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Recently, I attended a BBQ party in one of my friend’s backyards. He had a nice Traeger grill and everything was going nice until a grease fire happened.
Do you know what caused the fire? Yes, the uncleaned grease trap. So, today I will cover how to clean grease trap on Traeger in the easiest possible way.
Traeger is a sturdy grill that is usually a lifetime investment. If taken care of properly, it lasts pretty long. But you need to clean the grease trap regularly to make it work fine.
To clean a Traeger grill, you must use the best cleaning tools. After all, you don’t want to damage your expensive cooking appliance, right?
On that note, below, I have discussed the detailed steps of getting rid of the grease with the most appropriate tools. Keep on reading to learn more!
Things You Will Need to Clean Grease Trap on Traeger
As Traeger is a high-end grill, you must use quality products to keep it well-maintained for years. The following products come in handy while cleaning the grease trap on the Traeger grill.
Non-Abrasive Polishing Wheel: The product works as a cleaning pad to clean any rotary tool or kitchen appliance. Being manufactured with qualitative materials, it particularly works great to clean any stainless steel surface such as a Traeger grill. Besides, it cleans wood, metal, and other abrasion-sensitive surfaces too.
Most importantly, it’s very easy to use for cleaning a cooking grill, thanks to its flexible feature. The 1-inch thickness also offers an added advantage to remove stains, spots, oxidization, etc. pretty fast. If you are looking for a harm-free rubbing pad, go for it right away!
Microfiber Glass Cleaning Cloths: Well, well, although the name says it’s a glass cleaning cloth, it works equally well to clean your stainless steel Traeger grill. Once you are done scraping off the grease using a rubber pad, now it’s time to wipe out the residues as well.
That’s when you need a soft piece of cloth, particularly a multipurpose microfiber one to retain the coating of your Traeger grill. The best part of this cloth is that you need not use any harsh chemicals. Applying regular water would do.
To add more, these clothes are reusable which is very cost-effective. You can preserve them to use multiple times as they are okay with machine washes.
Confused about how to use it? Just dump it in water and wipe off the grill’s exterior. You will get a stain and streak-free finish at once.
Heavy-duty Vacuum Cleaner: I recommend using regular brushes to clear all the grease or food particles out of the grease trap. But sometimes they are so sticky that you cannot clean them thoroughly.
In those cases, you can use a vacuum cleaner from the CRAFTSMAN. Although it is designed to work on hard floors, you can also use it to empty the oil and grease from a grill’s trap. Special thanks to the extra-large drain that makes the cleaning procedure way too rapid.
And most importantly, it can switch between the wet and dry setting very fast. So, you can remove any unwanted solid or liquid substance within minutes.
Grease Police Magic Degreaser: Last but not the least, you must use a high-quality degreaser to clean your cooking appliances, a grill in particular. Here I suggest trying this cleaning spray once and you will be a fan forever!
Do you know what makes it so special? It doesn’t kill time. You literally need to do nothing but spray it and wipe it off. No matter how stubborn stains or tints your grill has, it will remove them all.
The highly concentrated formula makes it so efficient that you can clear out any old and dried-out streak as well. No wonder, it’s a go-to kitchen spray for many experts as well.
I specifically loved the non-toxic formation of this spray. Therefore, it doesn’t affect the outer coating of any stainless steel surface. So, your favorite Traeger grill will remain 100% safe, no worries!
How to Clean Grease Trap on Traeger – 5 Easy Steps
Having the right tools isn’t enough. You must know how to make the best use of them. So now, let’s dive into the guideline on how to clean the Traeger grease trap.
Here is the step-by-step process –
Step – 1: Cleaning Grease Drip Bucket
The first step is to clean the drip bucket. As Traeger uses wood pellets to smoke or grill foods, the bucket catches all the fuel residuals. Besides, all sorts of food greases are stored in the bucket as well. So, you must keep the drip tube clean so that it doesn’t clog the bucket eventually.
Step – 2: Cooling Down The Traeger
Let the grill cool down before you clean it. For that, turn it off and wait for a while. Leaving the Traeger for at least 24 hours is recommended. Now, make use of a cleaning pad to take off the grease.
It’s better to use non-abrasive pads so that they won’t damage the stainless steel of a Traeger grill.
However, you can scrape off the oil, fat, or grease with the help of a paper towel as well. Although a piece of microfiber cloth is a much better option.
Step – 3: Washing The Grill
Though it’s better to wash the entire grill when it’s hot, I don’t recommend it at all. Instead, clean it when the grill is still warm, neither entirely hot nor too cool.
Again, you need to opt for regular brushes instead of metallic ones as the metallic brushes can leave stains on the grill’s body.
Step – 4: Cleaning The Chimney Cap
After that, take off the chimney cap of the Traeger grill to clean it thoroughly. You can clean it with soapy water. Lukewarm water works better though!
Make a solution of lukewarm water and a regular detergent/soap. But if you want the fastest result in the return of the minimum effort, using a degreaser is the best solution. It takes off all the dirt, oil, and food residue instantly when mixed with warm water.
Soak the chimney cap inside the solution and rub it with a brush. Once cleaned properly, wipe off it entirely. And you must dry it before using it again.
Step – 5: Cleaning The Grease Trap
Finally, it’s time to clean the grease trap. So, take it off carefully without hampering the setting of the grill. Then take all the stored grease out of it.
You can use soap or regular detergent to wash the trap. However, the best washer is any degreaser. For taking off any sticky substances, use non-abrasive materials to rub the trap off.
If the trap is too unclean and greasy, you can use enzymes or solvents to clean it.
After cleaning and air drying the grease trap, set it back to the grill. That’s it, you are done with the grease trap cleaning. Your Traeger grill is now ready to rock again!
Warnings: There are a few things you must take into consideration while cleaning the Traeger grease trap.
- Keep the cleaning game on consistently, at least once every two/three weeks.
- Call for professional help if the grease starts to leak.
- If you cannot clean the grill manually, try using a professional degreaser for a better result.
- After cleaning the grill, let the parts dry completely before further use.
- Always turn off the Traeger while cleaning it.
- Don’t touch the grill just after you’ve finished cooking. Wait for a while to cool it down.
- Always use hand gloves while cleaning. Do not let the grease or degreaser affect your hands.
- Try picking up the professional cleaning tools and materials available online. Do not settle for low-quality products with harsh materials as they could affect the performance of your Traeger grill.
If you maintain these precautions, rest assured that your favorite Traeger would work great for a long time without causing any issues. And always use a cover for the grill so that you don’t need to clean the exterior frequently.
Also Read: How To Clean Traeger Grill Grates – 5 Easy & Effective Ways
What Do You Do With Traeger Grease
While grilling food, you use oil, right? But not all those oils are used while cooking. Some additional oil with other food residuals gets trapped in the grease trap of a Traeger grill.
Now the question is what to do with that grease? Dispose of it, simple. But how?
Simply take off the grease trap and pour the grease inside. Don’t pour them onto the sink drain. Rather put them inside a plastic container or a trash can. In a word, get rid of the grease somewhere that couldn’t be choked up with an unwanted blockage.
Also Read: 5 Best Traeger Grill Cleaner Alternatives You Must Consider
Where Is The Traeger Grease Trap Located
Those who are using the Traeger grill for the first time might get confused to find out the grease trap. Well, it’s inside the Traeger grill. Look underneath the grill and you will easily find it.
Actually, Traeger has a wonderful grease chain that includes a channel, chute, trap, and grease bucket. The trap is the place where all that grease is stored to be collected.
Also Read: Traeger Pro 780 Vs Ironwood 885 – Get The Best One
Why Does My Traeger Say Clean Grease Trap
When the grease trap is full and it might leak anytime, Traeger sends you a warning. As you already know, it’s technologically advanced and features modern amenities. Such as sending texts when you need to clean it.
But what if it shows the same message right after cleaning your grill? In that case, it’s a sign to maintain your grill properly. It’s actually a reminder to keep the grill under observation so that the choked-up grease trap cannot start a fire.
However, if you don’t like the reminder, turn it off from the program setting option.
Also Read: Traeger Ironwood 650 vs Pro 575: Which Grill Is Right for You?
What Is The Grease Trap On The Traeger
A Traeger grill is pretty popular among BBQ lovers nowadays. Not only is it durable but also very effective to grill versatile foods. Experts always recommend it as one of the safest grills, thanks to its grease trap to collect all unwanted grease.
The grease trap basically works as a barrier that sends the smoke to the Traeger chimney. If it doesn’t exist, all the excessive oil, food particles, and grease will get stuck to the drainage system. They will eventually make the grilled items unhealthy. Even your grill can catch fire suddenly due to the drainage block.
All these issues and one solution, the grease trap. It is designed to trap all those residuals so that you can clean them easily.
Also Read: 3 Best Traeger Drip Tray Liner Alternatives You Can Go For
How Often Do You Clean A Traeger
It depends on how often you use the grill. If it’s used almost every day, you must clean the entire Traeger grill including the grease trap after every two/three uses. Because regular use will make the trap full of harmful grease.
But if you are not regular in barbecuing, cleaning the grease trap after two/three months is okay. However, sometimes your grease starts leaking due to overflowing issues. In that case, the smoke stash could leak as well. So, you need to immediately empty the grease trap no matter when you cleaned it last.
The moral is you should clean the grill more often if you use it frequently. Because the more it is used, the more grease it will produce.
How Do You Stop A Grease Fire On A Traeger
It’s not new that your Traeger could start a fire abruptly. You can easily eliminate the chance by keeping the grease trap clean. An overflowing trap can easily cause such accidents. As Traeger uses wood pellets as fuel, it produces more grease. So, try to empty the trap as soon as possible.
But if the grill is already on fire, unplug it at once. Then close the lid on it and the hopper as well. Do not panic or use water. Keeping the lids closed and any flammable objects away would eventually burn the fire out.
However, if you don’t want such mishaps to happen, take the small indications into consideration such as cleaning reminders, grease leakage, smoke stash leakage, etc., so that you could be alert.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide has made you understand how to clean grease trap on Traeger. I also mentioned some useful products with their links. They make the cleaning procedure so effortless that even a first-timer can do it.
Maintaining a Traeger grill not only expands its lifespan but also lets you enjoy healthier foods. Otherwise, the long-term uncleaned oil sticks to your food and causes health hazards.
So, I hope you will follow the steps above and make sure to clean your Traeger grill grease trap whenever it’s necessary.
