Natural Grill Cleaner from Citrus Peels
The best BBQ grill cleaner is, of course, a natural grill cleaner. This DIY grill cleaner recipe is toxin free, fast acting, and does the job. Not to mention, it leaves the BBQ sparkling clean inside and out.
It is once again that time of year. The stove is put to rest and replaced with the BBQ grill.
A good BBQ grill cleaner is necessary to have on hand. Especially one which contains no chemicals. Keep this all natural grill cleaner on hand to help get cut through all grease and grime.
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The first, and more common method for getting rid of the built up gunk within the grill would be to burn it off. Simply crank up the heat, close the cover, and let it burn for at least 30 minutes.
Once the grill is nice and hot grab the wire grill brush and start scraping. Does this method work? Absolutely.
But why waste your time, and propane (or charcoal) with this method? It is time to minimize the time and material spent with a more natural grill cleaner.
All Natural BBQ Grill Cleaner
The most ideal time of the year to make this natural grill cleaner is during the winter months. Citrus fruit is in season, and the cost is low enough to justify purchasing citrus in bulk.
Aside from eating or cooking with citrus, preserving it is ideal. Canning grapefruit and other citrus fruit allows for a zero waste product.
If bulk peels are not available add peel a few at a time into a Mason jar filled with vinegar until the jar is full.
Meaning, the fruit is consumed and the peels are used to create this BBQ grill cleaner. Not to mention, citrus peels also make an excellent all purpose cleaner.
Why Citrus Works to Clean Tough Jobs
Citrus peels contains d-limonene, a natural solvent that cuts through grease and dirt. Make a homemade citrus cleaner using the peels of any type of citrus fruit. However, the peels of oranges contain a higher level of d-limonene.
Distilled white vinegar is another item which works to break down grease and built-up junk (for lack of better words). In combination with citrus oils, this grill cleaner is a powerhouse against grease and built on food.
In addition to cleaning the inside of the grill this DIY grill cleaner also works excellent to clean the exterior of the grill.
Use the natural grill cleaner as a concentrate. There is no need to dilute this solution, and in fact, it works excellent in its full strength.
Natural Grill Cleaner – Ingredients
This BBQ grill cleaner works can be made with both citrus peels and citrus essential oils.
- Distilled white vinegar
- Citrus peels (orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime), or
- Citrus Essential Oils (wild orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime. Our choice of trusted oils can be found here)
Equipment
A swing top bottle is ideal for storing the strained liquid. However, Mason jars will also work. In order to prevent the lid from corroding use plastic jar lids.
- Glass mason jar, 1/2-gallon or quart jars
- Air bubble remover
- Plastic jar lid
- Bottle funnel
- Fine mesh sieve
- Swing top bottle, or quart Mason jar
- Amber spray bottle
Natural Grill Cleaner – Instructions
- Add citrus peels to a quart or half gallon mason jar, 3/4 full.
- Fill jar with vinegar until the peels are covered, leaving a 1-inch headspace.
- Remove bubbles using an air bubble remover.
- Add additional vinegar if needed, make sure the peels are covered.
- Use a fermented weight to ensure the peels stay submerged under the vinegar.
- Allow the natural grill cleaner to sit for a minimum of 2 to 6 weeks. The longer the citrus vinegar sits, the stronger the concentrate is. Once the mixture is done it will have a strong citrus, and vinegar, smell.
- The last step is to strain the liquid from the peels. Set up the jar funnel and fine mesh sieve into the jar. Proceed to strain the citrus vinegar concentrate. Reserve the peels to use as a garbage disposal smell buster.
DIY Grill Cleaner using Citrus Essential Oils
Some might consider utilizing essential oils to make a natural grill cleaner to not be cost effective. This natural grill cleaner takes 96 drops out of a 15 mL bottle. The dilution percentage is 2% and powerful enough to do the job.
- Add 96 drops of wild orange essential oil, or any citrus essential oil.
- Next, fill 8-ounce amber spray bottle with white vinegar.
- Gently swirl mixture prior to using.
- Store this DIY grill cleaner in a cool dark location.
Printable Recipe Card – DIY Grill Cleaner
Natural Grill Cleaner
The best BBQ grill cleaner is, of course, a natural grill cleaner. This DIY grill cleaner recipe is toxin free, fast acting, and does the job. Not to mention, it leaves the BBQ sparkling clean inside and out.
Materials
- Distilled white vinegar
- Citrus peels, orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, or
- Citrus Essential Oils, wild orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime. Our choice of trusted oils can be found here
Tools
- Glass mason jar, 1/2-gallon or quart jars
- Air Bubble Remover
- Plastic jar lid
- bottle funnel
- fine mesh Sieve
- Swing Top Bottle or quart Mason jar
- Amber spray bottle
Instructions
- Add citrus peels to a quart or half gallon mason jar, 3/4 full.
- Fill jar with vinegar until the peels are covered, leaving a 1-inch headspace.
- Remove bubbles using an air bubble remover.
- Add additional vinegar if needed, make sure the peels are covered.
- Use a fermented weight to ensure the peels stay submerged under the vinegar.
- Allow the natural grill cleaner to sit for a minimum of 2 to 6 weeks. The longer the citrus vinegar sits, the stronger the concentrate is. Once the mixture is done it will have a strong citrus, and vinegar, smell.
- The last step is to strain the liquid from the peels. Set up the jar funnel and fine mesh sieve into the jar. Proceed to strain the citrus vinegar concentrate. Reserve the peels to use as a garbage disposal smell buster.
Notes
Some might consider utilizing essential oils to make a natural grill cleaner to not be cost effective. This natural grill cleaner takes 96 drops out of a 15 mL bottle. The dilution percentage is 2% and powerful enough to do the job.
- Add 96 drops of wild orange essential oil, or any citrus essential oil.
- Next, fill 8-ounce amber spray bottle with white vinegar.
- Gently swirl mixture prior to using.
- Store this DIY grill cleaner in a cool dark location.
That’s it friends, that’s all it takes. You now have a powerful natural grill cleaner, and if you’re using fresh citrus peels this is a zero waste product for your family!
Very good idea. take advantage of natural and biodegradable things. very good article. Thank you
Hi! What’s the shelf life of both? Thank you.
Once the peels are strained and if stored properly, about a year.
I’ve sprayed the cleaner on dried grate from BBQ. It doesn’t seem to loosed the charred food particles. Please advise.
In order to remove the the build-up you must first heat the grill, then spray on the natural cleaner. This will loosen anything caked onto the grill, from there use a grill brush to remove the build up.
I’m definitely going to try this! I think it will be much more pleasant than my usual method for cleaning the grill, which a friend told me about many years ago. That is to put the dirty grate into a heavy duty trash bag, add a small amount of ammonia, and seal the bag up tightly & let it sit for a couple of days. The fumes from the ammonia loosen the dirt, and I can usually just hose off the grate. But those same fumes are nasty!