Don’t Use a Wire Brush to Clean Your Grill (Do This Instead)

Not cleaning the grill can be dangerous , but how you clean it is also important. Even though this is the easiest option, you should not use a wire brush. That’s why you should throw this bristle brush in the bin, and what you can replace it with.

Problem with bristle brushes

If you’ve been spending some time on TikTok recently, you may have seen a viral video posted by a pediatric emergency medicine doctor . The clip, which has over five million likes and millions more views, details the case of a four-year-old who was hospitalized with ear pain after a barbecue and baffled doctors for days when they couldn’t find the cause. After a series of tests and days of pain, the source was identified: a small wire was inserted into the soft tissues of the child’s neck. It came from the wire brush used to clean the grill where his dinner was cooked.

The viral video may be new, but it’s not the problem: In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning against toothbrushes, noting that in recent years, “internal injuries have been reported following unintentionally swallowed wire mesh.” cleaning the bristles of the brush by both children and adults. In addition to the soft tissues of the neck, the bristles can perforate the gastrointestinal tract, requiring emergency surgery. And yet, these products are still sold in various retail stores. Some of them only cost about $3.

Instead, you can use foil to clean your grill.

Luckily, there are other ways to clean your grill that are just as cheap and effective. First, preheat the grill to maximum temperature and close the lid for 15-20 minutes. You should notice that a lot of dirt has already come off the shelving, and then you can just use the foil. Roll it loosely into a ball and grab it with tongs or a heat-resistant glove, then push it on the grill the same way you would a brush. As long as you don’t squeeze it too tight, it should be malleable enough to get into the grooves and gaps. Hard enough to scrape off burnt food, but gently enough not to damage the grill itself.