Salt Air and Your Grill: Coastal Care

Breaking waves throw tiny droplets of seawater into the air. The water evaporates and leaves microscopic salt crystals that the onshore breeze carries inland. On the LA coast, the marine layer that settles in most mornings, especially from late spring into early summer, condenses on cool surfaces overnight and deposits that salt on everything, then the sun dries it. Repeat a few hundred times a year.

Salt is hygroscopic, meaning it pulls moisture out of the air, so a salty surface stays damp longer than a clean one. Chloride ions in that moisture break down the passive layer that keeps stainless steel from rusting. Mix in a film of cooking grease, which holds the salt in place and keeps it from rinsing off, and you have the perfect conditions for corrosion.

How far inland it reaches depends on terrain and wind, but homes within roughly a mile or two of the water in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Venice, the beach cities, Palos Verdes, San Pedro, and Long Beach near the shore see it most. Hillside homes facing the ocean get more than you'd expect for their distance.

A cover helps a lot on the coast, as long as it breathes and the grill is dry when it goes on. A non-breathable cover over a grill that's still damp from the morning marine layer creates a tiny greenhouse full of salty moisture. Look for a fitted cover with vents, take it off after rain, and let the grill air out occasionally on a sunny afternoon. Our grill cover guide covers the details.

• Shelter from the wind side. A grill tucked against a wall or under a partial roof on the side away from the ocean collects less salt than one sitting out on an ocean-facing deck.
• Keep sprinklers off it. Sprinkler water adds hard-water minerals on top of the salt. Adjust the heads so the island stays dry.
• Watch the pool. Saltwater and chlorine pools add their own chlorides. Don't store pool chemicals in the grill island or next to it.
• Leave airflow. Closed island cabinets with no ventilation trap humid air. Vented doors or a little gap help.

If you're picking a grill for a beach house, the grade of stainless matters more than almost anything else. Look for 304 stainless throughout, including the burners and internal parts, and check the hardware. Some brands offer 316 marine-grade options. Our guide to picking a grill for a coastal home goes through what to look for.

For a grill that's already showing its age, a restoration with new burners, heat plates and igniters plus a full stainless polish often gets years more out of it. When the firebox itself has rusted through, it's usually time to replace the grill in the same island cutout.