Not A Wire Brush: Use This Bathroom Staple To Clean Your Grill

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There's nothing like grilling up your favorite meats and veggies once the summer hits. The smell of the smoke and the excitement of preparing your home to host summer parties with BBQ sides and homemade sauces are all part of the fun. And then, of course, there's the inevitable thoroughly charred grate that you have to clean after you're done cooking, and sometimes even between adding new batches to the grill — all to keep foods from sticking or tasting like whatever was cooked before it. 

To say that keeping your grill clean is key to a smooth grilling experience would be an understatement. But cleaning your stainless steel or cast iron grill with the traditional wire brush can leave broken bristles in your food. A better solution to get rid of all of the gunk that's clinging to the grates for dear life may be to use a pumice stone (also known as a grill brick).

These brick-shaped stones look like the pumice stones often used for personal grooming. However, they're made to tackle a much tougher job: scouring away baked-on grease and soot from your grill grates. 

The pumice stone is fairly simple to use and can be found online starting as low as $6, such as this Better Grillin' Scrubbin' Stone on Amazon. You can also find it at most hardware stores and even some grocery stores, like this Grillstone cleaning brick, available at The Home Depot ($9.98). So before you consider replacing your grill because the grates are unrecognizable, it may be worth spending a few bucks to try out this handy tool instead.

So, how exactly do you put this grill brick to work? Well, first it's best to make sure you're cleaning your grill at the right time, which is actually after you're done grilling, while it's still warm. The reason is that it makes cleaning the grill easier by catching all the stuck-on food, grease, and carbon residue before they can cool and harden. To use the brick, spray the grates with an oil that has a high smoke point, such as refined avocado or canola oil, to help lift and loosen any rust.

Then place your scrubbing stone directly on top of the grates and work it back and forth vertically along the grate lines. After a few passes, you'll notice the abrasive stone starting to wear down, but the good news is that it'll lift all the scorched debris away with it.

It's best to follow up your cleaning session with seasoning the grill to keep rust at bay. For this, coat the grill with oil (the high smoke-point oil) before leaving the grill on high for 30 to 60 minutes. And that's it. Afterward, let the grill cool before using it again.

The biggest downside of this stone scrubber is the fact that it wears down fast with repeated use, but it's often sold in multi-packs for just a few dollars more, so replacing it shouldn't be a hassle. Note that this stone shouldn't be used on grills with porcelain-coated grates, as it may scratch their surface. But if you have an iron or stainless steel grill, this pumice stone seems to be a comparable alternative to the wire brush.