By Marilyn Ong
Marilyn Ong is an editor covering kitchen gear. She has taste-tested more than 350 items, from hot pot bases to hard seltzers.
I always get caught in this cycle: Grill some burgers. Munch munch munch. Chase the kids with a bottle of sunscreen. Pick up some water-balloon bits. Clear up the dinner dishes. Fall into bed.
A few days later, ready to fire up some salmon, I lift my grill lid only to discover cold, greasy charred bits still clinging to the grates. Yum?
Cleaning those grill grates after every cookout (or before my next one) is one of those annoying tasks that can kill our relaxed summer vibes. But keeping those grates clean ensures smoother cooking and cleaner flavors, so there’s no getting around it.
Enter the Grill Rescue Grill Brush.
Although our resident grill expert, senior staff writer Lesley Stockton, was initially a skeptic (and so was I), this tool has since made our list of the best grill tools and accessories. Gone are the days when I open the grill to a greased memory of last week’s dinner.
We think you should pair this with a wire brush or wooden scraper that can tackle stuck-on carbon. But for clearing away all the soot and grease, I kid you not, this dunkable brush makes cleaning my grill grates not just easy but also fun.
Our pick
This pad brush, made with the same fabric found in firefighters’ gear, can be plunged in water and wiped over a hot grill, creating steam as you clean. And the heads are replaceable.
It creates steam (and sparks joy)
This brush’s brilliance lies in its spongy head paired with a durable shell. It soaks up a good amount of water, so when it’s wiped over a hot grill, it billows with steam and clears away the soot and debris left behind by wire brushes faster and more effectively than anything else we’ve tested.
That steam, with its no-nonsense efficiency, is sat-is-fy-ing. I am not joking when I say I will almost race to clean the grill now because that sweet, sweet steam—plus the sheer joy of watching my grates get squeaky clean in under a minute—makes me feel alive. (Yes, I’m in my 40s, how did you know?)
It’s easier on hands than using tongs and a wet cloth
When we saw this brush advertised, one of our first thoughts was, “Can’t you do the same thing with a wet rag?” Well, yes … and no. To create steam, your grill needs to be hot, which means you don’t want to hold that wet cloth with your bare hands. Many solve this by using tongs (I definitely have). But tongs require a constant grip, so you’re squeezing and wiping at the same time—an action that my hands, currently recovering from a cubital tunnel flare-up, don’t love.
The Grill Rescue brush’s smooth red plastic handle is a significant upgrade from a pair of tongs. It’s 13 inches long, so you can keep your distance from the scalding steam. And the handle’s sturdiness and downward-curved angle allow you to comfortably bear down on the grates with your body weight, to get at any stubborn spots.
Its impressive, firefighter-worthy durability justifies the price
This grill brush isn’t cheap (it currently costs around $30 to $40—plus $20 for a replacement head). But after using it regularly, alongside other cleaning tools, we’re convinced this thing is unique and durable enough to warrant the cost.
The removable head is made from aramid fiber—the same heat-resistant, extra-strong material used in firefighting gear—so it’s designed to stand up to all that steam and friction. Although the synthetic fabric blackens irreversibly with the first wipe, after a year of regular use (we roast veggies and proteins on our grill throughout the winter), it was still doing great.
That is, until we tested it directly on stubborn stuck-on carbon deposits, which then tore the year-old fabric. To maximize your brush head’s life, we highly recommend going over your grates with a wire brush or wooden scraper first.
Since the head is removable, you can throw it in the dishwasher without running the plastic handle through. And when it does eventually peter out, you can order replacement heads.
I’m also confident in the polypropylene handle’s sturdiness as I scrub and steam. In fact, it even appears that the handle can withstand the stress of being run over by a car (video), according to a tester on YouTube. (They ran over the version that has a built-in metal scraper, and that scraper seemed to wedge a piece of plastic off, but the handle held!) This gives me hope that the brush could survive even if my kids got hold of it.
But you’ll still need other brushes
Grill Rescue touts this brush as a one-and-done tool. If you don’t let the gunk on your grill build up too much, steam-swiping your grates with this brush may be all that’s needed.
In our experience, however, you’ll still want a more-aggressive brush for tackling carbon deposits. By not expecting this fabric brush to be your first line of defense against crusty char, you will help prolong its life.
Grill Rescue does make a version of the brush with a built-in metal scraper, and though it’s impressively sturdy, it has a flat surface, so it won’t be able to tackle all of the char if your grates aren’t perfectly flat (spoiler alert: many aren’t). We say stick with the basic Grill Rescure brush head, and pair it with a more-versatile wire brush or a wooden scraper that slowly conforms to your grill grates. You’ll have a knockout grate-cleaning team that can handle just about everything.
This article was edited by Katie Okamoto and Catherine Kast.
Meet your guide
Marilyn Ong is a supervising editor for Wirecutter’s kitchen team, covering everything from ice cream makers and Instant Pots to toasters and trash cans. Prior to this, she was an arts and then restaurants editor in Beijing, and she also took time away from blinking cursors to be a caretaker for her three young kids. Cooking for her family gave her a healthy obsession with finding the best affordable tools for the kitchen—but when she’s cooking for herself, all she needs is instant ramen and an egg.