Here's Why You Should Never Use a Wire-Bristle Grill Brush (It Can Land You in the Hospital)

When we talk about grill safety, the focus is often on fire hazards, cross contamination, and safe cooking temperatures. However, one other aspect of grill safety has been making waves recently on social media after word has gotten out about the life-threatening risks. 

Metal-bristle grill brushes are widely-available—and frequently used—for the important step of cleaning a grill. Although those bristles might make quick work out of the dirty job, they can quickly become extremely dangerous, according to doctors who have treated folks affected by this often-overlooked malady.

Why Wire-Bristle Grill Brushes Are So Dangerous

Wire-bristle grill brushes are durable, heat-resistant, and quite abrasive, making them extremely efficient at clean grill grates, says University of Missouri in Columbia professor C.W. David Chang, MD, FACS. But this might come at a very high cost: safety.

“Bristles can easily dislodge from the handle and shed onto the grill,” Dr. Chang explains. “There, the bristles can stick to food. If the bristle is ingested with the grilled food, it can lead to serious injury from being impaled somewhere along the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to intestine.” 

Imagine swallowing a fine sewing needle, Dr. Chang suggests. That’s akin to the pain—and potential damage done by—a metal grill brush bristle. Most reported injuries are in the mouth or tongue, while food is being chewed, he says. But there are “certainly cases where the bristle moves further down the GI tract and becomes lodged,” he says. 

Imagine swallowing a fine sewing needle. If your throat, tonsils, esophagus, stomach, or intestines are impaled by the bristle, your gastrointestinal contents can leak out, potentially leading to an infection in the neck, chest, or abdomen.

“An intestinal perforation can be a life-threatening condition that can lead to death. Plus, it can be very difficult to find embedded wire bristles. It's literally like swallowing and trying to find a needle in a haystack,” according to ear, nose, and throat surgeon Tonia L. Farmer, MD.

In 2023, pediatric emergency medicine physician Meghan Martin, MD, posted a now-viral TikTok video about a 4-year-old boy who came to her complaining of ear pain. After days of testing, they found out the earache was due to an abscess, caused by an infection triggered by a bristle that got lodged in a hamburger the boy had eaten earlier in the week. Dr. Martin tells us she decided to speak out about this case because “metal wire grill brushes have been used for grill cleaning for a long time, but we now have plenty of evidence of the risks, including small metal wires being ingested or lodged in the mouth, throat or GI tract. We also have some really great, reasonably-priced alternatives.”

A few months later, Dr. Farmer also spoke out on Instagram after treating a young woman who was struggling with the feeling that something was stuck in her throat. “The ER doctor couldn’t see anything when she opened her mouth,” Dr. Farmer explains in the caption. “The patient was sent for an X-ray, and again, they appeared clear. She was going to be sent home, but the patient insisted there was something ‘off.’”

Dr. Farmer was called in to offer her specialist perspective, and when the patient admitted that she didn’t know how the grill was cleaned, Dr. Farmer immediately had a sneaking suspicion about the underlying cause. After inspecting the patient’s airway with a scope, Dr. Farmer found—and extracted—a single piece of wire embedded in the back of the woman’s tongue.

“Wire bristle grill brushes have received some attention because of high-profile cases involving significant patient injury,” Dr. Chang tells BHG. 

While these cases may be rare—the American College of Surgeons estimates that wire bristle ingestion results in 130 ER visits per year—they do create a splash. Dr. Chang believes this is true because of the degree of medical harm caused, the heroics (often, surgery) needed to manage the issue, and how easy this is to avoid.

It’s also understandably disconcerting to imagine that you or a loved one could fall victim to a fallen-off bristle after eating food grilled by someone else, say, at a neighborhood summer cookout.

Why Aren’t Wire Grill Brushes Banned?

With the potential risks being so high, you might be wondering why wire grill brushes are still being sold. We were, too, so we asked Dr. Chang to clean up any confusion: “To date, no prohibition or regulatory ban on wire-bristled grill brushes has been enacted; only voluntary compliance is encouraged. As of now, the United States does not have federal regulations specifically governing the manufacturing or quality of wire-bristle grill brushes.”

That said, in 2022, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urged manufacturers to team up with ASTM International (formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials) to develop a voluntary safety standard for grill brushes. These are still under review, but the proposed standards include:

• Durability testing to prevent bristle loss
• Labeling and instructions for safe use and disposal
• Visual warnings about risks associated with ingesting loose bristles

Alternatives to Wire-Bristle Grill Brushes

After learning about the potential perils associated with these brushes, we were feeling ready to refresh our grill tools. Dr. Farmer confirms that this is a wise idea: “I don’t see any benefit to using a wire brush cleaner because there are so many other safer and more effective alternatives.” 

According to our panel of doctors, the best safe grill cleaners include:

• Balled-up aluminum foil
• A grill stone or pumice brush
• A wood or bamboo grill cleaner
• A wire mesh brush
• A nylon grill brush
• A steam cleaner with a wet cloth
• A grill grate cleaner spray

If you do choose to use a wire-bristle grill brush, inspect it before and after each use to ensure that no bristles are loose or damaged Dr. Chang recommends. Then every time you brush the grill, wipe down the grates with a damp cloth after to remove any bristles that may have dislodged and adhered to the surface.

The Bottom Line

Wire-bristle grill brushes are effective and budget-friendly, but they can also be hazardous if the bristles fall off—and into your hot dog, hamburger, or grilled chicken. Admittedly, it’s rare for people to be affected by this ailment, but why risk it?

“I brought this concern to my husband many years ago, and he was admittedly somewhat dismissive. As an ER doctor, I try to ban things at home pretty regularly from what I see at work,” recalls Dr. Martin. “A few months later, he removed the grill grate with his hand to clean it, and was impaled by dozens of small metal wire fragments. At that point, he threw away the grill brush and we bought one that didn't have metal wires. I would recommend people not wait until they suffer the consequences. This is a small change to avoid a big ER bill…” or worse.

Swallowing a stray wire unknowingly can lead to serious complications. There’s no way of knowing how common this is, because every incident doesn’t lead to a news story or case report. Dr. Farmer says, “I’m sure it happens more often than we think, though.”

One of the most important preventions is awareness, all three doctors agree. At your own grill, you can take matters into your own hands and use a tool you trust. When you attend a cookout where someone else is wearing the apron and holding the tongs, Dr. Farmer tells us, “the most important question to ask the host is, ‘how do you clean your grill?’” It might seem like a probing question, but inquiring in advance is much better than being poked by an errant bristle.