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Grill protection is essential for the long term usability. It can add years of durability, but also make the presentation of your it appealing for a long time to come. I mean let's face it who wants an rusty old looking grill on their nice deck or patio bringing down the appeal of there house. Not only that if you are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on this purchase don't you want to have it for a long time. Some of the elements that covers are designed to add protection against are harmful sun's rays, dirt, rain and other forms of precipitation. Nowadays grill covers seem to have come along way, in fact many people are very specific in the cover that they choose as it can be used as an eye catcher. Covers of today come in so many different sizes and colors all specific for whatever type of grill that one desires. Ok back to protection.
So in an instance that you do not have a cover it is essential that you keep your grill properly cleaned with specific cleaners dependent upon what type of you have, an example would be if you have a stainless steel grill you would want a specific cleaner that you can use just on stainless steel. This will be a huge help in preserving the overall look of it and not allowing dirt, grease or other types of grime to manifest on the surface. Along with this same concept it is also important to have cleaner for the inside of the grill like the racks and tops of burners. A good thing to keep in mind that will create a lot less work for you is to clean your racks each time you use them with simply a brush and some cooking spray which will help to loosen the dirt.
Lastly for overall protection and shear maintenance regularly clean out the burner area this can be done by a industrial wet/dry vacuum to get up any left over from brushing off the rack or barbecuing. This will also add life and help the overall performance of your gas grill.