The last time I was in the emergency room the nearest other patient had partially swallowed a needle. I can still hear the attempt to get it out...
So nope, never going to get close to one of these brushes. Good tip.
Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
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Re: Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
#12"Kevin Gallant, of Summerside, P.E.I., had part of his small intestine removed after he swallowed a bristle from a barbecue brush. "I was very ill, probably as close to death as you want to be," he said from his home in Summerside, P.E.I. "The barbecue brush bristle had started to move, so it was trying to come through the wall of my small intestine. So I was told I was very fortunate that they found it, because it w…
Crazy, but also explains why they are so hard to get rid of.
Re: Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
#13From AmazingRibs.com (http://amazingribs.com/BBQ_buyers_guide/grill_grate_cleaning...)
"Be careful with bristle brushes, especially cheap brass bristle brushes. Bristles fall out. Every year there are scores of sad news stories about people eating meals with bristles hiding on them. The bristle gets stuck in their throats or digestive systems, and repairs can get pretty ugly. Every so often someone dies."
I bought this from his recommendation, and it has been good so far: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045UBBO0/tag=amazingribs-... Weber 18-Inch Bamboo Grill Brush. Still the easiest, and most effective way to remove grease. Heat the grates and then brush. Simple. There are a variety of brushes like this with rustproof brass bristles but the Weber is my favorite because it is well built. Some have flat scrapers on the end as well as the brush. I like this model because the C shaped scraper on the end.
Re: Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
#14I just threw mine away.
Great tip from the article: use crumpled up aluminum foil to clean the grates, instead.
Re: Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
#15Time to throw my grill brush away. It always hurt when I accidently touched it anyhow. Steel wool is probably safer and better anyhow.
My grill cleaning method has always been to put a layer of tinfoil on the grill, shiny side down. Ten minutes or so of direct heat and the grill is clean, just like a self-cleaning oven. If there's any ash left, a quick pass with a wet paper towel takes care of it.
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Re: Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
#16How is it legal to sell these things then? Why are they still on shelves? It's dangerous at its intended purpose, making it worse-than-useless.
Re: Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
#17Do commercial restaurant grills use the same?
I've seen most places use steel wool instead. The fibres do still find their way into food, unfortunately. But the fibres are often much softer and far less dangerous.
Re: Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
#18It's amusing that CBC headline writers felt the need to use the adjective "Canadian" here.
Re: Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
#19Couldn't they have some sort of instrument with a metal detector attached to find things like that?
Re: Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
#20Do commercial restaurant grills use the same?
Pretty much, yes. Harvey's has grills in every restaurant and they scrub their grill using such a tool.
Then again the grill elements are removed and washed rather than simply scrubbed.