Why Goo Gone Is The Affordable Answer To A Spotless Grill This Summer
As the patio season gets underway, barbecue after barbecue loads your grill with grease and oil. As it accumulates, the grease poses two threats to your well-being. Firstly, it creates a fire hazard, since the built-up fats can easily ignite if exposed to a flame. Secondly, burning grease emits polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are carcinogens — compounds that can lead to cancer. Simply cleaning the grill often enough — and doing so well — can minimize both risks. But with frequent barbecues, little time, and only dish soap on hand, removing grease from a grill can seem like an insurmountable task. Luckily, there is a cheap, yet incredibly effective cleaner that will fight those stubborn fat deposits for you with minimal time and effort required: Goo Gone Oven & Grill Cleaner.
As its name suggests, Goo Gone's products are designed to remove all manner of goo — be it old adhesives, kitchen grease, or the half-charred oil and fat build-up in your grill. The grill-specific version of Goo Gone is designed to bind to fats, dissolve them, neutralize them, and help water carry them off a surface. Best of all, a bottle of Goo Gone Oven & Grill Cleaner costs just $7.99 — a relatively inexpensive investment considering the health and safety benefits it affords. Below, you'll learn why Goo Gone is so effective at fighting barbecue grease, and how to use it properly when cleaning your grill.
Where Goo Gone gets its grease-fighting strength
To understand why Goo Gone Oven & Grill Cleaner is one of the best grill cleaners, look at its primary ingredients. First is diethylene glycol monobutyl ether. This compound dissolves grease and oil. Second is sodium hydroxide — a key component of soaps and detergents. Sodium hydroxide helps convert fatty deposits into soap in a process known as "saponification." In this chemical process, the acid (the fat or oil) and the base (the sodium hydroxide) neutralize each other and leave you with salts and water. Sodium hydroxide is often used to combat grease and fat.
Goo Gone also contains sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). This compound is a surfactant, which is a type of chemical that facilitates the bond between water and lipids. When you rinse the grill grease with water, the water will be able to bind to the grease particles and carry them away. Finally, Goo Gone also has Triisopropanolamine in its composition. While Goo Gone doesn't explain why this chemical is present, its ability to neutralize fatty acids and solubilize various fats and oils hints that it makes grease removal more effective. Together, these constituents paint a picture of how Goo Gone approaches the task of fighting grease — it dissolves fat, converts it into salt, binds it to water, and allows it to mix with other liquids. These four ingredients work together to help Goo Gone Grill & Oven Cleaner remove stubborn grease from your grill.
How to properly clean your grill with Goo Gone
Grill grease stains may accumulate on the underside of the lid, the cooktop and warming rack, the heat plates, the bottom of the grill, and the grease trap. Begin by removing the cooktop and heat plates — it's easier to wash these components separately, and you don't want them in the way when cleaning the grill's bottom. Next, since the cleaner and the water will inevitably trickle down anyway, start cleaning the underside of the lid first. Holding the Goo Gone bottle upright, spray the area from a distance of about 10 inches. Let the cleaner work for up to five minutes, then wipe the surface with a wet rag.
Use the same method to clean your dirty grill grates. However, you will need to rinse the grates meticulously with water to make sure no chemicals are present when you grill next. Repeat the same with heat plates, and wash and rinse these well, too — you don't want leftover chemicals vaporizing when you cook. Finally, it's time to scrub the dirtiest parts of the grill — the bottom and the grease trap. To make the job easier, wipe as much of the grease away as you can first and remove loose debris, such as ashes or food scraps. Spray the area generously with Goo Gone, and let the cleaner sit for up to an hour before wiping with a wet rag.