Grill brush has to go

[gonavy]

I was watching the news and they had this story on folks ending up in the Emerg room because they swallowed small wires from grill brushes that got on their food from the bbq grill...OMG...I can honestly say I never gave that thought, not once. Went out to the grill...sure enough got them little bristles every where in the bottom of my grill, checked the smoker, same thing. Guess it was just blind luck nothing ended up in my food. The only thing I can think of is my practice of oiling my grates before I put food on smoker or grill. I use a paper towel soaked in veg oil and wipe down my grates when I cook, guess that saved me..lol...well gonna clean up the grill and the smoker before I use them again, tossing the bristle brushes.

I just ordered from Amazon the bristle free grill brush, they use stainless coils instead of bristle, got a big one for the smoker and a small one for the grill. Anybody got any experiences with these kind of brushes. Won't get them until Wednesday.

 

[bregent]

Yeah, that story makes the rounds every year at the start of summer. Let us know how the brush works for you. I know a few folks that threw them out because they barely scrape anything off the grates. Hopefully the design has improved since then.

 

[sandyut]

i switched to the wood scrapers. I have a couple of these
seem to work well. low risk

 

[weev]

My son actually just got one stuck in his throat last week luckily he said he coughed it out as they were getting in the car to go to the hospital.
I switched last fall to a new brush I think from charbroil it has heavy duty heat resistant red nylon bristles works good got it at menards or home depot

 

[hooked on smoke]

I have been using free wooden paint stir sticks. The price is right and when they get too short I just chuck them.

 

[gonavy]

i switched to the wood scrapers. I have a couple of these
seem to work well. low risk

Shute...should have gave this a try first before I went and ordered them other other two coil scrapers..lol...especially when you consider I am a woodworker with a full woodworking shop and tons of scrap wood, not sure why I didn't think of this, pretty sure I can make one of these in about half an hour or less. Think I'll make one this weekend and give it a try...thanks

 

[sandyut]

One of the guys on here used scrap wood. I had to buy, but the wood works good. for the first use crack up the heat and burn the grate into notches, then it will match up every time and wear into deeper grooves.

 

[mike243]

Keep your grates clean and wipe them off before putting food on them is my motto, have seen some grates I wouldn't eat food off of and no wonder they worry about a bristle mixed in with all the carbon build up on them and I use the word carbon rather than something else lol

 

[Fueling Around]

I just use the metal scraper on the end of the 98¢ wire bristle brush for the grates.
Brush used to scrape down the Brinkmann or Weber interior, then wiped out with oiled rag.

 

[phatbac]

i hear this every year too. i don't tend to believe it as fact. i use a wire brush on my grill and smoker all the time and i spray them down when hot (steam clean) too so i think i would take care of any lose particles...

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[johnmeyer]

i hear this every year too. i don't tend to believe it as fact.

I agree that it is over-reported, but having said that, I am pretty sure the problem is quite real. In fact, one person in this thread reported that it had happened to a family member.

However, we deal with hazards when cooking all the time (boiling oil, knives, exploding pellet grills), and a little vigilance and common sense should go a long way to preventing problems. This means simply looking at the grates after you cleaned them and, perhaps, just wiping them with a cloth after scraping. After all, to get on the food, the loose wire has to either be on the grate surface, or above the food (don't use the scraper on the lid!).

I am reluctant to give up my wire brush because it does a much better job than the alternatives that have been mentioned in this thread and elsewhere. The difference isn't even close.

This is the one I use:

Best BBQ Grill Brush Stainless Steel 18" Barbecue Cleaning Brush w/Wire Bristles & Soft Comfortable Handle

I did quite a bit of research before I bought it, and it seemed to be at or near the top of every researched comparison.

 

[banderson7474]

Yea and the old grilling causes cancer too....