Not Onions Or Vinegar — How To Use Coffee Grounds To Clean Your Grill

Delicious freshly grilled burgers and veggies can leave your stomach happy and your grill a mess. Whether you're trying to clean it up before using it again or are about to put it into storage, getting rid of any grease or char will keep your grill in top condition. There are a number of grill cleaning hacks you can try, including using vinegar solutions or half an onion. However, onion requires the grill to be steaming hot, and vinegar is not very abrasive. That's where coffee grounds come in. They're acidic and coarse, which is great for softening and removing stuck on grime. There are even two different ways you can use them.

The first option is to scrub the grill with the grounds, using their abrasiveness to scrape off any built up grease. The other option is to use the grounds to make coffee and soak your grill in it. The acidity and soaking process soften extra tough grime. You can even combine the methods by using the grounds to scrub the grill while it soaks. For either method, keep in mind that abrasive texture can scratch paint, and the grounds could potentially become wedged beneath dials. For these reasons, it's best to use coffee grounds to clean just the grill grate specifically. You don't need a lot of grounds, so there's no need to sacrifice your morning cup. Just set aside a couple spoonfuls of new or used grounds, a sponge, and some water.

To use the coffee grounds as a basic scrub, take a spoonful or two of grounds and mix them with a small amount of water. You just want the grounds to be moist enough to stick together, as this makes them easy to work with. Your grill should be either cold or warm, but not hot. Burnt coffee grounds might smell nice to some people, but you risk burning yourself. Remove the grate, apply your coffee ground paste to your grill brush or the grate itself, then scrub. When you're done, rinse them off with water. Coffee is food safe, so a light rinse to remove the grounds and grime will do. Be sure to clean your grill scrub brush afterward to remove the coffee grounds from it as well.

To soak your grill, let it cool completely and grab a bucket or tub that's large enough to submerge the grill in. The coffee doesn't need to be particularly fancy, but for tougher grime you might want to pick Arabica beans, as they're more acidic. You can make the coffee in your coffee maker or mix the grounds with some water in the tub itself. Remove the grill grates and place them in the tub. Let them soak for between 30 minutes and an hour, using your coffee grounds or a scrub brush to finish the job. Rinse it off and drain your coffee. The leftover grounds can go in your compost bin or be reused as a natural fertilizer for your lawn.