Here we go:
My sister-in-law, a nurse, director of nursing & finally doctorate of nursing where she teaches @ a local university; always had to have a BBQ pit spotless, as in surgically clean. Not me. I always related
cooking' Q on a well seasoned pit as a good thing, the exact opposite. The gunge not only looks good, it has a way of making BBQ, BBQ. That's how I found most commercial pits in the South to be.
As far as sanitation goes. If germs or any micro biological creatures survive a cook in a pit, there's more of a problem that what a clean pit could provide.
I just don't like drips and or sticky parts once the cook is over. Those are cleaned up post cook.
Grill grates need to be seasoned to assure minimal to no sticking. Case in point. My Memphis Pro. After a cook while still hot, the grates are wire brushed then wiped to remove most of the bits & pieces, leaving
an ever so minute layer of oil.
If I do a burn off - 650º, the grate seasoning is gone resulting in everything sticking on the following cook. It takes 3 to4 cooks of cleaning & oiling to restore the seasoning. Now if I do a clean up, the grates
get a good scraping on both sides with a 1/2 circle scraper I made from a grade 5 bolt. The 1/2 circle cut out matches each grate bar to a "T". It's laborious but worth the effort as it's a yearly task.
"Easy" - no such thing. Life isn't like that. I prefer to keep my things ready to go & dependable. A little time spent now saves a lot later, I find.