The first properly warm Saturday in September always plays out the same way. Someone lifts the hood for the first time since autumn, and there it is: ash across the burners, a hotplate wearing six months of hardened fat, and a smell nobody wants near the snags. This is the moment most Australians go looking up how to clean a BBQ properly, rather than scraping it and hoping.
What follows is the once-a-year deep clean as a two-day plan. Saturday is the strip-down and soak; Sunday is burners, gas checks and reassembly. Almost everything you need sits in our BBQ accessories range.
What a deep clean covers (and what it doesn't)
Routine cleaning is a separate job. The brush-down after every cook, emptying the fat cup, wiping the hood while it is warm — that is the fortnightly rhythm. We have covered it in How to Clean and Maintain Your BBQ So It Lasts for Years, and keeping it up is what makes the annual clean a pleasant weekend.
The deep clean reaches what routine cleaning cannot: cooking surfaces out, firebox degreased, burners cleared, hose and regulator checked for perishing, and a leak test before the BBQ goes back into service. Do it at the start of spring and the first big cook of the season is on a checked machine.
Saturday: the strip-down and soak
Start cold and start safe. Turn the gas off at the bottle, disconnect the regulator, and move the bottle well away from where you are working. Nothing on Saturday needs gas connected.
Lift out everything designed to come out: hotplates, cooking grates, flame tamers, the fat cup and the drip tray. A dedicated degreaser does most of the work, and a set of Cleaning Products ($79) beats improvising with whatever is under the sink.
Give the plates and grates a long soak in hot, soapy water while you deal with the firebox. Half an hour of soaking saves twenty minutes of scrubbing. Then work them over with a stiff brush. The Coleman Palmyra Twisted Bristle Brush ($19.99) uses natural palmyra fibre rather than wire, which matters because shed wire bristles are the one BBQ cleaning risk that puts people in emergency departments.
Inside the hood, the black flakes falling onto the plates are carbonised fat, not peeling paint. Scrape them off with a plastic scraper and warm soapy water. Keep oven cleaner away from painted, anodised or coated surfaces — it dulls finishes permanently. Wipe stainless along the grain, then leave everything to dry overnight.
Sunday: burners, gas and the leak test
Sunday is the part most people skip, and it decides whether the BBQ lasts another five years. Lift the burners out and hold them up to the light, looking for blocked ports, rust that has eaten through, and splits along a seam. Clear blocked ports with a thin wire, brushing along the row rather than across it, and never enlarge a port.
Check the venturi tubes where the burners meet the control valves. Spiders love them, and one web can starve a burner into a yellow, lazy flame instead of a crisp blue one. A burner that will not clean up is a replacement part, not a repair job.
Now the gas. Rubber gas hoses and regulators perish with age, heat and UV, so replace them on the manufacturer's schedule rather than waiting for a visible crack. If the hose feels stiff or chalky, or shows fine surface cracking, replace it now. The bottle has a lifecycle of its own — test dates, swap versus refill, and safe storage — which we work through in BBQ Gas Bottles: Sizes, Swap vs Refill, Storage and Safety.
To leak-test, mix dishwashing detergent into water until it is properly soapy. Reconnect the regulator, turn the gas on at the bottle, and leave every burner control switched off. Brush the soapy water over the bottle valve, the regulator, the full length of the hose and the connection into the BBQ. Growing bubbles mean gas is escaping. Never use a flame, match or lighter to look for a leak.
If you find bubbles, turn the gas off at the bottle immediately, disconnect it and do not use the BBQ. Swapping a perished hose or regulator for the correct replacement part is within reach of most owners. Anything beyond that — valves, manifolds, fixed pipework, or a fault you cannot pin down — is a job for a licensed gas fitter.
With the gas checked, reassemble, wipe a thin coat of high-smoke-point oil over the hotplate, and run the BBQ on high for fifteen minutes with the hood up to burn off residue. A tidy Coleman 3pc BBQ Tool Set ($63) is worth putting back into a clean cabinet.
What to clean with what
| Part | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Hotplates and grates | Hot soapy soak, then degreaser and a stiff brush | Wire bristles that shed |
| Burners | Dry brushing, thin wire through blocked ports | Soaking them, or widening ports |
| Hood and firebox | Plastic scraper and warm soapy water | Oven cleaner on coated surfaces |
| Stainless panels | Mild detergent, soft cloth, with the grain | Steel wool, which leaves rust specks |
| Hose and regulator | Visual check, then a soapy-water leak test | Naked flame; DIY beyond a hose swap |
Timing it for an Australian spring
The right weekend depends on where you live. Perth, Brisbane and Sydney households are usually cooking again by late August, so aim for the last fortnight of winter. Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart can leave it until mid-September, when a dry working day is more likely.
Climate changes what you find. In the humid coastal strip from Brisbane north, expect mould in the cabinet after a wet season, which needs detergent and a proper dry-out. Near the beach, salt air pits fasteners and dulls stainless. If your BBQ lives uncovered, something from our outdoor furniture covers range is the cheapest way to shorten next spring's clean.
One seasonal note: rules on using a BBQ during a total fire ban vary by state and council, and differ again for solid-fuel BBQs. Check current conditions with your state fire service before firing up on a declared day.
How to clean a BBQ — frequently asked questions
How often should you deep-clean a BBQ?
Once a year is enough for most households, ideally at the start of spring. Heavy users cooking fatty cuts most weekends are better off doing it twice, before spring and after summer.
Can you use oven cleaner on a BBQ?
Not on painted, anodised, coated or aluminium surfaces, where it strips the finish permanently. Caustic cleaners belong nowhere near burners or gas components either. A purpose-made degreaser and hot soapy water handle almost everything.
How do you test a gas BBQ for leaks?
Brush soapy water over every gas connection with the bottle turned on and all burner controls off, then watch for bubbles. Cover the bottle valve, regulator, hose and the connection into the BBQ. Never use a flame to test for gas; if bubbles appear, shut the gas off and have it checked before using it again.
Do BBQ gas hoses and regulators need replacing?
Yes — rubber hoses and regulators perish with age, heat and UV, and should be replaced on the manufacturer's schedule. Cracking, stiffness or a chalky surface means replace now, not at the next service. Anything more involved than a hose or regulator swap goes to a licensed gas fitter.
Shop the range
Degreasers, brushes, tools and covers all sit in our BBQ accessories collection, alongside the full BBQs and outdoor cooking range if this year's clean says it is time for a new one. The one thing to add before summer is a proper cover, and the Coleman Premium BBQ Cover - X-Large ($69.95) suits larger cabinets. We deliver Australia-wide, with free delivery on orders over $100.
