Grill gadget cleaner


 

Greg M

TVWBB All-Star
I have long worried about the wire bristle brushes commonly used to clean the grates of my two weber gas grills. Specifically the horror stories about a wire bristle coming off and getting in our food. As much as we grill I figured it was just a matter of time.

While on vacation last fall we were at the shrimpfest in Alabama and there was a booth for "Martin's grill gadget". The inventor and his wife were selling his invention. Nice guy very proud of his work. I took a flyer and bought one.

I like it a lot. It does take a little more time as you have to clean each grate rod separately. But it still just takes me less than a minute total for my three burner 1000. Less for the silver A. Absolutely no danger of eating steel bristles. Costs $20 (25 on Amazon) but shouldn't ever wear out. When I was talking to the inventor he had his original tool on hand that he's used for over 20 years.

You might give it a try. I really like mine and the peace of mind it's given me.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B018A484AK/tvwb-20
 
I think the "horrors" are pretty well over blown. While I have had bristles come out I have never seen one stick to a grate. Also if you use a damp cloth (either with water or oil) afterward any further debris (whether a bristle or crud) is removed. Last if you buy good brushes the chances are nil at best.
 
I think the "horrors" are pretty well over blown. While I have had bristles come out I have never seen one stick to a grate. Also if you use a damp cloth (either with water or oil) afterward any further debris (whether a bristle or crud) is removed. Last if you buy good brushes the chances are nil at best.

I'll disagree about the danger. I'm a healthcare manager and speaking to a friend of mine that works in our ER he has personally seen several cases that were quite serious. Is it likely? Probably not but it's not nil either. I'd prefer to take my and my family's risk to zero.

Even beyond the risk factor it's worthwhile from a cost standpoint to me. Buy it once and you are done. No more replacing brushes every year. I think most of us on this forum appreciate non disposable products? Kind of like the difference between a Weber and a char broil.

I probably sound like a shill or a paid employee of this little company. I'm not. Just a satisfied customer.
 
First a little "caution" makes the risk 0 IMO. Also that device would not work on grills with tightly space or not rounded grill grates. I.e. the stamped steel or stamped stainless grates on the older style Weber products, they would also increase the risk of ingesting flaked off porcelain (basically shards of glass) from those types of grates with a top porcelain coating or with many types of the cast iron grates available on higher end grills like my Wolf due to their shape, or on the products like the Weber Q products.
Bottom line while it may be a "decent" to quite good product it is not a panacea to everything. Overall IMO a good bristle brush or perhaps this type of product http://www.grillwizard.com/prod.htm though in all honesty my only exposure to it is from seeing on America's Test Kitchen.
Like I indicated in 40 years of heavy grilling on all different types of grills I have never witnessed this issue BUT I have always used some precautions as I outlined. Though in all honesty not once have I ever seen a bristle come out. Doesn't mean it can't happen but than I could get hit by a car going to my mailbox though I choose not to dwell on it. Actually considering some of the wildlife I have seen around my home I have a better chance of being attacked by a Coyote or a Cougar then a wayward bristle LOL
 
I think the "horrors" are pretty well over blown.
I wouldn't argue with you, only about 130 people are affected by this according to cnn

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/05/health/grilling-injury-wire-bristle-brush/

That said, nearly 20 years ago, nobody heard of E. coli O157:H7, I certainly hadn't. But then my son go it when he was 18 months old, and it nearly killed him then. He was in Children's Hospital for just shy of six months, and had to live a renal diet until a couple years ago, when it became time to give him a kidney that my bride donated to him. I thought HUS was an overblown thing then, but it turned out to be a life changing event that happened one day and has affected our lives, until we die. So my 2 cents: Never poo poo something "over blown."

http://www.about-hus.com/

I do like the grill cleaner in this thread, might have to try one
 
First a little "caution" makes the risk 0 IMO. Also that device would not work on grills with tightly space or not rounded grill grates. I.e. the stamped steel or stamped stainless grates on the older style Weber products, they would also increase the risk of ingesting flaked off porcelain (basically shards of glass) from those types of grates with a top porcelain coating or with many types of the cast iron grates available on higher end grills like my Wolf due to their shape, or on the products like the Weber Q products.
Bottom line while it may be a "decent" to quite good product it is not a panacea to everything. Overall IMO a good bristle brush or perhaps this type of product http://www.grillwizard.com/prod.htm though in all honesty my only exposure to it is from seeing on America's Test Kitchen.
Like I indicated in 40 years of heavy grilling on all different types of grills I have never witnessed this issue BUT I have always used some precautions as I outlined. Though in all honesty not once have I ever seen a bristle come out. Doesn't mean it can't happen but than I could get hit by a car going to my mailbox though I choose not to dwell on it. Actually considering some of the wildlife I have seen around my home I have a better chance of being attacked by a Coyote or a Cougar then a wayward bristle LOL

First off I never said it was a panacea for everything. Just that it's a good solution for me hence it may be for others.

In talking to the owner he claims it works well on porcelain coated grids as well with no damage. I can't substantiate that personally as my grates are stainless.

One more point is that although there might be similar risk of being attacked by a cougar or bear to ingesting a steel bristle (I say might because I'm not a risk manager and I assume you aren't either) the argument is really a moot point. Because if there were a product out there that negated the risk totally of a bear or cougar attack, was cheap, and didn't interfere with our enjoyment of the great outdoors then such a product would be widely sold. I know I certainly would buy it.

But everyone has to decide for themselves how much risk is too much. I don't advocate living in a bubble but I prefer to eliminate things that don't interfere with my enjoyment of life too much.
 
this looks like a nice tool for getting the under side of the grates as well.

i've been using the weber bamboo grill brush. it works well enough but gets gunked up fairly quickly.

i like the idea of longevity as well as zero risk for a metal sliver for my families
 
Greg, thanks for sharing the information on the cleaning tool. It looks like something I could use having eight Weber grills. I did a little test that I believe that Jim Lampe discovered by running a magnet through some ash in his grill and pulled out a bunch of wire bristles. I did the same on one of my performers after brushing it and did get a few bristles stuck to the magnet not a lot, but one is to many.
Since that happened I've been looking for a safer way to clean my grates and this looks like what I need.
 
To LMichaels' point, someone in the CNN article is quoted as saying, "Usually I tell people it is fine if they want to use a wire brush, but after they use it to get a cloth to wipe down the grill surface and really inspect it before they start cooking on it,". And there's the rub...taking the time to wipe-down the surface and "really inspect it". People are in a hurry and skip this step, or it's dark outside (my situation, quite frequently) and the "inspection" is not very thorough.

A suggested alternative is to use a wire mesh pad brush, like the Grill Wizard (http://www.grillwizard.com/prod.htm). I've been using one for years, works great, but it presents a different potential risk. Loose strands of the flat metal wire can catch on a stainless steel cooking grate (where a rod and underside crossmember intersect) and get pulled out of the pad. If you grab the wire with your fingers and pull, you'll cut your finger badly! But at least it didn't get lodged in your throat or intestines.

Dangers are lurking everywhere when cooking, whether in the kitchen or backyard. Be careful and take sensible precautions, hopefully we'll all survive! :smilekettle:
 
Greg, thanks for sharing the information on the cleaning tool. It looks like something I could use having eight Weber grills. I did a little test that I believe that Jim Lampe discovered by running a magnet through some ash in his grill and pulled out a bunch of wire bristles. I did the same on one of my performers after brushing it and did get a few bristles stuck to the magnet not a lot, but one is to many.
Since that happened I've been looking for a safer way to clean my grates and this looks like what I need.

Rich you are welcome. If you do get one be sure to give it a chance. The first few times I used mine I didn't think I liked it. I thought it was kind of hard to use. It took a little practice and experimenting with the different cleaning edges of the tool before I had it down. The facet/edge that i thought would work on my grates wasn't the one that ended up working best. By the 4th or 5th use I was sold.
 
This Christmas got a wooden grill scraper. Have to burn in grooves so it can't be shared between two different grate types.

Hopefully it takes risk down to zero.
 
Greg, you took my post WAY too seriously. FWIW I clean my grates then wipe them with a dampened cloth/paper towel. Depending on what I will be cooling it's either with some oil or water. Honestly bristles would NOT stick because they'd be wiped off. As for the company owner indicating "they work well on porcelain" again if those pieces are metal then IMO damage can occur to certain types of porcelain coatings. For sure the type that looks shiny. Such as the old style U shaped grates on the old Weber Genesis grills.
I'm glad the device makes you happy............................really. Just was pointing out a different view. BTW I personally know just how sick one can get from E-Coli and Listeria (a few others I cannot remember) as just this past May I found myself in the hospital EXTREMELY sick, losing blood in a way no one wants too. When the tests came back the health dept here in my county called me indicating that I had 4 different bacteria food poisonings (all at the same time). Now I'll tell you about the REALLY obscure part.
One would immediately think................chicken, or some other protein. But, NOOOOOO! Not me.....................I got it from avocados.....................YES you read that right. Now here is why. Like many here who probably eat them all the time and enjoy them I never would put them in the sink first with soapy water and bleach. But the doctors who worked on me told me it's the ONLY safe way to eat them! (Of course to this day I have not been able to even LOOK at one) but yes. So how's that for being WAY out there on "risks"
Anyway enjoy your tool and WASH those avocados (oh and try to avoid the ones from Mexico) because the doctors told me they carry the highest risk.
 
LMichaels no worries. It's hard to measure intent on a message board. The tool isn't for everyone but I think it would be a good addition for a lot of the people I've met on here.

At least I don't have to worry about avocados. I'm kind of a health nut and eat a lot of fruits and vegetables but that's one I don't care for. :)
 
Well the thing is the docs told me it's not just avocados it's almost any fruit/vegetable that we don't think about the outside of because we peel them. They said what happened most likely is I cut into a contaminated one. My hands and the knife blade brought the bacteria inside it and I ate it and consequently got sick. So they said anything like melons, what have you needs to be washed with soap and bleach prior to carving, peeling or use. Now (even though I cannot even look at an avocado any more) ask me if I take those precautions................................you got it. I don't usually do it.
 
I wonder if this device would lead to chipping the nickel plating on the standard weber kettle grates? Seems like it might.

The owner says no. He says because the surface of the tool is brass it won't damage grate surfaces. I can't substantiate that though. I did use it a couple of times on my smoky joe that I took on vacation with me a few months ago. It has those type of grates. It worked well and i didn't see any damage. That's only two uses through.
 
I just today tried one of the wooden paddle types my wife got me for Christmas from Costco. Did a good job and somehow burning the ridges into the paddle the first time is kind of fun! Seriously, seems to have done a good job. Used it twice today for two different cooks so it's broken in now. I'm curious how long it will last. They aren't terribly expensive so if I need to replace it every couple of years no problem, that is probably how frequently I go through brushes.
 

 

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