Aluminum foil here.... 

I've heard all the stories and watched videos but still used a wire brush until a couple weeks ago.  Yes.....I can be that stupid sometimes.  That night, I cleaned the grate and cooked wings.  When we started to eat.....bristles EVERYWHERE!!!  We ended up trashing around 40 wings which sucked but not nearly as bad as the worry I experienced over the next few days that one of us had ingested one.  I prayed that it'd be me and not one of my kids.  Fortunately, no one had.  
NEVER AGAIN.  Now I use foil and you should too!!   

Other than the surface which I can scrape with a spatula or onion I don't obsess about the grill, In my egg, I will ramp up the flame and burn off any Cling Ons  or in the bigger pit use a weed burner and knock the chunks off. Part of a well seasoned Pit is the grill. Does not mean you have to cook on a dirty surface,but scrape the big stuff and let heat take care of everything else. 

I do have one of these and it is OK, but an Onion, foil ball ( mainly for the lid ) or spatula

Been using a wire brush for almost 25 years with no problem whatsoever. I'm open to change if someone can recommend other effective ways . I tried foil once but for some reason results were not even close to wire brush. Maybe I did it wrong. I do use heat quite often as mentioned by another. 

lousubcap said:

Fire and a putty knife if the fire doesn't get it done.  

Heat is a great Sterilizer ! besides I I like to think of it as the "Succession Of Cooks" where every cook is a direct "Succession" of the previous cook

Good item to be concerned about, but, notice the pics of the brushes shown in the video. They are the Dollar store versions in most cases, with cheap metal bristles "stuck" into a mystery wood or pressed plastic handle. Using a Tang, Premiala, Duragrill or Weber is much safer - but always wipe the grid before use. 
For the heavy stuff, a Billy Bar is my go to. 

I use a wire brush, mostly to knock the drippy crap from the bottom of the grates so it doesn't fall onto the food on the next level down.  Whenever I have a messy cook, I run the temp up briefly afterward.  Whenever I use a wire brush, I smack the crap out of the racks afterward to knock anything loose off.

HeavyG said:

Regardless of the type of tool used, apparently some people just don't use their eyeballs and visually inspect the grates before they oil em up and put food on.

That strikes me as like not looking both ways before crossing the street.h

You're assuming that they oil it every time many people don't oil ever

Nsdexter said:

HeavyG said:

Regardless of the type of tool used, apparently some people just don't use their eyeballs and visually inspect the grates before they oil em up and put food on.

That strikes me as like not looking both ways before crossing the street.h

You're assuming that they oil it every time many people don't oil ever

Well, I don't assume they oil them every time (I don't either) but it's very likely the do put food on them yes?

I would brush, wipe with wad of wet paper towels then wipe with oiled paper towels.  Still covered with bristles.  NEVER AGAIN.

Home made paddle works for me. When the end gets worn I just cut it off and presto-change-o I have a new end!

I usually just drag some tongs to knock off the grunge.

epcotisbest said:

I actually bit into a wire bristle clinging to a piece of chicken one time. Luckily did not swallow it. Threw away the wire brush and have been using this ever since. The pads snag and come unraveled too easily so I do have to replace it fairly often.

Try the nylon brush. You won't be disappointed. And the head is replaceable too.

CanDid said:

epcotisbest said:

I actually bit into a wire bristle clinging to a piece of chicken one time. Luckily did not swallow it. Threw away the wire brush and have been using this ever since. The pads snag and come unraveled too easily so I do have to replace it fairly often.

Try the nylon brush. You won't be disappointed. And the head is replaceable too.

Thanks. I'll get one of those.