Grilling can be an enjoyable experience if no mishaps or accidents happened in the process. Yes, though the whole process seemed fairly harmless, accidents can happen anyway. Well, good news is that accidents can be avoided by practicing simple safety tips. Everyone should know these tips.
1. Keep a fire extinguisher at reach during grilling
Fire accidents are the most common but they are also readily preventable. They can happen when your grill isn’t used after a long period of time or if you’re using a propane gas grill, a refilled canister can probably be the cause. If you are using an electric grill, then a faulty power outlet can be the problem. You should know the quickest way to cut fuel supply, and everyone present should know the number to fire department.
2. Check the grill hoses
This is important because sometimes, the gas tube may be brittle (due to improper storage or after long period being unused) and cause it to have holes and leakages. You should take a look at places where you don’t often check (i.e. behind the grill). If you discover any problem, immediately stop using the grill and fix the problem. You shouldn’t compromise, thinking that using it a little while longer will do no harm. That can turn out to be a very bad decision.
3. Keep flammables away
This one takes common sense to figure out. Keep flammables like gasoline and other form of fuel away from grill. Also, if you are grilling from your backyard, keep it at a safe distance (maybe 10 feet) away from the house. If you are grilling elsewhere, don’t keep the propane gas container in a hot environment (i.e. car trunk). Pressure can cause gas to escape. Once, my neighbor almost caused a fire when he kept the gasoline too close to the grill and hadn’t noticed. It was a relief that another friend helped him out and quickly moved it away before an accident happens.
4. Don’t leave grill unattended
This is especially important if you have kids or pets around. Like all other accidents, they catch you by surprise because it happens at times when you least expect it to. If you think that leaving the grill for a few minutes while you go elsewhere shouldn’t cause any problem, think again. What I’m trying to say here is you shouldn’t leave room for accident to happen. When it comes to grilling, my motto is always “better safe than sorry”.
Something else I’d like to highlight is that you shouldn’t wear loose fitting clothes because it’s easier to catch fire. A grilling process is enjoyable when you have taken preventive measures to keep yourself and those around, safe. I hope you’ll share these tips with others.
Also, I’ve posted some tips on how to care for your grills in 4 Tips on How to Care for Your Grills. Plus, if this is your first time buying a grill or you are looking forward to get a new grill, you may want to check out the different types of grills available in Which Grill Is Best For You (Choosing the Best Grill). Check it out!
In this post, I’ll share some tips on how to care for your grills, keeping them in excellent, tip top condition.
Tip 1: Always Clean Your Grill Immediately after Use
After each grilling session, don’t leave food residue on the grill. What I mean here is for a long period of time, say, overnight or over two nights. Residue left for long is much harder to clean. Scrub the grate using a long handled, brass bristle brush. The food residue should fall off and it’ll be easier to clean after that. Next, wash the grate with a wet soapy sponge. Then, use a second wet sponge (soap less) and run through the grate, making sure that there is no soapy residue in crevices.
Tip 2: Polish the Stainless Steel Parts
To maintain the shininess of stainless steel surfaces, you got to give it good polishing from time to time. Sometime, long term use of tap water can cause mineral to deposit on the grill. One particular trick I find useful to do is mix a part of hot water and vinegar and spray the solution on the grill. Then, I’d use a cloth and wipe it dry. To make it shinier, try using baby oil. My grill looks brand new thanks to these simple tips.
Tip 3: Disinfect Your Grill Routinely
Hygiene should be top priority in any food preparation you do. Same goes for grilling. To keep your grill bacteria-free, you’ll need more than the good clean-scrub routine. Using hydrogen peroxide and cleaning cloth, you can easily disinfect your grill. Just spray some hydrogen peroxide solution and wipe down the stainless steel parts.
Tip 4: Only Use Your Grill for Its Intended Purpose: Grilling
Never use your grill for any other reason beyond the purpose it’s made for. For example, don’t do any cutting on the grill, especially on a stainless steel surface. Once, my cousin did this mistake and boy did it scratch the surface. All I can tell you was he had a hard time looking for a replacement. Don’t use the surface for putting hot pan or any other cookware. There is dish rack for that. Use a stainless steel scouring pad to avoid scratching and damaging the steel surface. Don’t use a steel wool pad!
I am glad that you read through the tips and hopefully you find them useful. There are countless grills out there, each claiming to be the best. How are you supposed to choose? You need to check out Which Grill Is Best For You (Choosing the Best Grill). After deciding your choice of grill, you need to know 4 Grilling Safety Tips. It’s useful so that you don’t set anything on fire, except, well…your grill. If you are looking for grills to buy, here are some of the best grills I’d recommend: Best Outdoor Gas Grill and Best Charcoal Grill.
If you want to get your own grill, first you should find out what are the types of grills available. Then, decide which one suits you best by checking out different user reviews. You’ve come to the right site because I provide all the important information (and more) right here, in my blog. For starters, you need to know the types of grills available. Read on! I’ll explain the different types of grills and recommend the best grill for each.
1. Gas Grill
Here, gas grill also refers to propane grill. This is a great choice if you are looking for a quick, easy, and clean grilling process. Food also tastes great, especially if you add some smoking woods or mesquite wood chips. I will get them for my grilling sessions to add a smoky, flavorful taste to food. A lot of my neighbors also own gas grills and they are quite happy with it. A small advantage over charcoal is that the flame can be controlled using buttons or dials. If you set your eyes on this, the best gas grill I’d recommend is listed here in my post: Best Outdoor Gas Grill. You must check it out.
2. Charcoal Grill
Charcoal grill is the original stuff that got the grilling hype started. It’s still in use because the combination of wood and charcoal gives you that amazing smoked flavor. This was used in my dad’s generation but it brought back fond memories as I still kept his original grilling equipments and used them every now and then.
What can I say; using this grill takes mastery of skill because you can’t control the flame as easily as gas grill. Using this, I got a good chance to perfect my grilling skills. Also, you got to wait for the coals to cool completely before you can start cleaning. This is the one to go for if you are looking forward to brush up your grilling skills and give your food that incomparable, tasty goodness of smoked flavor. My choice is definitely the one here in Best Charcoal Grill.
3. Electric Grill
I think electric grill is useful because they heat up quickly and is convenient to use. For starters, you don’t need any fuel other than an electrical outlet. Most modern grills also allow you to give a smoked flavor to food by soaking wood chips and putting them on the reflector pan. This helps to seal the natural juices of food.
Temperature is also distributed evenly, giving you a good grill (no more undercooked/overcooked food). I think this is perfect for entertaining guests because you won’t want to serve burnt food or getting sweaty all over. I’ll use this one whenever I don’t feel like “getting down to it” or on slower days. You get what I mean. I’d recommend: Best Electric Grill.
4. Natural Gas Grill
This is a cheap and convenient alternative. It’s cheaper than propane so even when you have to use more (you HAVE to use more because it burns with half the cooking power of propane), you still save. For those who want to reduce gunk, this is the best choice because it’s environmentally friendly due to efficient burning. Also, there’s no need to wait for it to heat up (like charcoal grill). On days when I want to use it, I’ll just hook it up to the gas outlet in my kitchen and I’m ready to go. I’m all for Best Natural Gas Grill. Check it out!
Other useful tips for you to check out: 4 Tips on How to Care for Your Grills and 4 Grilling Safety Tips.
by George on March 7, 2010
I’m George, welcome to my Best Grills blog. Tell you what, barbecuing is one of my strong suits that whenever there is a party or camp trip with my friends, I’ll always inevitably be behind the grills. That’s why I’ve experimented with several kinds of grills and I know what are the pros and cons with each of them.

If this is the first time you’re buying a grill, then you’ve come to the right place because I’m going to write about all the things you should know when shopping for a grill. Let’s start with a short introduction. You might be wondering, there are so many kinds of grills out there which should you buy? Well, each kind has its merits, so you might want to read up a bit before you buy.
Mainly there are gas grills and charcoal grills, but there are also infrared grills, electric grills and hybrid grills. As you can see, the types of grills are named by its heat source. Gas grills uses gas, charcoal grills uses charcoal, infrared grills uses infrared radiation and hybrid grills uses a combination of gas and charcoal. Electric grills are usually small size grills used for indoor grilling.
Charcoal grills comes in different shapes and designs. According to Wikipedia, they are:
- Brazilian Rodízio Grill;
- Brazier Grill;
- Pellet Grill;
- Square Charcoal Grill;
- Hibachi Grill;
- Kettle Grill;
- Cart Grill;
- Barrel Grill;
- Ceramic cooker Grill;
- Tandoor oven; and
- Portable charcoal Grill
The kettle grill and the brazier grill designs are the more popular ones, but you can also find many square charcoal grills around.
Don’t worry about choosing one of them now. What you do is stay on my blog and read some grill reviews; I hope that with my reviews you will soon get an idea what kind of grill you want.