Barbecue and Plancha in Holiday Lets: Cleaning and Safety

The barbecue is the most used and least cleaned piece of equipment in a summer rental. A guest uses it on their last night, turns it off, and leaves. The cleaner arrives the next day to find a crusted grill, a grease-filled tray, and sometimes an empty gas bottle. None of this can be fixed in two minutes, unless you know the right technique. This guide gives you the method and the schedule.

What to do, and when

The barbecue grill: always clean while hot

Grease stuck to a cold grill needs soaking and a lot of elbow grease. The same grease, while still hot, comes off in thirty seconds. This is the only rule that matters.

After cooking, if you can:

1. Leave the grill over the heat for ten more minutesAfter removing the food. The heat burns off the residue.
2. Scrub with a wire brushFollowing the bars.
3. Rub with half a potato or a cut onionOn a fork: the starch and acidity lift off the rest and leave a protective film.

When cold, which is most common in rentals, you need to soften the residue before scrubbing:

1. Soak in very hot water with washing-up liquid and soda crystalsFor at least an hour.
2. Wire brushThen rinse thoroughly.
3. Dry completely and lightly oilIf it’s a cast iron grill, otherwise it will rust immediately.

A wire brush with loose bristles should be thrown away: a stray bristle left on a grill can end up on a plate. Spiral bristle-free brushes or wooden scrapers are safer for holiday lets.

Don’t forget the tray and grease collector, where built-up residue can catch fire the next time the barbecue is lit. This is the most common cause of incidents with rental barbecues.

The plancha: deglaze, never scour

A plancha isn’t cleaned like a frying pan. On a steel or cast iron plate, harsh detergents destroy the seasoning, that fine layer that stops food sticking.

The method, while the plate is still hot:

1. Pour a glass of water or some ice cubesOnto the plate. The thermal shock lifts off the juices instantly.
2. Scrape towards the grease trayWith the dedicated spatula.
3. Wipe with kitchen paper.
4. Wipe a thin layer of cooking oilOver the warm plate to protect it from rust until next time.

On an enamelled or stainless steel plate, soapy water is fine, but always while hot and never with abrasives. Always empty the grease tray, which will overflow and run down the unit if forgotten.

The gas bottle: check at every clean

This is the most worthwhile check outdoors, because a gas barbecue running out on a Saturday night in August is guaranteed to get a bad review.

Three points, two minutes:

• The level, which you can estimate by lifting the bottle or pouring hot water down the side: the liquid line shows up as a temperature difference. Always keep a full spare bottle on site.
• The hose and regulator, which have a printed expiry date. A cracked or out-of-date hose should be replaced immediately, it only costs a few pounds.
• Leak tightness, tested with soapy water on the joints: bubbles mean a leak, turn off and do not relight.

Storage: bottle upright, outdoors, ventilated, in the shade, never in a closed cupboard or basement.

The summer kitchen

It combines the challenges of a kitchen and the outdoors, and should be cleaned at every changeover:

What to write in the welcome booklet

Three lines that prevent most problems: never move a lit barbecue, never use methylated spirits or petrol to light it, and never pour water on hot coals in a cast iron tray, which can crack. Add the location of the spare gas bottle and the fire extinguisher if you have one.

The rest of the outdoor cleaning, terrace and furniture, is covered in Terrace, garden furniture, sun loungers: the exterior of a holiday let.