When it comes to wintertime, every area of the country has its challenges. With a few, like here in Virginia, it is the snow and the ice. Wind, rain, and hail are problems in some other areas. Your outdoor kitchen requires some special care, even though you might use it in of the wintertime.
You must plan ahead even if you don’t live in a region which has a great deal of snow. Being sure that your outdoor kitchen has some cover plus some extra care is going to be good for keeping it in good shape.
Custom Outdoor Kitchens Built Tough
Outdoor kitchens are built to take the elemental changes. The refrigerators in particular are made to be impervious to the cold. They don’t need to get brought inside during the winter, even in higher elevations or colder climates. They do need to be turned off prior to when the weather hits freezing.
Even though you utilize it throughout the winter, this is a wonderful time to clean it thoroughly and for you to get it in good shape. If you’re in the higher desert elevations, or perhaps in a snow prone area, then it’ll require a little more.
- Clean inside your refrigerator unit and empty all of the cabinets and shelves.
- Switch the power off on the units. Unplug them, if possible. If you cannot unplug, turn your circuit breaker off.
- Clean the complete outside of each unit, stove, refrigerator and grill.
- If you are in a cold area or a high elevation, your outdoor kitchen sink might be vulnerable to freezing. Take some special attention to your sink unit in these areas.
- Open the taps completely and shut down any water supply to the sink. Blow out the lines using air or carbon dioxide. It will assure there isn’t any water in your lines to freeze.
- To help keep dust, grit, and debris from blowing into your sink and clogging the drains, put a cover over it.
The outside of all units need to be cleaned. Wash them with a very mild degreasing agent. You need to wash all of your outdoor kitchens, but especially if they are stainless, using a gentle soap and absolutely nothing more. Never use any kind of cleanser which has a gritty base to it.
For the grill, the cooking areas should be seasoned prior to deciding to cover it. With a soft clean cloth, and vegetable oil, wipe all of the areas that are cooking surfaces with vegetable oil and put them back onto your grill.
If you’re not going to use your grill throughout the wintertime, turn off the gas. Take off the tank and store it in an area that’s not at risk from freezing. Use tarps or covers to protect the grill and all the rest of the outdoor kitchen.
It’s a great idea to clean and re-season your kitchen during the fall to keep it in the best condition, even when you do plan to utilize it all winter. Covering your grills and outdoor kitchen elements during the winter months is no myth. Do this! Get in touch with COVIS Virginia to discuss your next project, even during the winter months so you can plan to have one built and ready to go for the gorgeous Virginia Spring and Summer months outside!