The Affordable Way To Clean Your Grill (Without Chemicals)

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Everyone knows that a grill costs hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to buy. And since grills are frequently exposed to flames, extreme heat, and grease, the cost of maintaining one can skyrocket, too. Companies know this, so they offer sprays, solvents, and kits to help make the cleaning process easier. Apart from the fact that these cleaning products could transfer questionable chemicals onto your next meal, they're not actually that cheap. Cleaning supplies in general are among the things you're paying too much for without realizing it, but grill cleaning kits take it a step further, with products ranging from $10 to $20 for a high-quality 16-ounce can or bottle.

Assuming you fire up your grill once every weekend, and you use a 16-ounce spray can after each time, at 2 to 4 ounces per cleaning session, you'd buy roughly six to 12 bottles a year. If each spray costs $15 a can, you're looking at spending between $90 and $150 on cleaning per year. That's enough to buy a new low-end charcoal grill every single year.

If that sounds like a waste, there's a cheaper (and more natural) way to clean your grill. Just cut a white onion in half, spear it on a grilling fork, heat the grill, then rub the sliced onion over the grates. With one onion costing about 50 to 70 cents, this would run you less than $30 per year — or $50 for the first year if you throw in the price of an average, $20 grilling fork (you might even get the fork cheaper if you shopped for kitchen utensils at Dollar Tree).

Onions are effective at removing grime and grease from grill grates thanks to their inherent acidity, according to Food & Wine. The method also works on light carbonation and rust. What's more, onion juice has mild antibacterial properties, which help keep the grates germ free. Apart from its cleaning prowess, this onion method helps you season the grill grates and adds a bit of flavor to your meal. However, if you don't want the pungent aroma lingering on your grill, Home & Gardens recommends using lemons instead. The citric acid in their juice is effective in degreasing and removing stubborn gunk, and you can dip the lemon in salt to give it a scouring paste effect. Lemons aren't any pricier than onions, with a 1-pound bag costing about $3. 

Of course, in some cases, fruit and vegetable juice might not be enough to get rid of stubborn buildup on your grates. You still don't need expensive cleaning equipment; using a crumpled ball of aluminum foil with some baking soda (which goes for abvout $1 per pound at Walmart) will clean the grates just fine. In fact, foil is a safer alternative to wire brushes since it doesn't leave hazardous bristles on the grates. With one 75-foot roll of foil (which typically costs under $5), you should have enough foil to last about nine months, assuming you use 2 feet of foil each session. This method also works on ovens, so you can stop buying oven cleaners to save money, too.  

Neglecting to clean your grill could prove costly. Per The BBQ Depot, getting new grates could set you back up between $30 and $100, whereas replacing each of the burners (which often suffer from carbon buildup), would cost over $100.