How to Clean Your Kamado Grill in 7 Steps

The best way to clean your Kamado Joe cooker. Preserve your grill grates, deflector, and more with this complete maintenance guide.

All grills need routine cleaning and maintenance to perform reliably, and Kamado-style cookers are no exception. With regular care you can keep your ceramic kamado working like new and extend its lifespan.

This guide covers the key maintenance tasks: ash removal, preventing and removing mold, caring for pizza stones, and how to perform a seasonal deep clean. Follow these steps for safe, food-friendly results without harsh chemicals.

Kamado grills have a distinctive design that traps heat and moisture, which is great for cooking but requires a few specific care checks. Treat your grill like a vehicle: regular inspections make bigger problems less likely and cleaning quicker.

Ash removal

After each use, ash and spent charcoal accumulate in the bottom of the chamber. Left unattended, ash can block vents, reduce airflow, and even affect flavor. Regular ash removal keeps the grill functioning properly and reduces the need for deeper cleanups.

I recommend emptying the ash after every cook. It only takes a minute and prevents buildup that can be harder to remove later.

To remove ash:

1. Once the grill has fully cooled, use a rod or stick to stir and dislodge any remaining charcoal so ash can fall through the holes at the base into the ash tray.
2. Locate the ash tray (commonly behind the lower draft door). Place a bucket or bowl beneath the tray to catch any debris, open the draft door, and slide the tray out.
3. Empty the ash into a metal container or a garbage bag, then replace the tray and close the draft door.

Clean out mold

When a grill sits unused for weeks or months, especially in damp conditions, mold can form on grates or inside the chamber. It’s an unpleasant but common issue that can be resolved without chemicals.

To remove mold safely:

1. Return grates, heat deflectors, and other removable components to their normal positions inside the cooker.
2. Open all vents and close the lid. Heat the grill to about 500–600°F—high enough to sterilize surfaces but not so high as to stress the ceramic.
3. Hold that temperature for about 20 minutes, then close the intake vent and continue heating for another 20 minutes before closing the exhaust vent. Allow the grill to cool completely with vents closed.
4. When cool, brush the grates with a grill brush. No soap or chemical cleaners are needed; the heat will have killed mold and loosened residue.

Pizza stone cleaning

Pizza stones are excellent for high-heat baking on a kamado, but they require special care. Avoid soap, oils, or soaking the stone—these can damage its porous surface and affect cooking performance.

Do not use a pizza stone in a conventional oven after it’s been used on an open-flame grill, and do not apply chemical cleaners or vegetable oils to season it. Instead, use these safe methods:

The flip method

Since only one side of the stone typically contacts food, flip it for subsequent cooks. The unused side gives you a cleaner surface, and exposure to heat during cooking will help burn off residue on the other side.

Use a brush

Use a stiff grill brush (not a delicate dish brush) to scrape away stuck-on crumbs and char once the stone has cooled completely. Store the stone in a dry place to prevent moisture buildup and cracking.

How to do a deep clean on a kamado grill

Even with regular ash removal and occasional mold checks, a deeper clean every few months is a good idea. I do a full deep clean roughly twice a year, but frequency depends on how often you cook.

Deep-clean steps:

1. Return grates and deflector plates to their normal positions inside the grill.
2. Open the vents fully, close the lid, and heat the grill to around 500–600°F. Maintain that temperature for about 30 minutes to burn off grease and food residue.
3. Close the vents and let the grill cool completely.
4. Remove grates and deflectors and brush them clean. Avoid soap or chemical cleaners—heat will have loosened most residue.
5. Remove any remaining charcoal and the firebox if your model allows it.
6. Vacuum the ash from the chamber, then wipe remaining ash with a slightly damp cloth or paper towel.
7. Empty and replace the ash tray, reassemble components, and close the lid.

That’s it. A seasonal deep clean is straightforward and keeps your kamado performing well with minimal effort.

How to clean Kamado Joe heat deflector

Kamado Joe heat deflectors are largely self-cleaning. After cooking, allow the ceramic deflectors to cool and then brush them off before storing. For split deflector designs, remove the pieces to clean and inspect them.

If a deflector has heavy, caked-on drips of fat or grease, use a plastic scraper to remove as much as possible (avoid metal scrapers). On the next cook, flip the deflector so the clean side faces up and use heat to burn off any remaining residue.

Regularly checking and lightly cleaning deflectors helps prevent buildup and maintains even heat distribution.