A rookie mistake made by amateur outdoor grillers is to skip the grill cover. One thing to understand up front is that a grill cover is not just an accessory. It is a neccessity. Here are the two main things you should purchase on the same day you buy your grill, or at least within the first month:

1. Grill utensils – afterall, what you do you want to flip a burger with? You can try your fingers or that tiny spatula in the kitchen. Either way you’re going to burn your fingers or the hair off your knuckles. You need a nice set of utensils. No debate.
2. Grill cover – The outside stainless steel or painted finish of your grill is not the only thing that should cover your grill. You need a cover. No debate. Let me tell you why.

Let me give you an example from a Weber grill my friend just bought.  He bought a nice Weber Genesis E-330. It’s a real nice green color. He spent about $800 on the grill once you figure the tax. Nice side burner grill, everything looked nice.

He got himself a set of cool utensils and accessories that same day for another $100. He was all set.

What he did not get was a Weber Grill Cover.  I believe a Weber brand specifically made for that grill is about $50. Since it is Weber brand, it would have been a bit more expensive.

Six weeks later, into the heat of the Texas summer, he realized why he needed one.  Near his patio is a bird feeder and bird bath. With the extra heat and lack of rain, it attacted more birds than normal. Those birds began to look for places to roost. A few began to roost on his new grill.

Over a period of a few weeks, several birds began to poop over the surface of his green grill. With the 107 degree heat, it began to bake in. As my friend tried to clean it, it had damaged the paint and finish of the green grill. Furthermore, some bird poop had gotten down inside of the side burner.

Not having a cover ruined the surface of his grill and created an extra chore of cleaning out his burners.

While this is one example of what a good Weber grill cover could help prevent, there are many other reasons. My top 2 reasons are:

1. To prevent oxidation of the grill grate. You don’t need your grate getting rusty because of excess moisture.
2. To protect the outside of the grill from the elements, dirt, dust… and even birds.