Using Wire Brushes

B

Big V

Full Fledged Farker
Joined
Jul 15, 2009
Messages
328
Reaction score
142
Points
43
Location
Appleton, WI
I made burgers on my grill around Christmas time and my wife started complaining that her throat hurt. She said it felt like she had cut it in some way. The sorness would come and go, so she finally went to a ears, nose,and throat specialist, and he pulled this piece of wire from her throat! No more using a wire brush to clean my grill grates! :tsk:
 

Attachments

  • Grill Brush.jpg
    Grill Brush.jpg
    16.7 KB · Views: 372
I've never had one hang on the grates or come out before that I'm aware of.
Sorry to see this.
 
I think you have been incredibly unlucky there, I haven't seen this in nearly 16 years of bbq cooking and I didn't necessarily start of with the best quality equipment.

Hope your good lady is better now
 
This might be the 5th or 6th time I have read something about wire brush grill brushes causing someone harm. I have always thought that it was kind of boudoir BS, but the other day I found a wire stuck to my grill that I thought I had cleaned well and was free of crap, however I was cooking on it and that wire could have easily found it's way into the food. Fortunately it did not.

Thanks for the heads up. I will be changing how I clean my grills.
 
There you go, everyday is a school day. Certainly one to watch out for
 
There's actually been a lot written on this topic:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6126a4.htm
http://q13fox.com/2014/06/12/grillbrush-wire-nearly-kills-puyallup-woman/
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/the-bristle-brush-as-barbecue-hazard/?_r=0

I have two el-cheapos that I'm using right now. I guess I should just go ahead and dump em.

Here are some alternatives:

http://bbq.about.com/od/accessories/tp/Alternatives-To-Wire-Grill-Brushes.htm
http://www.weber.com/weber-nation/blog/grill-brush-safety
http://www.thedailymeal.com/how-clean-your-grill-without-grill-brush

I actually started using my handy weed burner to clean my grates and boy that was easy. A paper towel to follow that and I was clean as a whistle.
 
I had one stuck in my throat back in 1995 from using a partially melted plastic brush with wire bristles. Had to go to the ER... it was not fun. It happened to a neighbor of our too about a year ago... So it isn't as rare as some think.
After cleaning, I always wipe it down with a paper towel to make sure there aren't any "extras" left on the grate.
 
Smoke & Beers said:
I had one stuck in my throat back in 1995 from using a partially melted plastic brush with wire bristles. Had to go to the ER... it was not fun. It happened to a neighbor of our too about a year ago... So it isn't as rare as some think.
After cleaning, I always wipe it down with a paper towel to make sure there aren't any "extras" left on the grate.
Click to expand...

Yep, start with the top shelves and move down, then follow with a heavy cloth, again top to bottom. Wipe the bottom of the shelf too. I will say I'm always on the lookout for a stray wire bristle too..
 
It is definitely something serious. I took an EMT course last year and this was brought up as one of the recurring new topics. Hospitals have been seeing it for a while but over the past few years there has been a big increase. I've switched over to using a tinfoil ball. It definitely works but it takes more time
 
I read an article about a woman that almost died because she accidentally ingested a tine off of a wire brush.. I just use a piece of balled up foil and my tongs now. I do this after I cook and before I start the next one (overkill, I know). I normally have a scrap piece of foil lying around after a cook anyways. I like my family and friends too much to see them go through something like this.
 
Pitbull said:
Yep, start with the top shelves and move down, then follow with a heavy cloth, again top to bottom. Wipe the bottom of the shelf too. I will say I'm always on the lookout for a stray wire bristle too..
Click to expand...

Besides this I use a welders brush and when I finish the rack I bang the brush on the rack to knock anything loose off
 
The best thing is using a lye solution in a big tub, but that's only every few months. I'd do it myself, but I've never found a tub big enough to put the shelves in. A BBQ resturant I worked in did that and it worked well, but they never cleaned the shelves on a daily basis. There was always meat on them.
 
I have been using aluminum foil in a ball. Doesn't work as good, but I'm not as worried about stray wires.
 
Yes its a danger but I suspect some folks are over using brushes, working them too hard and keeping them too long. Brushing a hot grill can melt plastic and loosen bristles. this seems like a case of being clean more dangerous.
 
this is why i use the nylon bristle brushes....i mostly just use the solid metal scraper part tho...i dont find myself actually feeling the need to use the brush part
 
I only use Weber brushes and toss them when they start to get gunky. I have not seen any loose wires but always wipe with oil after cleaning. Wouldn't weber be at a terrible risk for selling these if this happened often?
 
I don't use a wire brush for this very reason I hit mine with a weed burner then take a ball of foil and scrub the grates to remove any Klingons.
 
On top of the problem of wires sticking on the grill, a lot of people brush their grates away from the grill. Those little pieces of stuck food end up on the ground and are licked up by pets. If you are going to do it this way, do it over a trash can.
I use a two-step process.
Grillcleaning_zpsf56bb71a.jpg

Or
Working_zps7c01e974.jpg

Followed by rubbing with used AL foil after the grill is heated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
A good brush for Napoleon's wavy grill grates
Replies
0
Views
388
nabril15
N
O
Tday recap
Replies
2
Views
241
Big George's BBQ
Big George's BBQ
S
Equipment switcharoo (warning, stupidly long and likely boring!)
Replies
10
Views
376
DBBQ
D
snadamo
Inaugural Cook on the LSG Verital Offset - Direct Heat Chicken Thighs
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
Happy Hapgood
Happy Hapgood
P
Cleaning the grates in my smoker
2
Replies
22
Views
1K
Pife
P
Back
Top