By Mike Thayer

I'm a regular reader of smoking, grilling, bbq blogs and websites and lately I've come across some debate on whether or not you should cover your grill with a grill cover.

"Grill covers trap moisture and that can lead to mold," say some....

"Your grill will rust if you cover it, covers get wet in the rain and stay wet long after the rain stops" say others...

Both of those lines are complete horse manure, put out there by some grillers who just aren't thinking things through.

There is no debate, without question, grill covers prolong the life of your grill, helping to keep it clean, dry and the finish looking good.

Let's go back to that first anti-cover argument, "Grill covers trap moisture and that can lead to mold."

Huh?

I'm not eating anything the guy with the mold issue grills up, he's not properly maintaining his grill, let alone his grill cover.    Ashes need to be removed from the grill, grates cleaned, excess grit/grime removed, surfaces wiped down.   There is no way for any kind of mold to develop if your grill is properly maintained.  And the best thing you can do when it comes to grill covers is to apply a silicone water-guard and letting that dry before putting it into use.  Most grill covers of any quality when new, repel water.  But the sun and weather conditions will eventually wear that protection down.  Spraying that new cover right out of the box or bag with some silicone will greatly enhance the cover's ability to repel water.  A properly maintained cover REPELS water, it doesn't "trap" it.  Whoever thinks covers trap moisture, doesn't know how to properly maintain and use a grill cover, let alone store their grill when not in use.  NEVER cover a grill that's already wet, that should be a no brainer.  But if you've got a cover that stays wet long after a rain, or if you pull off a cover and your grill is wet, then your cover either needs to be sprayed with silicone or your cover is at the point in its life of service where it just needs to be replaced.  If it's got a hole or a rip, guess what?  No, it's NOT time for duct tape, it's time for a new grill cover.

And now for that second anti-cover comment:  "Your grill will rust if you cover it, covers get wet in the rain and stay wet long after the rain stops."

That's just a flat out myth!  It's the same thing as for the mold argument, no properly maintained grill is going to prematurely develop rust from the use of a good grill cover.  That rust claim is just absurd!  To repeat:  A properly maintained cover REPELS water, it doesn't "trap" it.   A clean grill is a happy grill and a silicone sprayed grill cover is a dry cover.  An UNCOVERED grill is going to rust out LONG before a properly maintained and properly covered grill ever will!

You see folks, using a grill cover is kind of like using a condom.  If you don't want your lady to get pregnant, you wear a condom.  If you don't want your grill to get dirty, dusty, the paint faded or scratched, get hit with bird droppings and the like, you put a cover on it!   Don't buy into the mold or rust nonsense - put a cover on it!   Hey, there's a name for a cover right?  The Grill Condom.....  OK, maybe not...

$pend Wisely My Friends...

For more great grilling information to include a boat load of recipes, check out my book, Grilling Good Eats now available in paperback on Amazon!