Product test

Oxo brush for the barbecue tested: the brush without bristles disappoints

12.7.2023

Translation: machine translated

Oxo has a barbecue brush that is designed to combat grime on the grill with a grid structure. The head of the brush is removable and washable and can even be put in the dishwasher. But what sounds good has its weaknesses.

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Where there's a barbecue, there's a brush. Before you put vegetables, cheese or meat on the grill, it should be clean. It doesn't have to be cleaned at the beginning and end of the season, as demonstrated here by colleague Oliver Fischer.

Product test
Scrub, brush, wipe, repeat – I spent two hours cleaning my barbecue
by Oliver Fischer

I use a barbecue brush to remove the coarse dirt from the cold barbecue. I brush off anything that is still stuck on after heating up and hasn't burnt off in a second round. In this way, the heat and mechanics should put an end to the dirt on the grill or grill plate.

When our buyer for fancy household appliances recently dropped by our editorial team, he had a sample of a barbecue brush with wire rings and a replaceable head with him. It's a monster: weighing over half a kilogram and more than half a metre long. A photo on the cardboard packaging shows hands like vices and a muscular forearm almost as thick as my thigh. Even though my physique lags behind the type of user envisaged by the manufacturer, I save the sample for a test report.

Grill cleaning utensil

CHF37.70

OXO Good Grips

51.30 cm

I have a fire bowl in the garden with a swivelling round stainless steel grate above it. There is a stainless steel ring on the fire bowl itself for searing meat, onion rings or courgette slices. I can use the brush side to work on the grate during testing. And use the metal scraper at the front to scrape off residues and burnt-on food from the flat steel plate.

Test site for the Oxo barbecue brush in my garden: fireball with grate and flat plate.
Source: Martin Jungfer

This is how I imagined it. In practice, the brush, which doesn't want to be a classic brush, disappoints me on the very first try. The stainless steel wires woven into a coarse mesh and my grate simply don't connect. I have to press quite hard to get the grate at least reasonably clean. At least now I know why the guy with the strong forearms is on the packaging. Maybe this Oxo brush is actually a piece of fitness equipment?

The spacing of the bars on my grill grate should actually be compatible with the two "valleys" on the head of the Oxo brush. They are about 20 millimetres apart. The bars on my grill are about the same distance apart. But somehow it still doesn't fit. The bars only get clean on the top, the brush can't reach anything hanging on the sides.

Looks like a good combination, but doesn't clean well in practice.
Source: Martin Jungfer

In addition to the metal grid, Oxo has given the brush a silicone pad. This is supposed to remove less stubborn dirt. But it hardly comes into contact with the dirt; the grid practically shields it. But the silicone still gets dirty. If I scrape dirt off the grate with the stainless steel, it settles on the silicone.

The brush head with wire mesh and silicone insert.
Source: Martin Jungfer

At eight centimetres wide and around ten centimetres long, the head is quite a beater. Good for - theoretically - cleaning large areas. I'm at a disadvantage here with my round grill grate. With a small, narrow brush, I could easily reach the edge. That's not possible with the Oxo part. The limits of geometry, so to speak. A round robot hoover can't get into the corners either.

The scraper on the front part of the brush is a pleasure to use. The width is an advantage here, especially because I have a lot of space to clean. The long handle means I can clean it effectively and quickly. Silicone inserts prevent me from slipping. The scraper has semi-circular notches on the sides. I can use them to scrape each bar of the grill grate. That works well.

Removable head - only a good idea in theory

And then there's the supposed killer feature of the wire ring brush: the detachable head. That was the main reason I wanted to test it. It sounds too good: if the brush is dirty, I can simply take it out and wash it off. The first part works. I release a clip that holds the head and can take the head out. It's no more difficult than opening a bottle of beer. But the second part, the washing up, is less successful. I can of course hold the wire ring silicone part under the running tap, as shown on the packaging. But nothing happens. Dirt from the grill cannot be easily removed in this way. So I have to rub my fingers over the wire rings, use washing-up liquid and a washing-up brush - until the thing is reasonably clean. But my hands and the washing-up brush are now black. Theoretically, you can also put the brush head in the dishwasher. However, you should be prepared for the possibility of sooty black spots remaining on your plates after the wash cycle.

The catch that holds the head in place is very easy to unlock.
Source: Martin Jungfer

In theory, I could repurchase the head of the Oxo brush once it's gone through. That would be very sustainable. But the brush head doesn't exist. Not in our shop, and not in the vastness of the internet either. The reason: Oxo believes so strongly in the success of the brush and the durability of the head that replacement heads will not be available until next year. If you really want a brush with a replaceable head and want it today, you'll find it quicker from other suppliers.

Grill cleaning utensil

−34%

CHF41.90 was CHF63.45

Outdoorchef Grill Brush

7.50 cm

Grill cleaning utensil

Broil King baron

44 cm

Grill cleaning utensil

Sunset BBQ Cleano

−34%

Grill cleaning utensil

CHF41.90 was CHF63.45

Outdoorchef Grill Brush

Grill cleaning utensil

Broil King baron

Grill cleaning utensil

Sunset BBQ Cleano

Conclusion

The grill brush without bristles fails my test. When cleaning the grill grate - the most important part for me - the Oxo part fails. The scraper is good for smooth surfaces, but others can do this at least as well. The detachable brush head is easy to remove, but still sits firmly on the brush. Oxo has definitely not skimped on the workmanship, everything makes a very sturdy impression. Nevertheless, I don't know if I would really take the head out and clean it very often. In short: the overall concept leaves me somewhat perplexed.

In future, I will continue to use barbecue brushes with metal bristles. The fact that a piece of bristle might break off and fall into the barbecue - no problem. Sorry, Oxo, this danger that you have in the product description is not enough for me to become a bristle-free barbecue brush user.

Cover photo: Martin Jungfer

9 people like this article

Martin Jungfer

Head of Content

Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.ch

Journalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.

Home + Kitchen

Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest

Garden

Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest

Product test

Our experts test products and their applications. Independently and neutrally.

Show all

These articles might also interest you

Product test
Scrub, brush, wipe, repeat – I spent two hours cleaning my barbecue
by Oliver Fischer
Product test
Flame in a jar: Gardenflare’s fire tube put to the test
by Martin Jungfer
Product test
No more baking paper? Xavax silicone mat review
by Martin Jud