Rust is Actually a lot like Fire, but with Metal
In last week’s post, Why Cover Your Grill?, we talked about how Mother Nature dishes out a wide variety of weather across the U.S. Humid and coastal climates become highly rust-prone due to paint corrosion from salt, high levels of moisture in the air and rapid changes in temperature. Put simply, warmer climates, rather than cool ones, are where rust likes to kick things into high gear. Especially unique to coastal residents, salt water brings an additional threat to the finish of your metal furniture, grills and other outdoor accessories. Salt solution acts as an electrolyte, increasing the rate material rusts, much like how water molecules speed up the reaction, transforming your beloved barbecue into a rust bucket.
Some metal objects, when exposed to oxygen in the air, combine very slowly and create iron oxide, or rust. Leah Raeder, author and self-proclaimed “This is the same oxidation process as fire believe it or not. Isn’t that weird? So really, rust is the slowest fire ever.”2
If someone told you, ‘water causes something to burn2,‘ you would think they’re crazy. But that is not far from the truth in describing water’s impact on accelerating the oxidation of your outdoor metal pieces and implements. The more you can do to keep water from resting and accumulating on your items, the better.
In addition to keeping water from standing on your outdoor items, it’s important to clean them periodically. Cleaning can remove rust that may accumulate over time and accelerate the oxidation of perfectly functional portions of metal. Remember to regularly inspect and maintain the exterior as well as interior sections of your grill. Check out Consumer Reports Video for a quick guide to cleaning your grill:
Look for any signs of rusting so proper steps can be taken to delay or prevent the process from happening. Rust prevention methods can vary. The metal can be coated with a number of ‘ailments’ to help deter rust or rejuvenate the metal much like how grease or oil helps draw out moisture. Even zinc is a viable choice when rust-proofing. In fact, nearly one half of all zinc produced is used in zinc galvanizing processes to protect steel and iron from rusting3. Zinc is commonly known as the ‘sacrificial metal.’ – for reasons you can see below:
Barbecue grills left un-maintained and uncovered against the elements can create quite the eye sore in your yard. We recommend the use of a grill cover and regular inspections and cleanings to prolong the life of your grill and keep it performing at a high level.
We are taking 20% OFF our grill covers on classicaccessories.com until August 31st, 2017
with discount code: RUST at checkout.
Keep the “fires” to your fire-pit this season with a grill cover from Classic Accessories.
Sources:
Leah Raeder, Cam Girl of Good Reads
sharrettsplating.com
Photos: fluoramics / struckdumb / Rustic Farms / Nei Corporation