Brush bristle lodged in man's pancreas


 
I quit using them. I really haven't found that adequate of a replacement. The nylon bristle works ok. I tried the Billy bar. It doesn't work at all on the heavy duty grates on my Genesis. I use the one that's basically an SOS pad on a stick which works ok.
 
"This is the first case that has ever been reported in the world and it's in Australia," said Dr Rafael Gaszynski, the general surgery trainee who made the finding.

I'm not saying they are safe to use, BUT, it seems like you have a better chance of being struck by lightning while a shark is biting you.
 
"This is the first case that has ever been reported in the world and it's in Australia,"

Perhaps he was referring to a pancreatic injury. Unless I'm reading fake news, I have read an article or two from what I believe to be credible sources citing injuries. Having said that, I do still use a wire brush. I wonder if simply being aware of the potential hazard and--thereby--giving a visual inspection of the grates could further reduce the risk. FWIW, I use this brush and clean while the grates are hot and exert little pressure. https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01AKQ98MO/tvwb-20
 
There are several cases in the news every year, I choose to not take any chances, YMMV.
http://www.livescience.com/54291-wire-grill-brushes-injuries.html

"In a new study, researchers attempted to estimate how many Americans are injured by ingesting wire bristles from grill brushes. These injuries can happen when bristles from the cleaning tools come lose, stick to the grill and then end up in food.The study found that between 2002 and 2014, nearly 1,700 Americans visited the emergency room for injuries related to ingesting grill-brush bristles. Among these cases, injuries to the mouth, throat and tonsils were the most common, but people also suffered injuries to the stomach or intestines. Most of the injuries occurred in June, July and August.

"Injury from wire-bristle grill brush is uncommon but prevalent during certain seasons," the researchers, from the University of Missouri, wrote in the April issue of the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery."
 
So, since this has reared its head again, has anyone used a pumice block like is used on flat tops? I know it would pretty eat itself up along the grate rails but, would it hold up for more than three or four uses?
 
...has anyone used a pumice block like is used on flat tops?
I have not personally, but I stayed at a resort in Hawaii with Weber Genesis grills, and the maintenance staff used pumice cleaning blocks on the stainless steel rod grates in those grills. The grates looked like new every day after cleaning.
 
I have been aware of this issue for the past year or so, but I seldom use a wire brush on my WSM. I soak the grills after a long smoke and clean them up with a steel scouring pad.

As for the kettle grill, I wait until the grill is smoking (with old grease from the last cook), and then I brush the reside off with the wire brush. Everything cleans up nicely except for the cross member in the center which tends to hold on to a little gunk. I guess if the plastic brush head got hot enough, it could dislodge a bristle or two.

I saw a guy on YouTube that uses an onion to clean his grill with...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHKncIRUIMs
 
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I regularly use a wire bristle brush to clean my grill grates after heating them (five minutes after I dump a chimney of lit). However, I then follow up with a folded paper towel soaked in oil using my tongs to thoroughly clean and oil my grates. Hopefully, this will be enough to catch any stray bristles.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
If we switch to pumice I wonder if there will be published a health warning as a result of injecting dust, or some other issue, lol.
 
Like I said in the other thread about this issue, I had no idea pieces where breaking off my wire brush until I went looking for the nut from my Performer's lid holder, in the ashes, with a magnet.
It picked up several small pieces of bristle.
 
Kids brought over a wood paddle type , looks like a small pizza/bread peel, you use it on a hot grill and the grill bars actually burn a depression in the wood, which allows it to scrape the tops and sides of the bars.
Works ok, not sure how long it will last. I usually get the grill hot after cooking and most of the gunk burns off , so only light scraping needed to knock the ash off.
 
Kids brought over a wood paddle type , looks like a small pizza/bread peel, you use it on a hot grill and the grill bars actually burn a depression in the wood, which allows it to scrape the tops and sides of the bars.
Works ok, not sure how long it will last. I usually get the grill hot after cooking and most of the gunk burns off , so only light scraping needed to knock the ash off.
I saw one of those the other day, makes a certain amount of sense I suppose. I might have to try one, they're not miserably costly. The pumice blocks are pretty cheap too, I don't know.
 
So, since this has reared its head again, has anyone used a pumice block like is used on flat tops? I know it would pretty eat itself up along the grate rails but, would it hold up for more than three or four uses?

I used one called a grill stone on my OTG and didn't like it. It had a red handle attached to the stone which made it look easy to use on the package but it wasn't.
This one came flat and you had to break it in by slowly and repeatedly rubbing it in the same direction until grooves formed that mirrored your grate rod spacing.
OK, sounds easy,but...
The only problem with that is on the round kettle grate you have a spanner or mid grate rod. Once you thought you had it the pumice would hit that mid rod and disintegrate.
They also gave you a rag cause you will need it with all the leftover dust and aggregate left on your grate.

Tim
 
Like I said in the other thread about this issue, I had no idea pieces where breaking off my wire brush until I went looking for the nut from my Performer's lid holder, in the ashes, with a magnet.
It picked up several small pieces of bristle.


That is eye opening for sure.

I guess I'll be replacing mine ASAP.
 
When I worked at Hardee's (back in the day) we used to drop the grills into a vat of cleaning fluid for an overnight soak. Can't remember how we scrubbed them though.
 
Kids brought over a wood paddle type , looks like a small pizza/bread peel, you use it on a hot grill and the grill bars actually burn a depression in the wood, which allows it to scrape the tops and sides of the bars.
Works ok, not sure how long it will last. I usually get the grill hot after cooking and most of the gunk burns off , so only light scraping needed to knock the ash off.
I just got one recently. It does a pretty good job.
 
Like I said in the other thread about this issue, I had no idea pieces where breaking off my wire brush until I went looking for the nut from my Performer's lid holder, in the ashes, with a magnet.
It picked up several small pieces of bristle.

Quoting you again - seeing those small pieces makes sense considering how even scouring pads will break down over time and deposit small fibers in the sink drain. I may continue to use wire brushes, but they will be changed every few months.
 

 

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