Cleaning question, lots of mold.

[elittle]

I recently opened up my smoker after it had been covered and out of use for a few months and discovered quite a bit of mold on the V shaped metal thing with the air vents in it (it looked like it had hair) and light mold over portions of the smoker cabinet itself.

I was able to clean all the mold out but does anyone have any input on what this may or may not do to the taste of the food? I had to scrub out a bit of the black build up that had accumulated over the last year. Just curious if anyone has any comments.

Thanks!

[leftcoast smoker]

I would clean it as best you can, maybe throw the pans and racks in the dishwasheror wash by hand with a good strong dishwashing detergent and then fire up the smoker and run it at max for an hour or so and then wipe it out, try not to remove any more of the seasoning as possible should be good to go
leftcoast

[classicrockgriller]

Like LCS said, treat it like a seasoning.

Run it up to 250 or hotter and roll some smoke over it.

[NePaSmoKer]

Happiness is a crusty smoker  ;D  :D

[squirtthecat]

Ditto.

Stuff everything you can fit into the dishwasher and give it a good hot soapy blast...

Thoroughly clean the walls/door/seals/floor/vent area with vinegar to get the green fuzz off.

[elittle]

Thanks for the input. That's kind of what I figured I should do. I'm running the oven at 320 degrees for 4 hours and running 12 biscuits through it, it seems to be fine so far.

[Quarlow]

Just to be clear, you clean your v-tray, racks and waterbowl after you smoke don't you? If not you should. Also you might want to find a spot under the eves of your house and store it with the vent open( this is assuming you are storing it outside, hence the cover) and bring the smoke generator in so as not to expose it to the rain and dampness.

[lumpy]

Easy-Off does wonders ;)

Lumpy

[elittle]

Yeah, I usually clean the racks, bowl, drip tray and V-tray thing after every use, for some reason I overlooked the water bowl which was loaded with meat juices and pucks and caused everything to mold. I store the generator in the garage and keep the vent open and cover the bradley with the cover in a somewhat sheltered part of the yard.

I have learned a valuable lesson though, TAKE CARE OF YOUR SMOKER!