Actual, usable alternatives to wire brushes?

[fuzzydaddy]

I use a CharGon scraper first then follow up with a quality wire brush that I replace about 1-2 times a year. I have never seen a loose wire. Then I wipe off the grates with a ball of paper towels. Before the next cook I wipe the grates off again.

[fuzzydaddy]

You are welcome DWCowles. I learned about it from Meathead on this page https://amazingribs.com/ratings-revi...ing-your-grill

[DWCowles]

I need to go to the free site more often.

[fkrall]

I checked into the CharGone a while ago and thought they were discontinued. That does look like a viable option and clearly they're still around.

[fkrall]

One thing I think important but no one's mentioned: I clean my Performer's food grate (top and bottom) with hot water and a soap pad when it starts building up gunk, about every 3 wks or so. That helps the rolling-wire brush do a good job after every cook.

[fzxdoc]

My rolling wire brush (the type with the bristles bent into a coil) rusted after only about 6 months. Got another one, but it doesn't work that well for me. It sort of slides over the top of the crusted stuff. Maybe I'm not holding my mouth right. Hahaha.

Kathryn

[fkrall]

Noted, Kathryn; they aren't the most efficient of the options, but a little more elbow grease and regular Brillo cleaning does a decent job for me. Oh, I almost forgot--it's also important to hold your mouth right as well!

[fzxdoc]

I use wire brushes without concern, but maybe I do things a little different than others. Are you all cleaning at the start of the cook? I can see why the wire brush could be a risk then. But honestly, even if it weren't for the ingestion of bristles, I don't think I would want to use my wire brush and then immediately cook on the grate. I mean, I leave my brushes lying around outside so they accumulate dirt. And they build up some grease in the crevices, and that will turn rancid. Sure, the heat will kill germs and burn off the dirt, but why wipe a layer of dirt on the grates right before cooking? Anyway, I'm not trying to put down anybody's method if it works for you, I'm just not sure what others do or why. Maybe you keep your brushes clean.

For me, at the END of a cook while the grill is still hot, I usually scrub with a wet wire brush. The combination of abrasion and steam usually gets the crud right off. But if there's residual crud (or if I forget to clean them while hot), I just take the grate to the kitchen and wash it in the sink. In either case, before the next cook there is always either a wipe-down with a paper towel or a washing in the sink, or something. So I brush away without fear.

That's when I always clean the grates too, radshop . Then the next day, when everything is cool, I check for residual stuck-on gunk and soak them in water to clean. Then I pop the grates into my (clean) gasser and let them heat at 700-800°F for 20-30 minutes. At that point, I can just wipe any ash bits present with a paper towel.

I can't get my 24 inch WSCGC grate in the kitchen sink. I use lonnie mac 's method of letting it soak in a hot water heater drain pan and then scrubbing to get any residual gunk off.

Kathryn

[fuzzydaddy]

Yesterday I decided to do a good burn-out of my XL BGE with lump & briquettes mixed (extra stuff from partial bags I no longer use) so all my grates got a nice ~800 bake, except for my 26" kettle's grate which won't fit. That works awesome!