Cleaning the WSM

[boltsfan]

How clean do you clean the WSM after a smoke? I know you want the crusty, sticky goodness on the inside.

Do you just scrape off the racks with a grill brush?

I also notice that the vents got a little sticky. Is this normal?

I plan to cover with the standard WSM cover that it came with.

[Happy Hapgood]

I just wash the grills, bowl and empty the ash. When you cover it leave one bottom vent and the top vent open. They say this prevents mold.

[Smoothsmoke]

Just hit the grates with a brush while they're hot. That's it.

[Big slick]

I clean out the ash and clean the grates. I foil the water pan so no mess there. I have never tried the vent trick but I just might now.

[HankB]

I scrub the grates and then oil them. Left alone, mine started to rust and pit. The smoker (used the way I smoke) never gets hot enough to burn the stuff off the grates.

I also empty the ash and of course scrub out the water bowl.

When storing it, set the middle section upside down. The seams on the cover are not water proof and putting the middle section upside down causes any water that gets inside to run down on the outside rather than accumulating on the inside.

[boltsfan]

Great info... thanks guys!

[Rover24]

I just wash the grills, bowl and empty the ash. When you cover it leave one bottom vent and the top vent open. They say this prevents mold.

Great tip, I'll have to try that. I've been getting moldy grates this winter.

[tnjimbob]

Brush the grills, dump the ash & clean out any greasy gunkiness from the charcoal bowl, replace the top foil layer over the water pan. I will sometimes leave the grates on my Performer and burn 'em off when grilling, then spray with Pam and put back in the WSM. I store mine covered with top vent & one bottom vent open. Never seen any mold.

[Trumpstylz]

When you cover it leave one bottom vent and the top vent open. They say this prevents mold.

Does the same apply to the weber otg?

[Pappy]

Has anyone put grates in the dishwasher?

[NickTheGreat]

I just dump the ash, and pull the big foil sheet off the top of my water pan (saucer inside). Scrape the grates and DONE

I don't think I'd like the grates in my dishwasher. There's some big hunks of junk that get on there that couldn't be good for the dishwasher :cry:

[timzcardz]

Every so often I put all my grates in the gasser and crank it on high for a while. Then brush knock the ash off and give them a good spray with Pam.

[Porcine Perfection]

I spray my grates with oven cleaner and put them in a trash bag for a couple days. Spray them off with hot water.

[Harbormaster]

When storing it, set the middle section upside down. If it's going to be stored outside, this is a hot tip. If keeping it inside, don't bother.

I store mine covered with top vent & one bottom vent open. Never seen any mold.Good tip too. Lets some airflow through the unit and dry it out.

Does the same apply to the weber otg?I store all my kettles inside with all of the vents closed. Never have any mold. Then again, they generally don't sit unused long enough for mold to grow.

[Jethro]

If the grates get too nasty in the UDS I just cook them off on a "hotter than the blazes of hell" fire on the kettle grill. Other than cleaning out the ashes that's it. If you have a nasty spill or something you can always run it up to the local carwash for a good hosin'...

[NRA4Life]

Clean the grates by burning everything off with my weed burner, wire brush it, then spray with cooking spray. Anything that is in the water bowl gets burned with the weed burner until it is carbon, then wire brush it. Dump the ashes and any leftover charcoal. Maybe once a year, I clean the entire cooker inside and out with oven cleaner - makes it look like new. Don't get the oven cleaner on the aluminum pieces.

[Happy Hapgood]

Does the same apply to the weber otg?

Send me an OTG and I will let you know. :becky:

But seriously I would think it would apply as long as it's covered.