TYLER (KYTX) - Summer's in full swing, and that means the grills are out.
The CDC is warning people about a serious danger when it comes to the wire brush you use to clean that grill. The organization trying to help you avoid accidentally ingesting those brush bristles.
Grilling out is a summertime staple.
"I usually grill probably 2 times a week," Tylerite Graham Woldert says.
Lots of people, like Woldert don't realize something as harmless as a grill brush can be extremely dangerous.
The Center for Disease Control is seeing an increase in injuries from accidentally swallowing grill brush bristles.
"That does shock me because I know quite a few people who grill," Woldert says.
The CDC says it's extremely common for bristles to detach from wire brushes. Those sharp bristles could then end up on your food, and in your body. Injuries have ranged from scratched neck tissue, to punctured intestines.
The CDC suggests using a grill cleaner and a paper towel to wipe that grill down after using it, to make sure no bristles are left behind.
Another suggestion from the CDC is to make the switch to nylon scrubbers and/or "grill stones" that don't leave behind pieces.
Woldert says after hearing about serious injuries, he plans to be a lot more careful when grilling.
"That will make me take a closer look whenever I clean the grate and definitely wipe it down a second time afterwards, with something that doesn't have bristles," he says.
He's making sure a simple night at the grill doesn't turn into a summer disaster.
