankfully, checking for updates is quick and easy. All you need to do is turn on your grill and open up the companys app on your phone. If theres a download ready for your model, the mobile software will let you know and its usually quite prominent. If theres not a pop-up alert that displays immediately, you can check the settings menu just to make sure. Sometimes for smaller updates, a company might not beat you over the head to refresh. However, starting a fresh slate of firmware is always a safe bet and will ensure your grill is running at its best when it comes time to cook.For a good time every time, clean after each useBilly Steele/EngadgetIll be the first to admit I dont adhere to my own advice here, but its nice to have goals. I will also be the first to tell you every single time I smoke a Boston Butt or some other super fatty cut of meat that I wish I wouldve done at least a quick cleaning right after the meal. Grease buildup is not only highly flammable but its much harder to clean once it cools and solidifies. Ditto for stuck-on sauce or cheese thats left on your grates after chicken or burgers. Its best to attack these things while the grill is still warm, but cooled down from the cook.You dont necessarily have to break out the shop vac each time for your pellet grill or empty the grease bin. But youll want to make sure that stuff is away from the main cooking area for safety and so any burn off wont impact the flavor of your food. A few cups of hot water can cleanse the grease run-off while that wire brush I mentioned is best for the grates. It also doesnt hurt to do a light wipe down with an all-natural cleaner so everything is ready to go when you want to cook again.New grills for 2025A number of grill companies have already announced their 2025 product lineups. If youre looking for new gear for the summer, some of them are already available while others will be arriving over the next few weeks. Of the big names, Weber jumped first, introducing its lower-cost Smoque pellet grill in early January. Starting at $699, this model offers the same connected grilling tools as the companys pricier Searwood, but a simplified controller and other design changes bring the price down. Weber also revamped the materials inside the cooking chamber to promote better air (and smoke) circulation. The Smoque grills should be available later this spring.Traegers 2025 models are already available, and they offer three all-new designs to choose from. The new Woodridge line has a similar concept as Weber: balancing features and performance at lower prices. The base model starts at $800 and offers Wi-Fi connectivity, but youll have to splurge for the Woodridge Pro or Woodridge Elite for things like Super Smoke mode, enclosed storage, pellet level sensor or a side burner. Even without all the bells and whistles, the entry-level Woodridge is a workhorse, and its a huge upgrade over the aging Pro Series.Middleby Outdoors also announced 2025 models for both its Masterbuilt and Kamado Joe brands. First, the Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1150 expands the smart, gravity-fed charcoal lineup with an option that offers more cooking space and better storage. Then theres the Kamado Joe Konnected Big Joe thats a larger version of the Konnected Joe I reviewed in 2023. Here, you still get Wi-Fi tools, an automatic charcoal starter and all the benefits of a ceramic, kamado-style grill.Lastly, the Brisk-It Zelos 450 packs in the companys Vera AI cooking platform for just $399. This smaller, simplified model follows the companys debut in 2024 with the Origin series. Its still a versatile smart pellet grill, but changes like a more basic onboard controller show that the Zelos 450 is designed to offer an AI sous chef at a lower price. Were sensing a theme there.Check out more from our spring cleaning guide.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/how-to-clean-your-grill-for-summer-outdoor-season-spring-cleaning-140040826.html?src=rss