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May 30, 2023

Woman reveals why you should clean your grill with an onion instead of a wire brush

Tue, August 01, 2023 at 5:54:03 PM EDT As grilling season continues, TikToker Free Bee (@theofficial_freebee) has a tip to keep your grill clean and ready for all of those end-of-the-summer cookouts:

Tue, August 01, 2023 at 5:54:03 PM EDT

As grilling season continues, TikToker Free Bee (@theofficial_freebee) has a tip to keep your grill clean and ready for all of those end-of-the-summer cookouts: Use an onion, not a wire brush.

The influencer shared the grilling hack involving half a sliced onion as a grill grate cleaner. She recommended avoiding wire brushes on metal grill grates and, instead, cutting an onion in half and rubbing the raw side directly on heated grill grates to clean them.

#grillclean #onion

“It’s hot. Just be careful,” she warned in the TikTok.

Southern Living explains why using a sliced onion can be so effective for grill cleaning. They note that when the grill is heated, it activates the onion’s natural fluids to flow out, which can remove any charred bits and grease stuck to the grill grates.

Rubbing the onion on the grates also helps serve as a non-stick coating, so your food will cook without getting stuck. And as for the heat portion, there’s another hack you can use to avoid getting singed.

“Use [a] two-pronged fork to stick the onion and move it… that way your hand will be further away from the heat,” @docriversclone suggested.

Who else use a onion to clean the grill? 🧅 @donthebossc #grindface

For extra cleaning power, you can also spray white vinegar or lemon juice directly onto the grill grates before using the onion to loosen the debris even more, adds Southern Living.

And even better? After cleaning the grill, you can throw the onion right in the flames to add a little chargrilled onion flavor to your food. Or chop the cleaning layer off and cook up some delicious grilled onion to add to your meal.

Consumers Reports warns against using wire-bristled grill brushes to clean your grill. The organization notes that the bristles can break off, stick to the grill’s surface and then get lodged into food that you’re cooking, potentially posing a risk for anyone eating the food.

In fact, according to a 2021 article in the Journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, people have been seriously injured and required trips to the hospital for accidentally eating grill bristles. The journal noted that bristles have wound up in people’s digestive tracts, abdomens and even their necks.

Wires from a grill brush can send you to the ER❗️ #safetytips #summersafety #summersafetytips #disturbing #disturbingfacts #danger #creepyfacts

“My friend just got out of the hospital, was there for about 2 weeks due to what the dr. believed to be a wire from a grill brush bristle,” warned @smashleyw in the comment section.

“I saw a story of a child who accidentally ingested one of the bristles and it got stuck in her,” noted @marissajoymusic.

“I saw this warning years ago! I was nervous about it, then shortly after one stabbed deep into my gums, I pulled it out, my worst fear happened!” noted @peachie.cass.

“I had to have exploratory surgery to remove four grill bristles from my abdomen,” said @operetta617.

To avoid the risk of grill bristle injury, many TikTokers supported the onion grill cleaning method as a safe and effective solution.

“As a mexican, never had to fear about this problem. we only use onions lol,” said @day.swrldd.

If you’re allergic or not an onion fan, other suggestions include using half of a lemon, orange or potato in the same manner or lining the grill with aluminum foil.

Reply to @yagizfalanfilan which is better 🧅 or 🍋 #grillingtok #cleangrillz #oilshine #onioncut

Southern Living also explains that aluminum foil can act like “steel wool” and clean the grates.

“I just use a cumpled up ball off tinfoil,” said @fullmetalcraig.

But no matter what you use, @theofficial_freebee explained in the comments that the point of her TikTok was to warn people about the dangers of metal grill brushes and explore alternatives they could use — and people seemed to get the message.

“From one who had 1 of those cleaning wires stuck in the roof of my mouth. I appreciate this tip,” wrote @caroljean43.

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