Last summer I bought a new Weber Slate. I also got the Weber grill cover to keep it safe. I live in NW Florida. We then had a baby in January and I have not touched it until today. I knew I would need to clean it but it seems the grill cover did way more harm then good. Its absolutely covered in mold, mildew and areas that shouldn't rust have.
Any advice on how to save this grill?
Any advice on how to keep it, since covered seems to teap moisture and create problems. My Weber Kettle sits out uncovered with zero issues.
by Beertruck85
25 Comments
Not sure specifically what is all involved with that model but you’ll want to get the mold and dirt off by scraping or wiping with an approved cleaner. Sam’s club has a great one. Then you’ll need to get the rust off and season. I’d not start by burning as the mold could get in the air and maybe get someone sick.
I don’t have answers to your questions, but wanted to say don’t be embarrassed about life happening. Congratulations on your baby.
Fire it up. Let it burn everything away then scrub it.
For the exterior, I’d probably pressure wash, but i’m no expert.
If you want to save the cover just soak it in some vinegar.
This is really not that bad. Like others have said get it hot and scrape that shit off!
Pretty much burn everything off and just treat the rust and re-season
Mask, wire brush or the attachment for your drill from harbor freight 12$. Make quick work. Rinse very well and reseason. 3-5 times should be good. I tend to stay away from chemical cleaners. But that’s me. You got this. That cooking plate should lift off if you want to clean up the inside of the gas burners.
That’s a griddle, homie
You should have seen my big green egg after not using it for several months. I’m in Tampa so humidity is crazy and constant. I just burned it off and gave it a good scrub.
I picked up my neighbors rusted griddle off the curb and had to thoroughly clean it.
Pumice stones work great. If its rusted use them with a cooking oil to help lube as you scrub. If it’s just gunk you can try a metal scraper.
Keep doing that until it’s free of rust and gunk
Paper towels plus oil to clean and pumice
Then burn burn burn. High heat and light coats of oil to season. All good!
Step 1- high heat …let’r rip with the top open to burn off the cooktop
Step 2 – once the flattop is looking crunchy close the lid & let things bake for a bit…20-25min
Step 3 – scrape while hot, let cool then wipe everything down real well with good ol soap & water
Step 4 – clean the stainless with your metal cleaner of choice, it will probably rough up the finish some, but you’ll get rid of the rust stains
Step 5 – oil up the flattop and reseason that puppy
Salt & high humidity will kill grills, especially when covered & left for awhile (if you don’t like the staining here, don’t even look at your cars undercarriage). A cover that has less depth/only covers the cooktop and leaves the base exposed will give you more airflow & will be easier to take off & wipe down the exterior from time to time with some plain water to get the residual salt off.
That’s not too bad at all and perfectly normal; it’d be much worse without that cover. Others have already commented on how to clean it, but to keep it nice and shiny when not using it try to wipe down the exterior with something like Sheila Shine and season the griddle when not in use. Make sure you spray the Shine on a towel then rub, and not directly onto the grill itself; you don’t want that stuff to make its way into the interior and contaminate your food. Reapply every once in awhile.
Check with the folks over in r/blackstonegriddle. They usually have pretty great advice for rescuing griddles
Save it? To me it just looks like it needs to be cleaned. Heat and elbow grease.
Concerning covering, opinions are all over the place when it comes to high humidity areas.
Ain’t no biggie. Burn it all away, then scrub it all down. Maybe power wash. De-rust the cooking surface if necessary with steel wool and rust remover, Then re-season and you are good to go!
Also, consider a silicone grill cover mat. It seals the grill surface from moisture.
I think I would pressure wash the whole thing and get all that mold out. Then reseason the griddle
Thank you so much everyone. Ill pressure wash it, then attack the mold and then heat the hell out of it and clean and bring the cooking surface back. I screen shot quite a few responses so I can use the steps.
Thank you everyone!
Our cabin bbqs look like this (or worse) every spring (we close down for winter). As others said, let the bbq burn off as much as it can and then clean the rest!
We live in the PNW, so a cover is better than just leaving it out in the constant rain 😆. But even the uncovered BBQ on our covered porch develops mould over the winter.
The rust is a bummer but was probably inevitable
Congratulations on the baby. Best part of your life!!!
As far as your grill:
Look at the cast iron group too, but:
1. Power wash.
2. Scrub that bad boy down even if you have to use use chain brush or even a wire brush.
3. clean it with hot soapy water.
4. Cover it in Crisco and fired up until it smokes. Let it cool down.
5. Repeat, then repeat, then repeat the Crisco process.
The grill just needs seasoned
Hot bucket of soapy, water, and a soft brush, brush and scrubby dubby on the cover.
Don’t be embarrassed. This week, I took the cover off my Weber 310 and there was mildew under all over the interior of the cover.
I am going to turn it inside out and scrub it with water, vinegar and a little dish soap. Should take care of it.
You have learned, covers suck. You hit the nail on the head. I used to cover all my grills but now the only cover is the eaves they’re under. No covers & vents are open all year round. I live in the PNW so we get rain … lots of rain.
The problem is the lack of airflow and trapped humidity causes massive mold growth. My kamado was also very susceptible to this because it was almost airtight. After I stopped using covers and opened the vents, my mold issue went away.
Do NOT try to clean the mold first. You don’t need to be breathing in those spores.
Turn on the heat to high and let it cook for at least 30 minutes. This will kill the mold first.
Now start scraping off the griddle. A scraper to get the loose stuff then some oil & a pumice stone or chainmail for the rest.
Bar Keepers Friend for the outside and it’ll be good as new.
Now a couple of coats of seasoning and it’s ready for use.
Looks normal for disuse.
To “save”: clean it
To “keep it”: season it. This happens from regular use, but you can season it without cooking.
How to save? Soap..water and elbows grease.
I’m in Florida and I keep my grill covered. If you’re not able to use it and release some of that trapped humidity, just try to remember to go back there and wipe it down periodically. But in my case I use my grill at least once a month and have had no issues. I’m in Miami too and it’s insanely humid.