The Hidden Risks of a Common Grilling Tool

Last Saturday, we fired up our new grill for the first time—naturally, burgers were on the menu. Along with the grill, we also bought a nylon-bristle grill brush to clean the grates. While our old wire brush could still technically get the job done, after hearing alarming stories about its dangers, we decided to toss it out.

The Hazards of Wire-Bristle Grill Brushes

Picture sinking your teeth into a perfectly grilled burger, only to suddenly feel sharp pain in your mouth or throat. Your first thought likely wouldn’t be, 'I just swallowed a piece of metal.' But unfortunately, doctors are seeing more and more cases where this very scenario happens.

The unsettling truth is that wire bristles can detach from the brush while scraping the grill. These thin metal bristles are often hard to spot if they blend in with the grill grates. This can lead to food being contaminated with a hidden metal bristle, which could end up lodged in someone's mouth, throat, or even their digestive system.

Dr. Tonia L. Farmer, known as @drnosebest on Instagram, has issued a warning to her followers about the risks of using wire-bristle grill brushes.

"Wire grill brushes are EXTREMELY DANGEROUS," she posted. In her Instagram reel, she explains why these brushes should be avoided, sharing the story of a patient who ate a grilled burger and later went to the ER, convinced something was lodged in her throat.

The ER doctor initially found nothing in the patient’s throat, and an X-ray didn’t show any signs of an obstruction. However, when Dr. Farmer was called in for a consult and learned the patient had eaten grilled food, she suspected a wire bristle might be the cause. Upon further examination, she discovered a "single wire embedded in the back of her tongue."

Ouch! That must’ve been painful!

The doctor successfully removed the wire in surgery, and the patient made a full recovery. However, her experience is just one of many similar cases involving wire bristles.

More Alarming Wire-Bristle Stories

In two separate episodes of the 2016 TV show 'Monsters Inside Me,' patients suffered severe complications from wire bristles. Both required surgery to remove the dangerous objects. One case involved a teenage boy who had a bristle lodged in his intestines, while the other involved a woman who experienced intense pain, nausea, and bleeding from a bristle stuck in her throat, piercing her tonsils with every movement.

In Dr. Farmer’s Instagram post, Dr. Inna A. Husain, an otolaryngologist, shared that she has removed wire bristles from patients' tonsils before. Other followers also shared stories of people they knew who had ingested these perilous metal bristles.

These incidents happen often enough to make us rethink how we clean our grills.

Safer Alternatives to Metal-Bristle Grill Brushes

At the conclusion of the video, Dr. Farmer recommends safer ways to clean your grill grates, such as rubbing a hot grill with half a lemon or onion (use tongs to avoid burning your hands). She also suggests using a crumpled ball of aluminum foil to scrub the grates.

Other safe alternatives for grill brushes include:

• Using a nylon-bristle grill brush
• Steam cleaning the grill grates
• Using a nylon scouring pad
• Using a stainless steel grate scraper
• Cleaning the grill grates with dish soap and water in the kitchen sink

Despite numerous reports of wire bristles ending up in food, stores continue to sell wire-bristle grill brushes. Just because these brushes are available for purchase doesn’t mean they are safe to use. If you have one, it might be time to toss it and switch to a safer cleaning method.