We boil water in a tea kettle turn on the forman and pour the water over it and let it flow directly into the sink. Then we use paper towels to pick up the excess. It isn't perfect.

I hang it over the edge of the sink (so the place where the grease runoff it pointing into the sink. I use soap, water and a bristled dish brush to clean the bottom as well as I can. I go over with a sponge to get any grease that I missed, then I rinse it with the faucet - ours has the spray nozzle and hose you can pull out The key here is to turn the water pressure down so it doesn't spray all over the place. I'll then wipe with paper towel (I'd use a towel, but invariably there is still some food left on there somewhere). Then I flip it around and do the top. It's a little messy, but gets the job done.

I have one because it was gifted to me. Its holding me over until I get around to purchasing the type with removable plates. I wash mine as Nerves described. Its a deal breaker in my book. Sorry George.

I put a damp paper towel in the still-hot grill, and let it steam itself while i eat my food. Then I wipe it down with the same paper towel, and if it doesn't seem clean yet, a soapy sponge (followed by a non-soapy sponge for rinsing). The rubbing alcohol on a q-tip seems a bit extreme - you know it will kill any germs when it heats up again to cook the next food, right?

Hmm... less than ideal (removable plates), but if you can't seem to get it clean with it's teflon coated surfaces, you're probably being a little too obsessive.

If you clean it as soon as it's cool to the touch, you should have no trouble getting it clean with hot, slightly soapy water and a good, non-stick-safe dish scrubber/sponge. Elbow grease, people.

It is fabulous to use but any way you clean it, it sucks. Somewhere between mopping the floor and cleaning the tub.

I let it heat up then turn it off. Scrub it with a wet paper towel with a bit of dish soap on it. My boyfriend bitches more than I do about cleaning it. His thick fingers can't get into the strange edge grooves properly. Takes me too long to get it as clean as it should be and that's why it's rarely used. It really takes longer to clean than it does to cook stuff.

Hmmm, I just use a dry, then a damp, then a dry paper towel real quick. It's a George Foreman grill, not an operating table. :-)

Rubbing alcohol is a little extreme... do you use that to clean regular dishes as well?

I do the wet paper towel steam thing which usually gets it pretty clean. If it's still dirty, I just set it in the sink and clean it with a soapy sponge, then let it air dry a while.

I actually found these scrubbers at Wal-Mart that are made for the George Foreman, with special grooves. This is what I use, with regular soap and water, until the water runs clean.

I just wipe it off with a dry paper towel real quick after I use it. If it's greasy, I use a wet paper towel, once it cools some, and call it good.

I usually soak paper towels in hot water, then place them on the grill and walk away for 15 minutes. Walk back, wipe all the bits off... minimal scrubbing. If it's really bad, i turn the grill back on so it helps soften the bits. Or you can get a silicone scrubber so you don't scratch the teflon and get it in your food.

Squirt some dish soap directly onto the grill while it's still hot. It'll bubble up. Then run a wet bristley scrub brush over it. Works like a charm!

I don't have one anymore but when I did, once it was groddy, I'd just wait til after I coked so it was still hot (not skillet hot, but noticeably more than warm) and just wipe it down the grooves with a paper towel followed by a clean one to get leftover gook. Like others said, its an indoor grill, so don't be too worried about getting it immaculate. Cleaning the grooves with qtips and alcohol is way overkill.

Um, I just use a sponge. The above all seems like a lot of work...I just put it in the sink and wash it with a soapy handled sponge, like I do everything else.

I clean mine while its still slightly warm and most things come off with nary a problem.

I hardly ever use mine because it is a pain in the @$$ to clean. But basically I use may of the methods above.

LOL - ok, all I can think about is this right now.

I agree with QueenOfTheFall... Do you clean the bbq outside with that level of sanitizing? As long as I can get most of the gunk off right after cooking, with either a paper towel or the grooved sponge Cese_ED mentioned, I'm not super worried about it... It is kind of like a cast iron pan in my mind.

We just pop a couple of wet paper towels in ours to steam while it's still hot, then wipe it down. If there's a serious mess, we might use soap and water, but we basically treat it like a cast iron pan: water, steam, elbow grease. The only reason I might use soap and water is if something raw or dangerous got spilled on it.

I don't clean my Foreman grill, just wipe with a dry paper towel while it's still warm. I agree with elizeh, it's like a well seasoned cast iron skillet.
Maybe I'll try the damp towel trick though.

I agree with Sherri, the trick to cleaning it is to wipe is down with a paper towel when it's still hot.

I put foil on the grill and then spray it with cooking spray before grilling. No clean up, just throw the foil away!

Hahaha, you guys are too funny. I don't use the rubbing alcohol on the actual cooking surface and not for sanitizing. I use it because it cleans appliances much faster and better than soap...and it's cheap. keltrue, I loved the video. I also liked mkhobson13's idea with the foil. Thanks for the feedback.

Gail

My roommate had a sponge that had cuts in it where the grooves went. I think it came with his grill, but he may have bought it separate. Another easy option is the classic yellow and green sponges. They're flexible enough to get around the grooves and the scouring side isn't abrasive enough to hurt the grill's finish.

I gave the super large one away because the plates were not removable. Most of the time it worked to use paper towels when it was still pretty warm, but once in a while things stuck. I want to be able to clean it safely.

But how about cleaning those deep groves around the outside of the George? How do you clean that? Q tips are the only thing that I can find to fit into them. How do you clean that part?

Yikes, that's breaking out far too much equipment for cleaning a little countertop appliance every few times you use it.

Just buy one of the specially shaped sponges. Yes, it seems silly to buy cleaning gear for just one item, but nothing else gets into all the grooves and quickly and easily.

Quickly wipe it down EVERY time you use it, when the device is not hot but still warm enough that any grease is still soft, and you won't get enough buildup to need to attack it with Q-tips and toothbrushes except for at seasonal cleanings a few times a year.

In general I find a dab of dish soap cuts through grease buildup faster than alcohol, but I do agree that it probably does a better job of leaving a smear-free look on the shiny outside metal.

That being said, I always have kitchen towels in my kitchen for drying dishes, which also prevents streaks. So you can get more streak free by wiping the outside FIRST (before the sponge gets more dirty from the inside surface) and a quick wipe of the towel to buff the shiny outside dry.