Like most Canadian families, our family loves a great BBQ. However, when we heard of the dangers of traditional steel brush grill cleaners, we were horrified. In short, the issue with traditional bristle grill cleaners is that the bristles can come apart and get stuck on the food with potentially dire consequences. It almost turned us away from grilling all together but love for BBQ was too strong so we decided to find a solution.
We knew we could find a better way to clean a grill. We started working on a prototype right away, and after many failed attempts we almost gave up. But then on a trip to Denmark, we were inspired by the minimalist but functional woodwork that surrounded us. We came up with a design that was easy to use, looked great and best of all it customized itself to any grill, resulting in a perfectly cleaned surface free from any metal shavings.
We started giving away finished prototypes to friends and family in order to test the design out in the real world. We began producing them in our garage using up-cycled wood but we quickly realized we needed to find a manufacturer to help us or we wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand.
We managed to find a local manufacturer that used their own sustainable forest. They were very knowledgeable and understood the technical properties of wood species which helped us to improve our design even more. It was a match made in heaven.
“BBQ Scraper” was born. As it turns out we was just in time, as incidents of bristle injuries started rising drastically, thanks in part to the influx of cheaply manufactured grill brushes.
People were getting bristles stuck in their teeth, gums, tongues, throats and stomachs. The stories where horrific, and as a result the CDC to start tracking it as a public health hazard. A bulletin was released recommending that steel bristled brushes not be used in the preparation of food products. Awareness is spreading and every year we are reminded of the dangers that steel bristle grill brushes pose to us and our loved ones. Now, the BBQ Scraper provides us with a safe alternative.