Before you buy a new grill, make sure that you know how to take care of it so that it doesn't end up looking as black and charred as the last grill you had to replace. The first time you use the grill, and every time thereafter, there are a few things that you need to do to ensure that you maintain that "just out of the box look" that everyone loves so much. Prep the grill by making sure that you put a cover on the grill between cooking. The cover will not only keep the outside of the grill looking like new, but it will also prevent the transfer of burn dirt and other debris from the outside of the grill onto your food. Before firing up the grill, take a wet rag and clean off the top of your grill so that the next time you fire up the grill, those bits of dust and grime do not get baked on.

Before grilling, use peanut oil to prep the racks. Peanut oil burns at a high temperature and won't go rancid if left to sit for a long time (unlike olive or veg. oil both of which have a low burning point and will go rancid if left outside on a hot grill). Once your grill is clean and sprayed, start the grill to preheat the BBQ.

Go ahead and enjoy cooking the food. No need to think about clean up while you are slaving away at a hot grill. Feel free to BBQ the way that you like and leave the worry about clean up for another time. Besides, if you have prepped the grill well, clean up should be a breeze. One word of advice, BBQ sauce is typically to blame when it comes to burnt on food portions. The majority of BBQ sauces are made up mainly of ketchup and sugar, two ingredients that burn easily. If you use BBQ sauce, put it on the food at the end of the cooking time so that there is less time for it to burn onto the grill.

As soon as food is done cooking, brush (don't scrape) off the grill while the food pieces are still on loosely rather than after they have been left to bake on. Most BBQ brushes come with a metal scrapper attached. Do not use this scraper on your grill, the metal scraper will actually scrape the porcelain coating on the rack off the grates, damaging your BBQ and preventing the non-stick surface from performing its function during future uses. Scraping off the coating will also make the grill rust more easily. If you have prepped the grill well, the only cleaning that should be needed is a quick 5-10 second brush to loosen everything up.

Experts suggest that you perform a more thorough cleaning of your grill on a monthly basis. Simply buy a BBQ cleaner solution from home and garden center. These cleaners are designed to remove carbon deposits which not only eat away at your grill but that can also cause the food to taste differently. Do not turn the temperature of your grill way up to perform a self-cleaning. Even if your grill has a self cleaning option, it is better not to use it as it wastes energy, fuel, and greatly reduces the lifetime of your BBQ's parts.