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Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

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Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#181

Post by dsfyu404ed »

Robotbeat wrote: post #154

It's infuriating that articles about a problem like this don't spend just one single sentence on possible alternatives, even though the surgeons are begging. Fire the editor. Alternatives I've seen in this thread are a ball of wadded up aluminum foil, a wooden scraper, abrasive pads, and stiff plastic bristles (EDIT: and an onion). This proves once again that the HN comments section is often better than the article i…

>This proves once again that the HN comments section is often better than the article itself.

The article put the bar on the floor. HN picked it up an inch.

Everyone here is suggesting different things to scrub with that will leave less offensive debris behind. Few are suggesting washing away that debris. You should be able to clean your grill with pretty much whatever you want as long as you wash it properly afterward.

Edit: It appears someone did suggest washing.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#182

Post by MertsA »

CodeWriter23 wrote: post #138
lr4444lr wrote: post #27

Steel wool is safer, no doubt, but this shouldn't really be anything more than a freak occurrence if you clean a grill properly. The wire brush is just the first step to remove the coarse stuff. Soap, water, and some kind of fine abrasive pad or scrubbing cleaner should remove these barbs. I guess at some restaurants, they're more concerned about speed and don't take the care...

Pretty sure steel wool will have the same issue as the steel brush.

Steel wool is generally much much finer and more ductile than the bristles on a stiff steel brush. Steel wool is just a thousandth of an inch across so it's totally fine to consume a few fibers so long as it's not the extra course stuff. Even then it wouldn't be as bad as a bristle off a steel brush.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#183

Post by emaginniss »

davidsawyer wrote: post #95
snissn wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes they should bake and throw away two waffles to be extra sure that they get all of the bristles

"Just another put another if statement in there, you know, just in case." -Anonymous

Test is failing... increase timeout

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#184

Post by davvolun »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #155
emodendroket wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about you, but after grilling I usually have hanging chunks of fat on the grill. Not exactly appetizing if that's been around for months.

I think that part of the disparity is in frequency of use: if you cook on a daily (restaurant) or even weekly (enthusiast) schedule, you won't have problems. If you only grill on major holidays, you won't be able to just use it without cleaning. Also, a grooved scraper with the right spacing for your grate does a great job of removing large chunks. You don't need to polish it to bare metal, just remove that excess. S…

Incidentally, the occasional griller is also the exact person who would most likely be least aware of the danger with a wire brush... sort of a perfect storm situation

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#186

Post by davvolun »

hueving wrote: post #41
maxerickson wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"No way" short of sensible government regulation. Too bad regulation is bad for business or we could all enjoy our food without fear of wire bristles.

Banning bristles is unnecessary as long as they are used correctly, which is only before further cleaning.

As long as they are used correctly, which apparently they are not.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#187

Post by dsfyu404ed »

wyattpeak wrote: post #52
lr4444lr wrote: post #27

Steel wool is safer, no doubt, but this shouldn't really be anything more than a freak occurrence if you clean a grill properly. The wire brush is just the first step to remove the coarse stuff. Soap, water, and some kind of fine abrasive pad or scrubbing cleaner should remove these barbs. I guess at some restaurants, they're more concerned about speed and don't take the care...

I'd say products that are only safe if used properly are unsafe products. Being safe is a perfectly good strategy for an individual, but it's asking for trouble on a societal level.

>I'd say products that are only safe if used properly

That's literally every product ever.

I challenge you to come up with an example of something that's readily available to the general public that cannot reliably cause harm or death if used in a sufficiently ignorant way.

People intentionally eat Tide Pods. Should we ban all cleaning products that an average person is capable of injecting a lethal amount of?

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#188

Post by wongarsu »

neolefty wrote: post #108
wyattpeak wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say products that are only safe if used properly are unsafe products. Being safe is a perfectly good strategy for an individual, but it's asking for trouble on a societal level.

Is there a trade-off between safety and usefulness? Chainsaws, C compilers, C-4 ... Certain industries would be crippled without these tools. Safety training helps.

C4 is a much safer alternative to TNT, and TNT was used widely to replace the much unsafer Nitroglycerin.

The question shouldn't be "is this safe", but rather "does a much safer alternative exist that works almost as good or even better"

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#189

Post by jcoffland »

overcast wrote: post #143

I switched to using a wooden scraper a couple years ago, when I first read this report. Works great! https://www.amazon.com/Great-Scrape-Woody-Paddle-Natural/dp/...

The best thing about these wooden scrapers is that they also make a great paddle to beat your unruly children with.

Re: Surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes (2016)

#190

Post by Trav5 »

marklabedz wrote: post #176
overcast wrote: post #143

I switched to using a wooden scraper a couple years ago, when I first read this report. Works great! https://www.amazon.com/Great-Scrape-Woody-Paddle-Natural/dp/...

You can also get a 1x6 piece of oak (or other hardwood) from your favorite lumber yard or home improvement center. I grabbed an offcut of red oak for about $2 a year ago. Thirty seconds with a jigsaw to form a handle.

I was thinking about doing the same after I saw the parent. But just because you and I can does not mean everyone can.
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