7 Grilling Safety Tips- Stay Safe While Grilling this Summer!

1. Electric Grills

Comparatively to gas and charcoal grills, an electric grill is one of the safest options, but still, there are a few things you need to do to ensure maximum safety;

✦ Beware of your Cords

Most people make the mistake of not checking up on their cords and end up having a short circuit as soon as they plug them in. So, the first point to take care of while grilling with electric grills is to make sure your electric cord and plug are dry.

Moreover, conduct a thorough inspection of the cord to ensure that there are no signs of damage. If there is, you must replace or repair the damage before starting your grilling.

The only element of danger while working with electric grills is getting a current or short circuit, and both of these could be avoided by keeping a check on the cord and plug of your electric grill.

✦ Off Position

One of the most important safety precautions of using the electric grill that most people ignore is that they don’t check if the knob(s) of the grill are ON or OFF before plugging in the cord. If you are in the practice of doing the same, you must change your pattern and make sure to turn the knob(s) of your electric grill into the OFF position.

2. Charcoal Grills

Charcoal grills are the most commonly used grills. From family cookouts to a friends’ group barbeque session, most people love having a charcoal grill by their side. However, with fun, charcoal grills also bring danger, and for that, make sure you follow the following safety tips:

✦ Must Allow Ventilation

With a charcoal grill, you must notice that there is a huge amount of smoke coming out of it and that smoke could be harmful to people and cause problems while breathing. So, it is highly essential to grill in an open area where ventilation is easy. Unlike electric grills, you cannot use a charcoal grill inside your home or any other closed area.

✦ Mark the Safe Zone

One of the biggest dangers of charcoal grills is that they are not fully covered and, if mishandled, could cause a big fire in the area. This is why you must adhere to safety precautions and create a safe zone around the grill.

Make sure that no children or pets ever cross this safe zone because they might get hurt. To be even safer, we recommend that only one or two adults doing the work be allowed inside the safe zone, and the rest must stay out.

2. Gas Grills

Gas grills are one of the most threatening grills among all grills because they involve gas. Studies have shown that most fires are caused by gas leakage or gas explosion. Hence, while grilling with gas grills, make sure you follow all safety precautions and keep the kids as far as possible. Make sure to follow the following safety tips:

✦ Be Aware of the Leaks

If you haven’t used your gas grill in a long time, there are chances that there could be leaks in the gas lines of your grill. So, before you start cooking again, make sure to check your grill’s gas lines to see if there is a leak or not. Because if there would be a leak and you start grilling without checking it, you might end up burning your garden and even harm yourself.

✦ A Grill Must Not Be Left Unattended

One of the benefits of using electric grills is that you can leave them unattended for a while, but that’s a privilege you cannot enjoy working with gas grills. You must know that while cooking with gas grills, you will be dealing with high and open flames. Hence, if you leave the grill unattended, it could be a fire hazard.

The Ultimate Tip For All: Always Clean Your Grill

One of the most important things that all grill owners must know is that no matter what type of grill they are using, electric, charcoal, or gas, they must clean the grills after use.

Here we have all the information you would need to clean your grill. Make sure you pay attention to all these tips and follow them as-is:

1. Electric Grills

While cleaning the electric grill, the first thing you need to do is to unplug the grill. After that, wait till at least 10-15 minutes before starting the cleaning process so that there would be zero chances of getting electrocuted.

Now, start scraping the grates on the grill with the help of a brush. Make sure you don’t use a metal scrapping pad or wire brush, and use the normal fiber brush. Once, you are done with the scrapping, take a damp microfiber cloth and rub off the debris. That is pretty much it for cleaning electric grills, and now you can go plug it back in to use it again or close it and put it away for future use.

2. Charcoal Grills

Cleaning a charcoal grill is a lengthier process compared to that of electric grills. You start by cleaning the inside of the lids. Since the lids are used to cover your food while cooking, there are chances that grease and oil evaporate and stick to the inside of the lid, so, to make sure they don’t turn into a stubborn stain, you must clean them as soon as you are done with grilling.

The next step would be to clean the inside of the bowl. This can simply be done by using a dish soap water solution and a sponge to get rid of any extra debris or leftover residue. After that, you will have to clean the grill's cooking grates. The key to cleaning them perfectly is to brush the residue off while the grate is still hot. This way, the residue will not have stuck onto the grate and would come off easily.

Lastly, all you would need to do is wipe down your grill with a soap water solution and a sponge to make sure it is all cleaned up. Finally, wipe the solution with a clean microfiber cloth, and there, you will have your perfectly cleaned charcoal grill ready for the next use!

3. Gas Grills

Cleaning your gas grill is not as tough as you would think. The simplest DIY solution is to fill a spray bottle with one part vinegar and one part water. You can even add half a teaspoon of baking soda to achieve the maximum cleaned finish.

Shake the bottle for a minute or two to create a foaming liquid. Spray the solution on your grill and rub it with a cotton cloth and that’s it, all left is to wipe it all off with a dry cotton cloth, and there you have a perfectly cleaned gas grill.

KEY TAKEAWAY!

Grilling is always fun, and with the summer season approaching, we are sure that your family and friends must be looking forward to having some fun grilling sessions in your backyards. While we do want you to have all that fun, we also want you to do it all with being 100% safe and secure.

So, whenever you are planning on grilling, make sure to follow all the safety precautions we mentioned above based on the type of grill you are using! And well, what you must do after you are done? You must clean your grill!