^^^^^^^^^ THIS.

I tried them all, it's so simple and works great. It's reasonable cost / build quality as well. I think it's ~$20.00 on Amazon and it's not flimsy and the wood is quality with decent heft. The leather tie it came with failed quickly, but the tool itself will last forever. I've had mine for over a year and a half now. I'm not affiliated in any way other than wishing I would have thought of it years ago.

I won't eat anything off anyone's grill who uses any wire brushes anymore, there's no reason to risk it.

Also, the way I deal with flare ups is to restrict the oxygen availability by covering the grill.

I do this on occasions but worry about aluminium contamination on food bearing surfaces. For me it's not a regular thing but if I were bbq-ing regularly then I'd want to research it properly.

Eg https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/165315-overview

Two reasons not to... You'll end up with particles sticking to residue on the grates - steel wool breaks apart a lot. And because steel wool rusts. Combined with stainless steel you're not doing yourself any favors. If you've ever scrubbed a white wall on a tire with steel wool you'd never use it on a cooking surface like a grate. Maybe cleaning a pan you can wash out, but. I don't know many people who wash grill grates with any level of frequency.

Ok, so I do wipe it with an onion or some wood piece after heating it up. Would never dream of using a metal bristle brush...