When you are cooking, there are a lot of things to factor into the process that goes beyond just preparing and cooking the meal.
For example, you need to keep your safety in mind because with the food, you are ingesting and putting it inside your body. It’s important to be aware of these factors.
One thing people may wonder is whether or not you should grill on your deck.
In this article, we will cover whether it’s safe, what are the risks of using it, and finally, how you can keep yourself safe if you do end up grilling on your desk.
Contents
How Safe Is It to Grill on a Deck?
We will first start by saying that you are only as safe grilling on a deck as you make it. As long as you take the correct safety precautions, things will probably go all right for you.
We will go into the ways you can make your grill safe to grill on later. There are several things you can do to ensure that there will be no fires while you are on your grill.
Keep in mind, however, that just because you can make your deck very safe doesn’t mean that you can eliminate the chances of experiencing any danger.
The danger exists, and sometimes it’s going to happen whether we like it or not. You can minimize your chances of experiencing it, of course. This is all you can do in the long run.
In the next section, we will touch on the general dangers because knowledge is always important in keeping yourself safe.
What Are the Dangers of Grilling on a Deck?
Now we are at the crux of the article that will explain to you the general dangers of grilling on a deck.
- One of the biggest issues with grilling on a deck is a fire danger. Most decks are made of wood, and if the fire gets on the wood, it can light up like a Christmas tree. The simplest spark from the grill could cause a huge issue.
- If you have a propane grill, then you need to keep in mind that there can be a lot of issues with something called propane leaks. This can happen because the lines aren’t being threaded properly. You want to use caution when using propane in general but know that propane-fueled grills come with some extra issues than, say, an electric or gas grill wouldn’t.
- Another issue is natural dangers, which you can only do so much to avoid. Such dangers include trees and other types of greenery, wind, and the siding on a house. The wind isn’t something you can avoid per se. With trees and the house, you can just keep the grill away from it, but if a gust of wind came by, then it could send the flames flying in that direction. The best way to avoid this is to just not grill on especially windy days or take extra precautions.
Here we have the top three issues with grilling on a deck. Luckily, there are steps you can take to keep yourself safe, which we are going to touch on in the next section.
Make sure you don’t stop reading yet!
How Can You Safely Grill on a Deck?
Now that you know the dangers, it’s important to figure out how you can safely grill on the deck in the first place. Safety tips include:
- Having a safe setupis the number one thing you can do while grilling on a deck. Keep the deck away from anything that could make it blow up, and make sure it is at least 6 to 12 inches from the desk railing and isn’t near the siding. Also, make sure to keep it from the duck furniture and tree branches.
- Another thing you can do that might seem very obvious but might not come to mind is cleaning the grill every time you are finished using it.Also, it’s great to clean the grill after each use is that it can make sure it doesn’t get rusted.
- When grilling on a deck, you want to make sure that there is no grease leaking onto the deck or embers. A way to circumnavigate this is by using something called a grill mat. Not only will it stop grease stains from ending up on your deck, but it will also make sure that there are no embers that could land on the deck as well. Many decks are made out of wood, so one ember could cause a lot of trouble for you if it were to land on your deck. Other safety equipment includes grill brushes and drip pans!
- Finally, one thing you should keep in mind is the fact that sometimes it’s going to be very windy, and wind can cause a lot of issues. Sometimes it’s easier to just not grill on a windy day, but if you do, you need to make sure the grill is away from anything that could catch fire. Keep it in a nice open area away from flammable objects.
By following these safety tips, you’ll be able to make sure that you can grill on your deck and enjoy it.
Obviously, accidents can still happen, but you can lower your chances by following our suggestions.
Final Thoughts
And there you go, all you grill lovers out there. You now know if it’s safe to grill on a desk, the dangers of doing so, and finally, how you can safely grill on your deck without risk to your safety.
Grilling is a great past time when the weather is nice outside, so it’s great to know how to continue to do it safely.
There are always measures you can take to keep you and your family/guests safe when cooking on a grill.
By following our suggestions, you will lessen your chance of anything serious happening. This will let you focus entirely on grilling!
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I have been smoking and grilling meat from an early age and enjoy sharing my knowledge and expertise through the hundreds of articles I have written about BBQ. I hope to make everyone’s BBQ journey that little bit easier.