Doctors Issue Warning

tkleager

Guess I'll just burn off my grates from now on.

Doctors Issue Warnings About Cleaning Grills with a Wire Brush

Grillin_beers

I saw something like this last summer too.  I'm pretty sure it's an annual warning. 

Jeepster47

Let me piggy back on your post please.  We threw out all of our wire brush cleaning brushes.  Also threw out the pumice stones ... kept seeing little pieces of grit left on the grill.  That left us with burn it off.  Finally stumbled upon this type of brush:



They also make a long handled brush with the brillo pad-like cleaning unit.  So, have others tried this brush?  Like it?  Answer the concern expressed in the Doc's warning.

johnmitchell

Turfed all my wire brushes last year after a similar warning from a doctor on the forum..I just use a scrunched up piece of Alo. foil.. Works great.

Ladeback69

Jeepster47 said:

Let me piggy back on your post please.  We threw out all of our wire brush cleaning brushes.  Also threw out the pumice stones ... kept seeing little pieces of grit left on the grill.  That left us with burn it off.  Finally stumbled upon this type of brush:



They also make a long handled brush with the brillo pad-like cleaning unit.  So, have others tried this brush?  Like it?  Answer the concern expressed in the Doc's warning.

Interesting, I will have to try and find this. 

GATraveller

Ball up a sheet of aluminum foil......works great!

tkleager

I just use the scraper part of the brush like you see here


to get the heavy stuff off.  The brass bristles came off of it years ago in my old gasser.

Just found the article and video interesting as I was surfing during my lunch hour.

tfhanson

And remember, don't drive your cars anymore. PEOPLE DIE IN THEM.

Jeepster47

@Ladeback69 ... that picture was taken an my local Ace Hardware.  Charcoal Companion also makes a similar item ... bought mine from Amazon.com.

I never used aluminum foil because my son claimed, in his experience, some of the aluminum rubbed off on the grill.  So, skipped over that approach.

Another option that I just saw on Smokeware's website is the "Scrapestation Grill Scraper" ... anybody used this grill cleaner?  It's a red oak grill cleaner that conforms to your grill rod spacing by burning grooves in the edge from the heat.  http://www.smokeware.com/collections/featured/products/scrapesation-grill-scraper

Photo Egg

Jeepster47 said:

@Ladeback69 ... that picture was taken an my local Ace Hardware.  Charcoal Companion also makes a similar item ... bought mine from Amazon.com.

I never used aluminum foil because my son claimed, in his experience, some of the aluminum rubbed off on the grill.  So, skipped over that approach.

Another option that I just saw on Smokeware's website is the "Scrapestation Grill Scraper" ... anybody used this grill cleaner?  It's a red oak grill cleaner that conforms to your grill rod spacing by burning grooves in the edge from the heat.  http://www.smokeware.com/collections/featured/products/scrapesation-grill-scraper

I know it's going to be hard to believe but I do have one of the Scrapestation Grill Scraper red oak planks. I picked it up at the Georgia fest as well. Seemed very strange at first but it does work well.lol
Made from very oak planks.

Eggcelsior

tfhanson said:

And remember, don't drive your cars anymore. PEOPLE DIE IN THEM.

And the point of your logical fallacy is?

TonyA

I'm pretty sure i got the idea from @RRP ... stainless steel paint remover brushes are far better constructed than grill brushes ... I haven't found a single bristle in over a year.

DaveRichardson

The wooden scraper sounds like a good idea, but do you change to cast iron, or a different grate sometimes, maybe use an aftermarket second level???  What to do if those bars aren't spaced the same???

I'm a burn it off with heat then it usually only takes a light scrub with a ball of foil to get the rest off.

I know that some guys use oven cleaner, but I'm not that patient..... nor attentive!

Jeepster47

tfhanson said:

And remember, don't drive your cars anymore. PEOPLE DIE IN THEM.

I agree that people die in cars, so that means you should buy/drive smart.  That is don't buy a Smart car that offers very little protection.  Instead buy much larger, well protected vehicle with lots of steel wrapped around you.

Same with the brushes.  Folks have been using the bristle brushes for years, but why continue to do it when there are other more safe options available?

tfhanson

Eggcelsior said:

tfhanson said:

And remember, don't drive your cars anymore. PEOPLE DIE IN THEM.

And the point of your logical fallacy is?

My point, let's not overract.

Fred19Flintstone

After the last thread on this subject, I followed somebody's suggestion and bought a brick trowel.  Works fine for me!

Ozzie_Isaac

tfhanson said:

And remember, don't drive your cars anymore. PEOPLE DIE IN THEM.

FWIW, I've eaten a bristle.  Luckily it lodged in my gums instead of my throat or intestine.  This was food I was serving to my kids.

CANMAN1976

Tin foil works!

Eggcelsior

tfhanson said:

Eggcelsior said:

tfhanson said:

And remember, don't drive your cars anymore. PEOPLE DIE IN THEM.

And the point of your logical fallacy is?

My point, let's not overract.

It's not an overreaction. 

Swallowing a steel bristle can be quite injurious. 

NPHuskerFL

I'm thinking of getting a couple of these. I'll just leave the link. They have good reviews from what I've seen. http://www.thegreatscrape.com/ https://youtu.be/lU87UQo5n3M

tfhanson

Eggcelsior said:

tfhanson said:

Eggcelsior said:

tfhanson said:

And remember, don't drive your cars anymore. PEOPLE DIE IN THEM.

And the point of your logical fallacy is?

My point, let's not overract.

It's not an overreaction. 

Swallowing a steel bristle can be quite injurious. 

I guess for you it isn't, for me it is.  Lots of things in our daily lives are far more dangeours than a one in a million chance of getting a bristle off a brush. My guess would be it's about as common as winning the lottery.  Yes, people do win the lottery, almost weekly, but it is not common at all.  My point was far more people get hurt in cars on an HOURLY basis then people do weekly from BBQ brush bristles.

Ozzie_Isaac

@tfhanson guess I should buy a loto ticket then.

Spaightlabs

so don't use a wire grill brush while driving? 

tfhanson

Spaightlabs said:

so don't use a wire grill brush while driving? 

There you go, you got it.

nlovold

 I once drank out of a non BPA free bottle, used bug spray with real DEET, and did not wear gloves while using my wire brush to scrape my grill grate.  By the grace of god I'm still here. 

Eggcelsior

tfhanson said:

Eggcelsior said:

tfhanson said:

Eggcelsior said:

tfhanson said:

And remember, don't drive your cars anymore. PEOPLE DIE IN THEM.

And the point of your logical fallacy is?

My point, let's not overract.

It's not an overreaction. 

Swallowing a steel bristle can be quite injurious. 

I guess for you it isn't, for me it is.  Lots of things in our daily lives are far more dangeours than a one in a million chance of getting a bristle off a brush. My guess would be it's about as common as winning the lottery.  Yes, people do win the lottery, almost weekly, but it is not common at all.  My point was far more people get hurt in cars on an HOURLY basis then people do weekly from BBQ brush bristles.

I don't know how you quantify this since one is a unmeasured statistic, your hyperbole aside. I know it anecdotally since I've seen patients with perforated bowel from it. 

maso

nlovold said:

 I once drank out of a non BPA free bottle, used bug spray with real DEET, and did not wear gloves while using my wire brush to scrape my grill grate.  By the grace of god I'm still here. 

Sure, but now knowing what can happen with prolong use, and with readily available safer alternatives, why go back? Sure it might not happen to you, but it could. If you have to make a choice, why not go safer?

a broken clock is right twice a day, but also wrong the other 99.86% of the time.

DoubleEgger

NPHuskerFL said:

I'm thinking of getting a couple of these. I'll just leave the link. They have good reviews from what I've seen. http://www.thegreatscrape.com/ https://youtu.be/lU87UQo5n3M

I think I've got some oak on the basement. Project Accepted! 

nlovold

maso said:

nlovold said:

 I once drank out of a non BPA free bottle, used bug spray with real DEET, and did not wear gloves while using my wire brush to scrape my grill grate.  By the grace of god I'm still here. 

Sure, but now knowing what can happen with prolong use, and with readily available safer alternatives, why go back? Sure it might not happen to you, but it could. If you have to make a choice, why not go safer?

a broken clock is right twice a day, but also wrong the other 99.86% of the time.

I hear ya @maso I was mostly joking around.  This has been brought up several times here and my main takeaway is not to use cheapo products around food.  I've used the Weber stainless wire brush for years where the bristles are twisted in the handle.  If this product is unsafe, we all have bigger problems.  The same design is used in plumbers soldering brushes and just about every house's water supply has seen one of those brushes.

maso

@nlovold , I agree, there are definitely some places that one shouldn't scimp. 

DoubleEgger

Well that was easy! Cut a piece of red oak on two sides at 50 degrees. Marked of the required 3/4" grill spacing and hit it with a Dremel. I cut a larger board in half so I've got 2 scrapers with less than 10 minutes work.