Here's what to know about how to clean your grill.

If you're like most people, the last time you used your barbecue, you closed the lid and forgot about it. All that baked on — and now aged — debris is still there waiting to be removed. Before you give up and order out, tackle the chore. Just follow the tips from the good folks at Weber grills and you'll be flipping burgers faster than a fly can land on your patties.

Cooking grills

Let's tackle the grimy cooking grill first. If you have a gas burner, it's a cinch. Turn the barbecue on high and preheat the grill for 10-15 minutes. Then brush the grates clean using a stainless steel grill brush.

For charcoal grills, get the charcoal good and hot. After 10-15 minutes, the debris on the cooking grill will be charred and easy to remove with a stainless steel grill brush.

Burner tubes for gas grills

When the barbecue is cool, remove the cooking grills. Brush the burner tubes with a clean stainless steel brush. Using a back and forth motion, brush across the openings, not up and down the length of the tube.

Cook box

With the cooking grills removed, scrape the inside of the cook box with a plastic putty knife. Push all the debris into the removable grease tray, if there is one. Scrape that into the drip pan and empty it. Clean out the grease tray and the pan it sits on. If the cook box has no opening at the bottom, scoop out debris and discard.

Weber experts offer two more tips: Clean the grease tray every time you use the grill since excess grease can cause a fire or a flare up. To keep food from sticking, oil the food and not the grill. When you oil the grill, excess grease drips into the cook box, making it messier to clean.