A Quick Overview:

Mix dishwasher tab and hot water together. Scrub the Grill Grates to get them clean. Remove the grates and set them aside.
Dispose of old foil or drip tray liners.
Remove the drip tray and the heat baffle.
Vacuum the inside of the grill and the firepot thoroughly.
Optional: Empty the hopper and vacuum out any sawdust from the hopper and the auger tube.
Clean the grease trap tray by first soaking it with wet towels.
Scrub the inside of the chimney.
- Do NOT clean the Thermocouple or RTD unless there is a visual build-up on it that needs to be removed.
- do not use wire brushes. Instead, use a cleaning cloth or heavy-duty paper towels.
Clean the inside of the Grill, Get New Water and clean it again. Get a bucket of just water and wipe it all to give it a rinse. Finish cleaning the Grease tray.
Last, reinsert all components, including the heat baffle, drip try, drip tray liners/foil, new bucket liners, and the grill grates, and you are set!

What Supplies Do I Need to Clean my Traeger?

Dishwasher Pods
Hot Water
Grab-a-rag towels or heavy-duty paper towel
Shop-Vac

How often should I Clean my Traeger?

You should wipe down your grill grates before/after every cook. A general rule of thumb is to do a deep clean every 20 hours of cook time. I wipe down my grill grates with lemon and or hot water and rag. For deep cleaning sessions, I use a dishwasher pod and hot water. Dishwasher pods cut grease in the most amazing way!

Step 1: Clean the Grates

I like to clean the grill grates while my Traeger is still assembled. That way the water can drip into the grease bucket and it's easiest to scrub the grates while they are in place. If you have a brush that is approved for use on Traeger grates, now is a great time to use it. Be sure to flip the grates over and clean both sides during this step.

Scrubbing a dirty traeger grill grate with a microfiber cloth

Step 2: Disassemble

Remove the grates, the liner, the grease bucket, and the firepot shield (aka heat baffle)

Step 3: Clean the Firepot

This is the most important part of cleaning your Traeger, if you have a dirty firepot, you will have issues with ignition and maintaining temperatures. A dirty firepot can even alter the taste of your food and cause uneven cooking!

There is a lot of bad advice on how to clean a firepot on the internet. I have read people using wire brushes and even pressure washers to clean it out 😩 Do not do that, Traeger explicitly says not to on their site. I am not sure who thinks throwing water in an electrical component is a good idea.

Get yourself a shop vac. I have a teeny tiny one just for the Traeger. It's high-powered and all you need to clean a firepot. Suck up all the ash and any visible pellets and shazam you're done.

Step 4: Vacuum

With your handy little vacuum, suck up all the dust/ash you can see.

Note: Household vacuums will cry if you use them for this 0/10 would not recommend.

Step 5: Scrub a Dub Dub

You will need to do this a few times. I like to think of it as a car wash.

First, you have to scrub all of the built-up greases off and then get a new bucket of water and do it all again. Finally, you finish with a rinse cycle.

Attention to special areas

The Grease Trap:

AHHH this grease trap will be the worst part of this process, accept that and then tackle it. I like to soak a couple of cloths with soapy water and let them sit on the grease build-up while I clean the rest of the grill and deal with this part last. If needed, use a sharp object to chip away any baked-on grease. and for the sanity of your future self, make a DIY liner for this with tin foil so you never have to put yourself through this again.

The Chimney

Be sure to wipe out the chimney during each step. First wash, second wash and rinse. A lot of grease gets caught in here but it's not bad to deal with if you wipe it out each time you clean it.

A Clean Traeger — Wow, Check that out. 😎

My favourite Traeger Recipes:

step by step guide make your traeger look like new again

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