This Simple Aluminum Foil Hack Easily Cleans Nasty Public Grills For Better Camp Cooking

You arrive at a campsite, and everything is there: a gravel patch for parking your car. A cleared space to put your tent, or even several spaces. A spigot for fresh water. Trees for hanging tarps or laundry lines. A picnic bench that can seat up to six people, if you huddle. Down the way is a washroom facility, where you can use a private stall and enjoy a warm shower. Perfect.

Just one thing: the fire pit. The metal ring is great, and there's wood aplenty. But the grill is — how to put it? — kind of gnarly. The linked iron bars look like they haven't been cleaned in years. Each black shaft is caked in gunk and grime, a petrified layer of grease and gristle that has accumulated over hundreds of cookouts. A thorough cleaning would give you peace of mind before laying some franks or zucchini slices directly onto the grill, but this? This just looks unhygienic.

Now is the perfect time for a camping hack. Campers often bring aluminum foil; after all, cooking fun meals while camping is so much easier with this versatile kitchen staple, and it's both light and easy to pack. All you have to do is pull a sheet out, rip it off, and crumple it into a ball. You could add a little water and (eco-friendly) soap and, voila! You've got improvised steel wool! This is one of thebest ways to upgrade your cooking experience while camping.

A ball of aluminum works well for several reasons. One is its textured surface, which is technically metal and can rake material off the grill. Many of these grills are removable or can at least swivel, so you can rinse them off over neutral ground and avoid moistening the pit itself, making fires harder to start. Alternatively, you can start a low fire in the grill before cleaning, which will heat up the grease and make it easier to remove, rendering water unnecessary. Aluminum foil is pliable, so you can shape it to fit your grip, and it's resistant to heat. As long as you're careful, you'll avoid burning yourself. 

This practice isn't just for looks. Poorly washed grills are magnets for mold and bacteria. Many campers use their campfires as ashtrays, which can add carcinogens to your grill, and food residue can attract all kinds of wild animals, along with their "leavings." At the very least, all these contaminants could leave a (literal) bad taste in your mouth, but you also risk getting sick. Nothing ruins a camping trip like a case of E coli or Salmonella. Many campers rely on the intense heat to burn off bacteria, and the fire certainly helps to sterilize the metal, but you can only benefit from scraping away blackened excess. While you're at it, here are some practical TikTok tips that make cooking while camping easier.