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[wahoowad]

I haven't used my Windwood in maybe 2 weeks but today took off the cover and this is what I found. 

I'm gonna hand wash all the removable pieces and hit everything a second time with some of that Dollar store multi-purpose cleaner, then finish with a hi-temp burnout. I'm more interested in how to prevent it! I bet the cover is contributing to it. And while we have had a much wetter/humid summer even a normal Virginia summer is pretty darn humid so expect it will happen again...

[yorkdude]

Wow, 2 weeks?
Man that’s crazy.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Yeah, that is pretty crazy for only two weeks.  I guess I better open up mine to check on them.

[pmillen]

I was warned that this might happen when I bought my kamado.  It hasn't, but it did happen to a friend.  The kamado clean-up is just a highest-heat burn-off.  No scrubbing or treating.  I suspect that it'll work for your pit.

[Bentley]

That is mold right?  Mold=Penicillin...seems to me you have a natural barrier against bacteria?  What am I missing?

[Canadian John]

Mold spores are everywhere requiring the right conditions to develop; heat and humidity.
 
If rain had somehow entered the pit, that would be a major contributor. Next would be a cover, leaking or not, traps moisture..You might consider storing the pit w/ the lid propped open ~ 1/4" so it can breath.

That is if it is covered or under cover..Moisture develops when the sun hits the pit after a cool night, covered or not... As for clean-up; a good burn-off will do it. 

[pmillen]

That is mold right?  Mold=Penicillin...seems to me you have a natural barrier against bacteria?  What am I missing?

Not all molds are helpful.  Nor are all molds toxic, but some are.

It's best to remove it.

[TravlinMan]

That's not a garden, its a science experiment..

Should clean up easy...

And the burn off should finish the rest off...

Keep it Smokin.....

[sleebus.jones]

I'm gonna hand wash all the removable pieces and hit everything a second time with some of that Dollar store multi-purpose cleaner, then finish with a hi-temp burnout.

Well, instead of wasting all that time and cleaner, set your grill to the highest temp, run for 20 mins, brush and you're done.  What, pray tell, do you think stands up to 500° or greater?!  Seriously, you're not qualified to own a grill.

[ICIdaho]

I'm gonna hand wash all the removable pieces and hit everything a second time with some of that Dollar store multi-purpose cleaner, then finish with a hi-temp burnout.

Well, instead of wasting all that time and cleaner, set your grill to the highest temp, run for 20 mins, brush and you're done.  What, pray tell, do you think stands up to 500° or greater?!  Seriously, you're not qualified to own a grill.

That is a little rough assessment.
I  once  heard a comedian have a bit about radiation on poop. He said that while it was sterile, it was still poop....Think I would clean to what my expectations of clean is also.

[Chris__M]

I used to have problems with my old Kamado grill over winter - none of my other grills, strangely.

I took to keeping a large open tray of silica gel beads in it - the kind that change colour. Periodically (every month or so) I would check them, and dry them out in the oven if necessary.

That kept it nice and clear of any growth. However, I don't know if your humidity would make such a solution possible.

[Kristin Meredith]

Just like Bent at competitions.  He brings bleach.  He doesn't wash anything, he just spreads and splashes bleach all over everything and says "There!  Sterilized and clean so no one will get sick."  Hmmmmm... yeah maybe, but still covered with unappetizing bits and not a surface or vessel I want to use.  So I thank him and start scrubbing everything.  Guess each of us has our own standard of what we consider clean.

[Bentley]

Lets be civil please!  I agree that a high heat will not only kill any bacteria, but will turn it into ash to be brushed off.  But I am also not going to criticize someone for doing a cleaning the way they see fit!

[Chris__M]

For when I really want to do a big cleanup, I find that either of my grills have grids and drip trays that fit quite nicely into a domestic oven cleaning bag. The product I use is Oven Pride, which comes with one large heavy-duty bag, and a bottle of caustic solution. I am sure you have similar products in the States.

For my GMG DC, both the grids and the drip tray go in the same bag. For my Traeger, I do them in separate bags - the cleaning kits are cheap enough.

I usually find that after 24 hours (which is total overkill, but convenient), anything left simply washes off with a hosepipe. Only once did I need to resort to a big scrape. Then the parts go back in the grills and (a) get burned off (b) re-seasoned.

As I tend not to cook that much in the Winter, I usually do this for my grills once a year, at the start of Spring.

[pmillen]

For when I really want to do a big cleanup, I find that either of my grills have grids and drip trays that fit quite nicely into a domestic oven cleaning bag. The product I use is Oven Pride, which comes with one large heavy-duty bag, and a bottle of caustic solution. I am sure you have similar products in the States.

For my GMG DC, both the grids and the drip tray go in the same bag. For my Traeger, I do them in separate bags - the cleaning kits are cheap enough.

I usually find that after 24 hours (which is total overkill, but convenient), anything left simply washes off with a hosepipe. Only once did I need to resort to a big scrape. Then the parts go back in the grills and (a) get burned off (b) re-seasoned.

Here's a video from their web site.