Metal grill brushes have long been a staple of grill cleaning. Their stiff and long lasting bristles were preferred by many for getting off tough food build-up.
More recently though people have become aware of potential hazards with them due to ingestion risks. Horror stories have been posted on social media from ER doctors and grillers about bristles dislodging, clinging to food, and then being eaten.
In some instances that has resulted in a trip to the ER to have them hopefully surgically removed. That’s not an experience anyone wants.
We saw a recall of more than 3.2 million Weber metal wire brushes for this reason last month. Another voluntary recall for metal brushes has just been issued by Nexgrill.
This one covers over 10.2 million metal wire bristle grill brushes sold at The Home Depot stores and online from 2015 to 2026. Nexgrill has a page setup with more information on the impacted brushes.
The CPSC states that Nexgrill is aware of at least 68 complaints and reviews where metal bristles have dislodged. Of those complaints there have been 5 reports of consumers seeking medical attention to remove the bristles from their digestive tract or throat.
Owners of impacted grill brushes should stop using them immediately. Nexgrill is offering a refund in the form of a gift card between $5 to $15 depending on the model.
While metal grill brushes have been around forever, there are many great non-metal options now. There are other natural stiff bristled brushes that are safer or other styles of grill brushes that work well too.