Dusting off your grill to make burgers, hot dogs and other backyard BBQ staples? Make sure to give it a good cleaning first. You might be underestimating how gross your grill is, even after months without use: We’re talking 1.7 million bacteria microbes per square centimeter on an average grill, according to a 2013 study. That’s why you’ll want a tool like this scraper brush at the ready.

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Eco-cleaning professional and Hudstone Home founder Elizabeth Davis previously told HuffPost that food and grease buildup on a grill can cause foodborne illness because it attracts bacteria, including Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria. While that’s reason enough in our eyes to be cleaning your grill regularly, there are also other factors to think about: Old debris like dirt and crumbs can be a fire hazard, and going too long without cleaning can cause rusting, damaging your — no doubt expensive — appliance.

When it comes to the best product for cleaning your grill, we trust the experts. Meathead Goldwyn, founder of AmazingRibs.com, a BBQ Hall of Famer and the author of “Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling,” told HuffPost that his favorite tool for cleaning his grill is this scraper brush by Grill Rescue.

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Grill Rescue was founded by Anthony Tranchida and Scott Mobley. Mobley has years of experience as a firefighter, and also cooked at the firehouse, inspiring him to make this scraper brush.

The brush is notable for a few reasons. First, it’s bristle-free, so you don’t have to worry about bristles breaking off, and can safely use the brush on gas, charcoal, porcelain and other surfaces. It instead has a layer of aramid fiber, which is used in firefighter gear and can withstand heat up to 600 degrees.

There’s a metal scraper on the head to get at bigger gunk, but the pad also uses steam, aided by the grill’s heat, for effective cleaning. “To use the Grill Rescue grate cleaner, I dip it in a bucket of water for a few seconds, and then I wipe it across hot grates,” Goldwyn wrote on his website. “The water boils and steams off the grease. The pad gets black quickly but it you can wash it by hand or in the dishwasher and it works like new for many, many uses. When worn out, you can replace the pad.”

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You can buy the pad replacement either with or without the scraper.

Reviewers are similarly impressed with the convenience and effectiveness of the brush. One proclaimed, “This is the best product I have ever used to clean [my] grill,” while multiple others vouch that the brush works as advertised. The safety aspect of being able to clean without wire bristles was also a hit among reviewers.

“Holy Moly, worth every penny we paid,” yet another reviewer gushed. “This thing cleans like nobody’s business.”

Keep those nasty bacteria off of your grill with this steam-cleaning, firefighter- and grillmaster-approved tool by clicking the link below, or keep scrolling to read more glowing reviews from happy grill owners.

“I purchased two of these (one for my mother-n-law and one for myself) and it has made cleaning the grill so much easier. Also safer. My mother-n-law has a flat top grill that they use the most and was always outside scraping and using a sponge to clean her grill. I heard of this tool a while back and decided it was time to make a purchase and make my mother-n-laws life a whole lot easier. The first day we used it at her house was on 4th of July. So we cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, corn, and a few other stuff. Well, cheese on the hamburgers melted on the grill so by night time... everything was cooked on. We took out this tool and went to work. Two minutes later... the grill was clean and no issues.Last weekend, I got to try it out on my Weber. I always had a hard time cleaning the sides of the grates. I took a bowl of water, turned on the grill, and with 3 passes... It lifted all the grease and bits and pieces that were cooked on. This thing is awesome and now I ask myself why I hesitated buying it a long time ago.” —Ivan Infante

“I was skeptical... I saw it on FB after all.But, i also wasn’t loving my existing regular wire brush. The buildup never really seemed to actually get clean.

I used this the first couple times without leaving myself enough time to adequately clean, and even then I noticed a difference. When I finally planned ahead enough to let the grill get nice and hot, and spend some time cleaning, it was such an improvement! The gunk was gone! I need to turn the grates over and do the other side, but I finally feel like I got the grill clean!!!” —Erika

“Throw away every other grill cleaner you have and GET THIS ONE NOW! It’s a must have. So easy to use and very effective. Doesn’t leave any little metal pieces all over the place like all the other ones. Where has this been all my grilling life?? I’ll never use anything else!” —CLB

“No more wasting propane to keep the burners on in order to burn off gunk on the grill or scraping with the wire brush. Clean-up is easy now.” —p bauman

Get it from Amazon for $49.95.

Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.