Grill Safety 101 - Follow These 6 Safety Steps

Outdoor gas grills are an absolute must if you want to enjoy delicious meats, veggies, and specialty items cooked over an open flame. The intimate gatherings and home-cooked flavors are things that make propane grills a central quality of life experience.

That being said, when home chefs are not cautious about how they use a hot stainless steel grill, accidents and injuries can occur. It’s imperative that everyday people follow safety protocols that help secure your property and keep you and your loved ones out of harm’s way. These are six grill safety tips to consider.

1: Keep Area Around Outdoor Gas Grills Clear

Some people use the 10-foot rule when it comes to the distance between your grill and home. But propane gas grills generally come with specific guidelines that urge users to maintain a safe distance based on the make and model.

While open flame grills are generally safe and secure items, the reason for minimum safe distances involves unexpected human error. For example, what if a child’s kite lands on a hot stainless steel grill and catches fire. That may have little to do with grilling safety, but unforeseen accidents happen. In other words, be prepared for the unexpected by following the handbook’s recommendations.

2: Keep Cooking Supplies Secure

Backyard chefs understand that BBQ sauce and foods are inherently messy. Your indoor kitchen most likely has cloth and paper hand towels in close proximity to the stove for quick cleanup. When working with outdoor gas grills that use an open flame, it’s important to keep such flammable items away from the unit. Think safety first.

3: Keep Propane Grills Clean

Grease fires often have their root cause in poorly maintained gas grills. When drippings and charred bits build up on the grates and burners, you are just asking for trouble. Cleaning propane gas grills on a regular basis is crucial.

Grill owners would be wise to utilize a sturdy wire brush to scrape the cool grates. This should be followed by removing them and culling out any loose items on or around the burners. Take particular notice of the burners. Gunk can impede proper gas flow, and that can negatively impact evenly disbursed cooking flames.

Also, be sure to remove and clean out grease catch basins. These trays can overflow and spill potentially flammable fluids on your propane tank or gas line. In many models, they simply slide in and out for convenient cleaning.

4: Inspect Gas Grill Fuel Line and Connections

User manuals indicate that checking your grill’s fuel line and connections are of paramount safety importance. Start by turning off the tank and clearing away debris and things such as spider webs. Then, check the tightness of the connections and look closely at the lines themselves. If they appear dried out, cracked, damaged or are in any way compromised, purchase new ones and replace them. Leaking gas can create an inherently dangerous environment.

5: Use a Grill Timer and Match-Free Ignition

Many of today’s technologically-advanced outdoor gas grills come with improved safety grill accessories. Two key safety items are the grill timer and match-free ignition. This is why they are important to basic safety.

  • Grill Timer: Forgetting to turn off propane grills leads to frequent injuries. Small children and adults can inadvertently make contact with a scolding hot grill thinking it is cool. When left on and unattended, the potential for combustible materials landing on your grill also increases. A grill timer prevents this by ensuring the gas will shut off automatically.
  • Match-Free Ignition: Getting singed or burned when lighting a gas grill may rank as the most common injury. Match-free ignition switches remove that scary burst of flames when you use a flame to spark the grill’s flame. Many grills come standard with these items. If yours has malfunctioned, order a replacement.

Today’s outdoor gas grills enjoy a wealth of safety and cooking accessories. Make them part of your safe, backyard grilling experience.

6: Adult Supervision Matters

Your stainless steel grill may be the center of family fun and intimate gatherings but is in no way a plaything. Adults may grow quite comfortable with a wonderful grill. However, this is a device that has working parts that create intense cooking heats. It’s imperative that children are educated about grill safety and only allowed near one under adult supervision.