Now that summer is here we have the perfect opportunity to get o the BBQs and start grilling. There’s nothing better to bring families and friends together than a BBQ on a hot summer’s day, but don’t forget, when your BBQ is finished and everyone has left make sure you extinguish your BBQ properly.

If you don’t you can end u causing a fire that may ruin your BBQ, or even worse, cause damage to your garden or home and even put lives at risk.

Here are the best tips when it comes to putting out your BBQ and extinguishing those burning coals at the end of the night:

Suffocate the flames

If you have a BBQ that takes charcoal briquettes that has a lid and vents, when you are finished barbecuing, the best way to deal with the fire is to close the lid and then close all the vents. This will starve the fire of any oxygen and without any air reaching the fire it simply cannot burn.

Give it time

Cutting off the air supply won’t extinguish the fire immediately and the smouldering coals will continue to be hot for quite a while, so keep it away from any other surfaces and keep it closed up until the following morning when you can clean the cool ash away.

Don’t waste unused coals

When the coals have fully cooled you may notice that some have not burned away to ash. These can be added to the next pile of coals when you use the BBQ again. They will light slightly easier than other, larger briquettes, igniting your new BBQ quicker and this way you don’t end up wasting any of those coals.

Always source your fuels from a trusted provider or certified coal merchants to ensure that you are burning quality fuel.