If you cleaned your grill with an Expert Grill wire brush this summer, you may have added an unexpected ingredient to dinner. On October 1, 2026, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Walmart is recalling about 4.48 million Expert Grill metal wire bristle grill brushes because the little metal bristles can fall off, stick to the grill or cooked food, and be swallowed — an ingestion hazard that can cause serious internal injuries requiring surgery.
The recall covers five model numbers — EX5607031616002, EX5607031616003, XG1310700206, XG1136178597003, and XG1410700124 — with black plastic or stainless-steel handles, some with an attached metal scraper. They were sold at Walmart stores and online from January 2021 through August 2026, which means a lot of backyards have these things hanging by the grill right now.
The good news: as of the recall announcement, the CPSC had received zero reports of incidents or injuries. The bad news: "no incidents yet" is not a strategy. Swallowing a wire bristle can lead to perforations and intestinal blockages, which is a steep price for a clean grill grate.
Consumers should stop using the brushes immediately and contact Walmart for a full refund or credit — return the brush to a store, or discard it following Walmart's instructions. Walmart's toll-free line is 800-925-6278, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Central time.
Consider this your official permission to buy one of those bristle-free grill brushes the internet has been yelling about for years. Your burger deserves better than a side of wire.
Wire-bristle grill brushes have been flagged by doctors for years, with emergency rooms seeing everything from throat punctures to intestinal injuries caused by stray bristles baked into barbecue. The CPSC has repeatedly urged consumers to switch to bristle-free alternatives like coiled wire or nylon brushes. If this recall finally gets your brush into the trash, consider it a public service — for your own insides.