My husband happily serves as our resident grill master. I’m grateful for not only all the delicious food he dishes up, but also that he often takes care of grill cleanup duties. But now that we’ve recently added a Blackstone griddle to our Weber grill setup, I’ll be gladly pitching in with outdoor cleanup. 

I won’t lie: I’m skittish around outdoor gas cooktops, especially with cleanup. Unlike letting a kitchen stovetop cool before you wipe it down, it’s actually easier to clean a grill when it’s still hot. So when I saw the rave reviews about the safe and easy-to-use Grill Rescue Brush, I knew I had to try it.

The Grill Rescue Brush is more than just a simple grill brush. It features a thick but soft cleaning head made of aramid fiber, which is the same fabric used in firefighter gear, so it’s not only durable but also heat-resistant. The cleaning sponge attaches to a long, sturdy red handle that’s lightweight but powerful. In fact, it’s “so strong you can run it over with your truck and it still won’t snap,” according to the website.

This nifty gadget was created by a firefighter not to prevent grill fires, but to protect people from grill brush injuries sustained by ingesting wire bristles that had fallen off during cleaning and ended up in grilled food. This is not an overreaction. Between 2002 and 2014, approximately 1,700 ER visits in the United States were reported due to ingested grill brush bristles. I once grabbed a grill brush by the bristles and found that to be painful enough, which made me even more excited to try Grill Rescue. 

I usually reserve my fangirling for indoor cleaning gadgets, but the Grill Rescue Brush is deserving of all the praise. To start, it’s incredibly simple to use. Here’s how it works:

I was a bit worried about the steam, so I was very glad that the brush has such a long handle to keep your hand at a safe distance. It was very satisfying to scrub the food residue off and watch the steam help release any greasy residue. The steam dissipates rather quickly, so you do have to work a bit fast. (You can also reheat and turn off the grill if needed.)

My husband normally uses a traditional grill brush or a ball of aluminum foil attached to the end of a long barbecue fork to clean the grill. But, after using the Grill Rescue, he was thoroughly impressed with how easy and effective it was. “Looks better than it did before I started grilling,” he said. 

I’m excited to try the Grill Rescue Brush on our new griddle, which needs a nonabrasive method to keep it clean. The reviews from other Blackstone griddle owners are stellar, although the commonly suggested tip is to carefully scrape off as much grease as possible before using Grill Rescue, as the cleaner head can be a chore to clean off later if not done properly.

As expected, the cleaning head looked a little worse for wear after I finished with the grill. But it’s super easy to clean. Just pinch one of the levers on either side of the head to pop it off, then scrub it by hand or put it in the dishwasher. I’m all for doing things the easy way, so into the dishwasher it went. It wasn’t sopping wet when it came out, but I did leave it on the kitchen windowsill to dry in the sun for next time. 

The website says the cleaning head typically lasts between 25 and 100 uses, though maintenance and storage play a big role in longevity. The company reports that some customers have used it more than 600 times before replacing it, so I feel confident that Grill Rescue will come to the rescue with barbecue cleanup for a very long time.