Anyone- help me throw the dishdog a bone

[ogreplate]

The establishment where I work has banned steel wool. The dishwashers are understandably disgruntled. Does anyone know of a good alternative to steel wool that actually works, but doesn't shed like steel wool or stainless steel scrubbies? Thanks.

[Ma Facon]

What was the reason for banning ? Was a piece found in the food ?

[Cheech]

The hotel that I used to work in did not allow steel wool either, but our distributor had a heavy-duty scrub pad that worked just as well.

[Jeebus]

There are still places that allow steel wool? The stuff is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

[Jock]

They banned the stuff from where I work about 2 or 3 yers ago. I remeber getting the e-mail from corporate and the next friday I got some pizza from a very fine Italian restaurant near my house (a mid to high end place - not your average pizza joint) and lo and behold, a piece of steel wool in it. A HA! So that's why they banned the stuff!!!

Jock

[ogreplate]

The rumor I heard was that, yes a lady found a piece of steel wool in her soup and is plannning a law suit- but that is only the rumor mill- officially the corporate guys are saying that they are concerned that a piece could get in someone's food, so they are taking preventive measures. Who knows.

[Jolly Roger]

Those stailess steele scrubbies work great. Steel whool is horible for institutional use. It's the tank person's job to inspect thier own work. If they f'up then they should be held responsible...of course considering that they were trained properly on how to do their job. I don't expect expo to whipe my plates and I wouldn't expect someone else to check for bad dish work if I were running the tank.

[ogreplate]

Jolly Roger, I agree with you whole heartedly. If everyone does their job their should be no problem. I also agree that although a royal pain in the posterior the ban is for the best. Your suggestion of stainless scrubbies is good, but for the same reasons it also is a banned item. We have good dishwashers who work hard- I hate to see their job any worse. The dishpit was where I started and many out their can say the same. The dishpit is no fun. Those guys have my full respect for the often thankless unglamorous job they do. I'm hoping to find a product that will help. Thanks for your post.

[even stephen]

there is a blue scrubby out there that is extremely course
and works well, although not as well as the stainless scrubby.
the big problem is that the rivits in the saute pans loosen and
threads of stainless steal gets caught in them. They eventually
end up in the food. I keep extra grill bricks on hand for my stewards.
what they cannot get off with the blue scrubby they can with the
brick. also make sure and use blue bandaids. if you loose a flesh
colored one they are harder to spot. I have seen some dishwashers
bring their own stainless scrubbies to work on thier own. beware!
if you do use them they will end up in the food.

[skilletlicker]

Once again it's up to me to prove there really is such thing as a stupid question.

Jeebus:
The stuff is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

ogreplate:
A lady claims to have found a piece of steel wool in her soup and is planning a law suit.

What is the specific harm posed by steel wool on which to base a lawsuit? I'm sure the experience would be unpleasant but, even if it wasn't spit out, wouldn't the problem be otherwise harmlessly eliminated? If the professionals see an unacceptable risk I'd prefer to avoid avoid it at home.

I keep scrubber sheets from the hardware store in my toolbox that occasionally get used in the kitchen. This stuff is like what's glued onto the back of scrubber sponges but much more abrasive.

[Nicko]

Quite frankly who is to say that person just didn't put the steel wool there to get a free meal? I have never in all my career as a cook/chef heard of this happening and really don't see how it is possibly.

[Ma Facon]

I have never heard of anyone getting a piece of a steel scrubby in there food in all my years.

[panini]

skilletlicker,
I'm going to have to agree with you on your question. Are you really wondering how, if and why someone would sue?

"What is the specific harm posed by steel wool on which to base a lawsuit? I'm sure the experience would be unpleasant but, even if it wasn't spit out, wouldn't the problem be otherwise harmlessly eliminated?"

My gosh, this happens hundreds of times a day in our industry. The public understands that any legal proceedings cost so much, it's almost a given they will settle before the third communication. They basically hit a small scratch-off lottery ticket if you have good insurance and they have a quasi case. You won't believe the checks cut to get rid of these claims. Although the wool claim sounds a little weak to me, is your insurance going to take the risk of an xray showing up to court with this little bright line in her body. Ouch! you can start adding zeros.
One of my drivers had his foot slip off the brake peddle in the van, reaching for something. He rolled a little and tapped the bumper in the car ahead of him. They settled with the husband to polish his bumper since there was no visible. His wife claimed a back injury, they sent a letter a couple of weeks ago to inform me that she was done with her rehabilitation and they have settled the case. She received Med yadda yadda and received cash in the amount of what my Pastry Chefs makes annually. In fact I might have just breached the settlement by talking about it.
C'mon guys,

[skilletlicker]

panini,

Thank you for saying:

I'm going to have to agree with you on your question.

I'm honored to be validated by the agreement of someone with your wisdom and experience. Of course, to be clear, the part of my post you agreed with was:

...there really is such thing as a stupid question

[panini]

Hey,
If the finger cot fits