When I first learned how to clean grills all grill cleaners I spoke to cleaned by hand. They took a bucket of water and a stainless steel scrub ball and simply scrubbed the grill clean.
So, that’s what I did too…and it SUCKED!
The problem I had cleaning grills by hand was there was no consistency. There was no guarantee of any success unless I wanted to scrub my life away on the grill. The success of the cleaning came down to how much effort you wanted to put into the scrubbing. If your hand was cramping up and you couldn’t put a lot of pressure into the scrubbing than it took you longer to clean. If you were gung-ho and attacked the scrubbing like it was hot lava than maybe it got done a little quicker. But, the success still came down to good ‘ol fashioned elbow grease.
I cleaned grills for roughly two years like this but I began to have problems in my dominate arm from a past injury. I have scar tissue from tearing my bicep so the scrubbing motion would aggravate the injury and numb my arm. After a cleaning my arm would go numb and I would have to hold it like it was in a sling.
The pain was becoming a problem for me. So much so that I almost shut the business down because I didn’t see a long term solution to get around this problem. Plus, I knew I wanted to hire employees and how could I expect they could do a cleaning with any success hand scrubbing if I couldn’t?
So, I went out and searched for a solution to my problem and ultimately came across a steam cleaner.
For anyone out there that has been wondering, YES, I use a steam cleaner.
Definition of “Sanitize” – “To reduce or eliminate pathogenic agents (such as bacteria) on the surfaces of (something) : to make (something) sanitary (as by cleaning or disinfecting)”
I took this from another site. I thought it summed up the differences pretty well:
Some people think that disinfecting is the same thing as cleaning or sanitizing. But they are actually different:
Cleaning removes dirt, dust, crumbs, and germs from surfaces or objects. When you clean, you will likely use soap (or detergent) and water to physically clean off the surfaces and objects. This may not necessarily kill the germs. But since you removed some of them, there are fewer germs that could spread infection.
Disinfecting uses chemicals (disinfectants) to kill germs on surfaces and objects. Some common disinfectants are bleach and alcohol solutions. You usually need to leave the disinfectant on the surfaces and objects for a certain period of time to kill the germs. Disinfecting does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs.
Sanitizing could be done by either cleaning, disinfecting, or both. Sanitizing reduces the amount of bacteria on a surface, but does not kill or destroy bacteria. Sanitizing also does not kill or destroy viruses from surfaces. Rather, it lowers the amount of bacteria on a surface to a safe level as judged by public health standards.
Cleaning – removes dirt, dust and other soils from surfaces.
Sanitizing – removes bacteria from surfaces.
Disinfecting – kills harmful bacteria and viruses from surfaces.
The right products alone won’t always equate to the desired results. Products must be paired with the right methods. For example, the correct dwell time, the correct dilution and the appropriate equipment.
One of the most repeated lines I see from cleaners websites is when they say a grill cleaning will “sanitize” the grill. I’ve always struggled with this as there is no way hand scrubbing a grill with a bucket of dirty water will ever “sanitize” the grill. But by definition above, they aren’t wrong are they? I get it, the grill will be clean and look “sanitized” but it is truly “sanitized” when were hand scrubbing?
When using a steam cleaner, the steam can get upwards of 300+ degrees. You are truly “sanitizing” the surface at this point.
Steam cleaners and steam cleaning will kill most viruses and bacteria, but there’s a catch. The steam has to be hot enough. Typically, steam will disinfect and kill 99% of bacteria, viruses, and more with at least three minutes of sustained contact at a temperature between 175 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Most off the shelf steam cleaners you find at the box stores will not get to these temperatures.
I’m going to start right off the bat and say a steam cleaner is not a saving grace. It’s not a magic bullet. I’ve helped others get into this business and sold them a steam cleaner to find out they prefer to clean grill by hand. Like any tool, the steam cleaner is only good if you want to use it and know how to use it. Just on it’s own, a steam cleaner will only produce the same result as hand scrubbing just marginally better.
Quite a few grill cleaners around the country use a steam cleaner. Every now and then I see a post saying they took 4 hrs cleaning a grill, even with a steam cleaner. In my opinion, while they are ultimately achieving the desired results they want, they are not using it efficiently to maximize it’s full potential otherwise they would finish the job a lot quicker.
The steam cleaner is just one tool in the arsenal of tools used to clean grills. As mentioned, it’s not a silver bullet on it’s own. It’s part of a process and when used in the right steps of that process can be a very useful and efficient tool.
I personally will not clean a grill without a steam cleaner. As long as I have a steam cleaner I can get away without a dip tank or some other tool.
As mentioned previously, not all cleaners use a steam cleaner. Some will despise it while others will cherish it. These are simply my opinions on a steam cleaner since I consider it an important piece of equipment in my overall cleaning strategy.
Once I get my employees trained on the proper use of cleaning a grill with a steam cleaner, they love it. They dread having to clean a grill by hand because it takes longer, is more difficult to do and the results just aren’t the same as with a steam cleaner.
