Kona 360° Clean Grill Brush Review

We purchased the Kona 360° Clean Grill Brush so our reviewer could put it to the test on her grills. Keep reading for our full product review.

I was more than happy to test the Kona 360° Clean Grill Brush on some dirty grills, including those with cast iron grates, stainless steel rods, and thin-coated steel grates. When the brush was sufficiently dirty, I took some time cleaning it to see how difficult that would be. And now, I know everything this brush can do. Read on to see what I discovered about this barbecue tool.

Design: Lots of tight, tough bristles

This brush looks like it’s ready for challenging work with three parallel brushes sitting snugly next to each other, forming a cleaning surface that can brush the top of the gas grill like a flat pad. It also fits in-between the grates easily for you to clean the sides of the rods efficiently.

The handle, made from hard plastic, was long enough to keep my hands away from the heat of the grill, and it felt comfortably squishy thanks to its hollow form. On top of the handle is a ribbed indent for your thumb with four similar indents on the bottom to hold the brush conveniently. If you find that the placement of the bottom molds don't fit your hand, it shouldn't stop you from holding the handle comfortably no matter how you grab it. At the end of the handle is a metal hanging loop, so you can keep it on a convenient hook or knob on the grill.

One thing this brush doesn’t have that’s often found on grill brushes is a scraper. Most of the time, I didn’t miss it while cleaning since the shape of the brush gave me plenty of ways to hold it to get at the grates. Also, a scraper can be harsh on coated cast iron grills, which isn’t an issue with this brush.

Like any grill brush with cut bristles, it’s possible that the bristles could come loose or break. After using the brush for a while, I pulled on some bristles and checked for broken strands, and everything was safe and tight. Still, it's wise for you to check the brush occasionally to make sure the bristles are tight and inspect the grill to make sure there are no loose bits left behind.

Material: Hard and strong

The bristles are made from stainless steel that won’t rust or corrode. This means they should last for you and your grill cleaning needs all season long. The bristles' metal composition handles the preheat of the grill during the cleaning process, showcasing the safety properties of the durable design.

The Kona 360° Clean Grill Brush's handle is a hard plastic that stays cool in use so that it won't melt over time nor heat up your hands during cleaning.

Performance: Cleans well, particularly with water

The three rows of twisted brushes are tough and sturdy, while they’re still a little flexible. Because of the design, there are several ways to hold the brush for different styles of grill cleaning. If you hold the brush parallel to the grill grates, the bristles do a good job cleaning the top and sides of the grates simultaneously, but it can take some effort to push the brush down to get between the grates efficiently. The shape of the handle made it a bit easier to push down while still keeping my hands far from the heat of the grill.

With the brush held at a slight angle to the grates, the brush was efficient at scraping the top of the grates, much like a flat pad. For instance, when I worked the brushes at a right angle to the grates and worked across them, the brush was more efficient and even managed to clean plated grates to remove smoke residue and get them shiny again.

Because the brush is dense, it did a good job holding onto water, so I could steam clean a reasonably large swath of grates without needing to dip into the water again. If you have a grill with cast iron grates that have additionally rusted a bit, add vinegar to the water, and with a bit of heat and scrubbing, you should be able to remove the rust without much trouble.

This brush was also good at removing thick smoke deposits from the inside of a kamodo grill lid, brushing away loose and flaky debris. One other use for this brush is oiling grill grates. Because the brush is dense, I could drizzle oil onto it and then brush the oil onto the grates. This practice was useful for seasoning the cast iron grates to prevent future rust and oiling stainless steel grates before adding food. If you have such grates on your grill, this technique could be very beneficial if you've had trouble. Because the bristles are stainless steel, they weren’t harmed by the inevitable flare-ups caused when excess oil dripped down, and because the handle was so long, my hands were farther from the flames.

Cleaning/Maintenance: A little effort

It’s a good idea to clean the brush occasionally—if not after every use. It’s certainly easier to clean it when it’s not filled with thick grease, sticky sauces, and embedded bits of food.

For regular gas grill cleaning, it might be sufficient for you to blast the brush with a garden hose, but for greasy and sticky debris, it’s better to soak it a bit in hot water with dish detergent or a degreasing food-safe soap. A soak does a good job loosening and removing much of the mess, and then it can be rinsed to remove the soap.

To remove embedded bits of food stuck deep in the bristles, you could rub another brush against this one, whether it’s another grill brush or a kitchen brush. The more often the brush is cleaned, the easier it will be for you to clean it in the future since food and grease won’t get endlessly pushed deeper into the bristles after each use.

Price: Reasonable for its season-lasting lifespan

More expensive than cheap brushes you might find at a grocery store, at a usual retail price of around $19.95, the Kona 360 is still a reasonably-priced brush considering how durable it is. It should last at least through a season of serious grilling—or several seasons of more casual use if you only grill every now and again.

Kona 360° Clean Grill Brush vs. GRILLART Grill Brush and Scraper

These two brushes are very similar when looking at the brush heads, but the handles are different. On the handle of the GRILLART Grill Brush and Scraper is a scraper. While a scraper sounds like a great idea, it can limit the angles the brush can be used at due to getting in the way sometimes based on how it was placed during the design. Not to mention, it can be rough on coated grates.

The Kona 360° Clean Grill Brush handle doesn't have such a scraper, but a spatula can be used if food needs to be chiseled off the grates.