Ditch The Dangerous Grill Brush For This Safer, Cheaper DIY

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Everyone knows that certain foods just taste better on the grill, so when the weather warms up enough to dine al fresco, the covers come off, the charcoal comes out, and everyone gathers outside to enjoy smoky, char-grilled deliciousness. Of course, using your grill regularly means you also need to clean it regularly, typically after each use, and never with one of those wire grill brushes. Though these were the gold standard for a while, they've since been found to be dangerous because the bristles are prone to breaking, which can lead to bits of metal making their way into your food and causing serious health issues. Instead, one of the best ways to clean your grill is much safer, and the necessary supplies are probably in your kitchen right now: a fresh lemon and some ordinary table salt.

Once your grill is cool to the touch, cleaning it is as easy as slicing the lemon in half, dipping the cut side in some salt, and scrubbing your grill. Use it just like a Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scour Pad to get your grill sparklingly clean. This hack works so well because lemon juice is slightly acidic, which helps break down grease and grime. Meanwhile, salt is a soft abrasive that scours away light staining from sticky barbecue sauce and some surface scorching. Together, they're the perfect non-toxic cleaning duo to keep your grill shiny and ready to go all summer long.

For this cleaning method to work as well as possible, use it right after you finish cooking, while the grease from your favorite Louisiana-style andouille beef burgers and the drippings from any sauces and other meats are still fairly malleable. As mentioned, the grill should be cool to the touch, but not ice cold; a tiny bit of retained warmth keeps messes from hardening, making it much easier to scrub them away with this clever combination of citric acid and salt. If you let the mess sit and dry, it adheres more strongly to the grill grates and becomes much harder to scrub away.

Of course, no grilling season is complete without at least one incident of overcooked chicken or hot dogs burned beyond repair. This not only ruins your dinner, but also leaves greasy char all over your grates. In this case, start by scrubbing away what you can, and squeezing a little extra lemon juice on the grates to help loosen what's left. A heavy-duty grill brick made from pumice can help pick up the rest of the char; it's sturdier, with heftier scrubbing power than a soft, juicy lemon. If you don't have a lemon on hand, you can swap in an onion; these zesty root veggies are also a little acidic. Stick the cut onion on a grilling fork, dip it in salt just as you would the lemon, and scrub.