As temperatures continue to warm up in Colorado, grill masters or wannabe grill masters will want to get their grills revved up and ready for summer. 

Whether your grill is charcoal, gas, electric, a smoker, or all of the above, these tips will help your grill perform all summer. 

Getting your grate to look great:

The first place you will want to start is grate. The obvious go-to tool would be to use a wire-cleaning brush. However, recent warnings recommend that using a wire brush comes with the increased risk of those bristles coming loose and ending up on the grate and into your meats and veggies. Instead, pitmasters and grilling experts advise using a stones scraper or a nylon brush. 

Here is a guide from Consumer Reports on the best and worst grill cleaning tools. Turn up the heat on your grill and allow those old chicken scraps and meat drippings to burn off. Once you’ve cooked off the crap from your grill, allow the temp to drop and get to work removing the grill excrement. Don’t be afraid to put some muscle into it. 

Oil is your friend:

Now that your grate looks great, it’s time to prevent any future rusting. Using a soft cloth (an old kitchen towel that was not knitted by grandma is best) apply a light amount of oil and rub your grill grates. Remember, this is just a light coating, not a hot oil party. 

Getting the gas grill gassed up:

Gas grills are a bigger pain to clean than a charcoal grill because it has more moving or burning parts. To avoid blowing your face off, always turn off the gas first and detach from your grill. 

Give those burner tubes and gas ports a good wipe and don’t forget the inside of your grill lid. Remove those giant chunks or the ghosts of your last grill-out gathering. 

Last and most obvious tip that you may or may not want to hear but already know. Cleaning your grill grate immediately after use is the best way to avoid an afternoon of scraping off all the gunk.