Hmmmm I never clean my smokers and never had a mold problem....Guess I've been lucky.
Disgusting Moldy Smoker - HELP!!!!
- Thread starter old smokey nj
- Start date
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Lots of good advice but I would prefer Oxyclean in hot water to clean up after the burnoff. Once I turned my wife onto that stuff we buy a dozen tubs every trip to Dollar Tree. Soak the racks and give the other parts and inside a good wipe down with paper towels. Must have been a full pan of funky water sitting in warm temps. While I am at it. No need to use water in your ES for smoking.
I clean my Racks and Mats, in fact, just washed up from my Salmon smoke.
But the smoker box just gets "The Dave". Sterilized at 275°
Don't want to wreck it's nice smoke patina....
Here's the pics....I closed it up and cranked it to 275 for a couple hours...cleaning it tomorrow, maybe!
Man, I'd take that back and make the idjit replace it with a new one.
And never loan him anything again.
It appears he could break an anvil with a glass hammer.
And never loan him anything again.
It appears he could break an anvil with a glass hammer.
Wow. That's awful.
If I were in your shoes I would get busy with a good facemask and some safety glasses and grab my propane torch. That will def kill the mold to the metal.
I would avoid doing that in the area around the rubber seals.
From there I'd get my putty knife, I have a little corner tuck knife that works great for the walls and get to scraping.
From there I'd be going either vinegar or a 15ppm bleach solution and a plastic brillo style pad and get to scrubbing. After a few strenuous rinses, I'd run it for several hours at high.
Finally, I'd find the so called "friend" and introduce my boot to certain parts of his anatomy.
Just my 2c as a mes owner
If I were in your shoes I would get busy with a good facemask and some safety glasses and grab my propane torch. That will def kill the mold to the metal.
I would avoid doing that in the area around the rubber seals.
From there I'd get my putty knife, I have a little corner tuck knife that works great for the walls and get to scraping.
From there I'd be going either vinegar or a 15ppm bleach solution and a plastic brillo style pad and get to scrubbing. After a few strenuous rinses, I'd run it for several hours at high.
Finally, I'd find the so called "friend" and introduce my boot to certain parts of his anatomy.
Just my 2c as a mes owner
MeatSkull
Meat Mopper
Spray bottle with bleach, food safety sites would recommend scrubbing it clean. After all is cleaned I would reseason it at high temp.
Wow! He should have been ashamed to return it to you and bought you a new one. That shows what type of person he is...I will refrain from telling you what I would do with the smoker - it involves your buddy also......:mad::mad::mad: Good luck getting it back into smoking condition.
Believe me, I would love to do all these things to my "friend", but as my wife explained, a friend wouldn't do this to another friend. The older in life I get, I find myself with fewer friends, and they are the best ones. Glad I got rid of this "friend"!
I got the smoker going now to try to dry everything out, and I'm then going to try to scrape it clean. I appreciate all the advice and jokes - still laughing over some of the comments!!!!
I'll be back with some updated pics in a day or 2. Any other suggestions would be appreciated!!!! Thanks again!!!
I got the smoker going now to try to dry everything out, and I'm then going to try to scrape it clean. I appreciate all the advice and jokes - still laughing over some of the comments!!!!
I'll be back with some updated pics in a day or 2. Any other suggestions would be appreciated!!!! Thanks again!!!
I think thats after he burned it out .
If you decide to scrub it out , try this . take everything out of the smoker thats loose . drip pan ect.
Put a scraper and a wire brush in the smoker .
Put a trash bag in the smoker bottom first , leaving the open end towards the door .
Tape the open end of the bag to the door opening .
Now you can reach into the bag and use the brush or scraper and the bag forms a barrier .
Close the vent and chip loader for this .
When you're done scraping , let it sit so things settle and see what you have .
A dust mask offers you no protection , just FYI .
Man o Man You said and we wondered if it was and it is really that bad. For sure not my way I borrow very few things and when I do its returned as good if not better than when I got it. Good luck with the clean up and be safe in doing it.
Warren
Warren
Hello all. So sorry for not following up on this - seems things have been really busy the last few months!!!!
So I did finally get it clean. I put the smoker on an old table in the yard so it would be easier to clean. I took anything that could be removed out (shelves, shelf brackets, pans, shields, etc.). All of that went into dishwasher, after removing as much mold off as I could by hand. I then started scraping off the entire inside. This took about a half hour. I wanted to get as much off as I could, but let me tell you, I eventually hit a point where enough was enough! I then sprayed the whole inside with "Greased Lightning" (I'm sure any grease cutter would work). I let that sit for a half hour and enjoyed a couple high-quality, frosty Busch Lights. I then used a wet terry cloth rag and began wiping out the unit. I repeated with another round of the cleaner (and beers), and wiped it out again. At this point it looked so much better with only some staining left from the mold. I cleaned the seals and scraped / washed the glass. After all that, I took the hose out and sprayed the whole unit out to get rid of any little areas that the rag didn't reach. I kept the door open for a few days to let the unit dry completely. I fired it up to max temp and let her cook for about 4 hours. Not sure if it mattered, but I closed the vent for the first 2 hours, then opened it for the remaining time.
I've since smoked about 3 different things in it, and all came out great. Suffice it to say, I won't be lending this out anymore!!! Thanks for everyone's advice and support! HAPPY SMOKING!!!!!
So I did finally get it clean. I put the smoker on an old table in the yard so it would be easier to clean. I took anything that could be removed out (shelves, shelf brackets, pans, shields, etc.). All of that went into dishwasher, after removing as much mold off as I could by hand. I then started scraping off the entire inside. This took about a half hour. I wanted to get as much off as I could, but let me tell you, I eventually hit a point where enough was enough! I then sprayed the whole inside with "Greased Lightning" (I'm sure any grease cutter would work). I let that sit for a half hour and enjoyed a couple high-quality, frosty Busch Lights. I then used a wet terry cloth rag and began wiping out the unit. I repeated with another round of the cleaner (and beers), and wiped it out again. At this point it looked so much better with only some staining left from the mold. I cleaned the seals and scraped / washed the glass. After all that, I took the hose out and sprayed the whole unit out to get rid of any little areas that the rag didn't reach. I kept the door open for a few days to let the unit dry completely. I fired it up to max temp and let her cook for about 4 hours. Not sure if it mattered, but I closed the vent for the first 2 hours, then opened it for the remaining time.
I've since smoked about 3 different things in it, and all came out great. Suffice it to say, I won't be lending this out anymore!!! Thanks for everyone's advice and support! HAPPY SMOKING!!!!!
phrogpilot73
Fire Starter
I love a Happy Ending!
Me, and Hannibal Smith!
PS: I still like to do a "Burn Out" of mine when done.
I wash/clean my mats and racks, roughly dry, then run mine at 275° for two hours before covering and parking mine for the next time. Drying and sterilizing the racks, mats, and smoker inside. All tucked it snug and warm.
Use will develop a nice smoke patina inside it and the sins of the past will fade to black. (Litterally!)
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I'm so glad to hear you got it cleaned up good!!!
I was worried hosing it out would ruin it electrically too, because I didn't think you could ever get it dry enough again.
Welcome back to the Smoking World!!
Bear
I was worried hosing it out would ruin it electrically too, because I didn't think you could ever get it dry enough again.
Welcome back to the Smoking World!!
Bear
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