As soon as the sun comes out, it's tempting to think about summer days in the garden and getting together for a BBQ, drinks, and good times.

What's better than relaxing with friends and family and enjoying delicious, flame-grilled food al fresco?

But if you put your BBQ away last season without cleaning it thoroughly, you may have a challenge on your hands before you can start planning this summer's entertaining.

Unless you performed a deep clean after the last use, there's a good chance your BBQ may be caked in grease and burnt-on food from the last round of sausages and burgers. If you've ever cleaned a BBQ before, you'll know that this kind of burnt food debris is notoriously difficult to clean.

So, if a greasy, grimy BBQ is getting in the way of your plans for outdoor dining, you're in the right place. Our step-by-step guide will help you breeze through the challenge and chore of getting your neglected BBQ summer-ready.

Read on for our top tips for getting your Barbecue grill ready for the summer - and if it all still seems like too much effort, you'll want to read to the end to discover how Sizzle Buddy could make things even easier still!

Coming up are a few different methods for cleaning your barbecue hot plates and grill grates, but the first step is to know which cleaning liquids will save you time and elbow grease.

The good news is that it's quick and easy to make a quick homemade BBQ-cleaning solution that will help to loosen baked-on grease and burnt food residue.

Choose from the following ingredients to make your own BBQ power-cleaning solution;

When dealing with grease and oil, warm water is always helpful. So whatever you add to your cleaning liquid, make sure you use a base of hot water.

Good old washing-up liquid can be a great base ingredient for your BBQ cleaning solution, and hot soapy water alone can often do a good job of loosening baked-on food.

Although oil and vinegar don't usually mix, this is one occasion when a good dose of white vinegar can help to cut through some of that baked-on grease and grime. Use equal parts water and vinegar when soaking your BBQ grills and grates. You can also add vinegar to your spray bottle, cleaning liquid or Sizzle Buddy.

Another favourite ingredient of homemade cleaning solutions, baking soda can also help to make the BBQ cleaning process easier. You can either make a paste using baking soda and water to brush directly onto the grills, or you can add a spoonful or two to your cleaning liquid for an extra dose of grease-shifting power.

Now that you're armed with an effective BBQ cleaning solution, it's time to choose your preferred method of getting that grill ready for summer.

Whether you choose a kitchen-based method, the hot-blast approach, the sizzle-&-scrape technique, or a combination of these, here are some tips for getting your BBQ in tip-top shape ASAP.

NB: If you're using a gas BBQ, disconnect the gas supply before any deep clean, and ensure that the propane tank is safely stored out of the way.

This method is suitable for a BBQ that has been left uncleaned over the winter, as it's already cool and safe to handle. You can also do this as an interim clean between uses.

Using your BBQ cleaning liquid, apply the solution to all the surfaces that require cleaning. You may like to take removable parts and soak them in the kitchen sink or outside in a large container full of warm soapy water. After the cleaning solution has soaked in for about 30 minutes, use a wire brush or scraper to scrub away the grease and bits of food or burnt residue. If your BBQ grills are dishwasher safe, you can also run them on a hot cycle with a powerful cleaning tablet.

This method can often be quite a messy job. So if you want to avoid having greasy water and flakes of burnt food all over your kitchen, try to do the majority of the work outside.

PRO TIP: To extend the lifespan of your barbeque, keep on top of basic cleaning during the summer and perform a deep clean once or twice a year.

If you have a gas BBQ, this method involves setting it on a high heat and leaving it to burn off any bits of food and remaining residue completely. After about 5 minutes, use BBQ cleaning tools, such as a wire brush or specialist scraper, to scrape and scrub down the bars and grill grates. If you have a gas BBQ, this method involves setting it on a high heat and leaving it to burn off any bits of food and remaining residue completely. After about 5 minutes, use BBQ cleaning tools, such as a wire brush or specialist scraper, to scrape and scrub down the bars and grill grates. 

Follow up with a spray of your cleaning liquid and wipe down with kitchen paper, or you might like to run the removable parts through the dishwasher in addition to this High Heat method.

PRO TIP: When your grill elements are still hot, rub the cut side of half an onion onto the bars and plates. If you do this after use, the onion juices will help to de-grease and shift burnt-on food residue. You can also do this before use, as the oils from the onion help to prevent food from sticking to the metal. Alternatively, you can rub vegetable oil onto the bars to achieve the same result.

If you own a specially-designed BBQ cleaning tool that's heat-resistant, you can take advantage of a more relaxed method of BBQ maintenance, that's just as effective.

What's great about this method is that you'll likely be standing over your BBQ grill as you tend to the food, so you may as well use that time to make your after-use cleaning so much easier.

It will also prevent additional mess, as the scraped-off bits will drop into the ashes and get cleared away when you empty out the base.

To clean-as-you-grill, use your BBQ cleaning tool, clear and scrape off stuck-on bits of food and burnt residue from any empty sections. You can do this while the food is still cooking, because the residue will simply drop down into the coals beneath and get burned away.

PRO-TIP: Ensure that your tools are heat-resistant if you're going to use them on hot bars or grates. Metal tools with specially-designed scraping heads are the best choice for cleaning hot BBQs and grills.

If you’ve ever thought that an all-in-one BBQ cleaning tool would make life so much easier, you’re right. That’s why we created Sizzle Buddy.

Here are just a few of the great reasons so many of our customers are raving about this handy little tool;

Sizzle Buddy features a steel scraping tool with both flat and curved edges. This enables you to scrape individual bars, as well as wider surface areas. And the tool handle has been ergonomically designed to make cleaning your BBQ feel effortless.

Imagine a BBQ cleaning tool that's already loaded with a powerful mix of cleaning liquid. That's what we did when we created Sizzle Buddy. The water reservoir is part of the tool, meaning you can scrape and scrub more easily, without needing an extra spray bottle or separate container of hot soapy water.

A robust stainless steel brush is one of the best tools for cleaning BBQ grills and grates. Sizzle Buddy has an integral steel brush that's specifically designed for cleaning BBQs, meaning it gets to those hard-to-reach places that other tools can't access.

The Sizzle Buddy has a heat-resistant handle, meaning you can clean as you grill!

So, as you’re standing in the sunshine, drink in hand, chatting with your friends, you can carry out some light cleaning tasks and save yourself a whole load of hard work later on.

With Sizzle Buddy, you can easily keep your BBQ in pristine condition, so it’s always ready to go when the sun comes out. Then you’re free to invite guests over for a day in the garden, and all you need to prep is the delicious food you’ll be serving.  

For anyone who loves outdoor cooking, a clean BBQ is a joy to use. This means some kind of cleaning and maintenance is required if you want to make the most of your al fresco cooking experience. Yet, this doesn't need to be time-consuming or hard work.

You can make it easy with these tips, or you can make it effortless when you get your own Sizzle Buddy. Then you can spend less time scrubbing and scraping, and more time enjoying the sunshine and good food with your friends and family.