Should I Power Wash My Outdoor Kitchen?

Power washing outdoor tile and countertop

Have you recently discovered the ease and speed with which you can clean outdoor features? While not everything in your backyard should be power washed, you can safely power wash your outdoor kitchen. Frequent and thorough wipe downs are important for both sanitation and aesthetics, but as with anything in your indoor kitchen, occasional deep cleaning is necessary. You should attend to small parts, countertops, cracks, and crevices should be attended to with hot soapy water every few months.



You can also power wash most of the parts of your outdoor kitchen, particularly your grill. You should only do so once per year, as power washing too frequently can decrease the life of your grill and its parts. Doing so on an annual basis is the easiest and fastest way to get that deeper clean accomplished that is so important for proper maintenance of your outdoor kitchen.

Power washing outdoor cabinets

Our High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) outdoor kitchen cabinets stand up the best against power washing. In fact, power washing is the best way to keep those outdoor cabinets clean, especially after they have sat collecting grime and dirt during the off season. Other types of cabinets for outdoor kitchens are made from PVC or faux wood made of painted foam resin, and these will fall apart under the pressure of power washing.

Power washing your HDPE cabinets is much easier and faster than tackling crusted on food with a scrubber. Make sure that you clean the rest of your outdoor kitchen first, or you’ll be washing the cabinets again. As with any big cleaning job, start at the top with the grill’s hood and work your way down to the patio or deck so the grease drips can be cleaned as they make their way downward.

If your outdoor kitchen also has natural stone elements, such as the base for the grill or cabinets, these too can be power washed at the same time. Even if the stone is fake, you can still power wash it. Power washing or deep cleaning every part of your outdoor kitchen and dining should always be done after a period of disuse.

Power washing your grill and appliances

If you love to host cook-outs, you already know how fast your grill and other outdoor appliances can become encrusted with oil, grease, seasonings, and bits of food from everything you have cooked on it. You should really give your grill a good thorough cleaning immediately after a cookout so that this debris is not left to sit and deteriorate parts of the grill.

Just about any grill should be able to be power washed, as well as your range hood. For stubborn, caked on grease and food remnants, attach a high-quality degreaser to the nozzle. Remove the degreaser to rinse away all of the soap that you can see, then keep going for a few minutes for good measure. You can also use this combination to clean your iron skillet and cast iron pots and kettles, but make sure you rinse them thoroughly and heat them to dry quickly.

If you have electrical appliances in your outdoor kitchen, these will not be able to be power washed. Before power washing your grill, make sure that you have followed all of the same safety precautions you would take when firing up the grill for an afternoon of barbequing.