What's the best way to clean a cheese grater?

You really need a high powered stream of water...a spray nozzle or something...really close the the holes and then you can wipe away the debris.

are you cleaning in the direction of the grater? that is very important.

Let the grater soak in warm sudsy water for about 15 minutes before you try washing it.

clean in the direction of the grater with the soft part of the sponge (not the scrubby part). clean the inside first, then the outside.

mine goes in the dishwasher. never had a problem.

You mean, sponge ruiner!

Let it soak (or clean it right away before the cheese hardens)

The trick is also that on the front side you clean the opposite way that you grate cheese.
on the other side you clean it the way that you grate the cheese. (the opposite way as the front side)

@lauratherockstar: "and now i have little bits of sponge, that would melt easily over tortilla chips." nice shout out...

The worst is the type for small grating that doesn't have a direction. Laura's got it right though - there are two kitchen utensils that need to be washed immediately if you ever want to use my kitchen again. The other is the garlic press.

Plug the sink drain, fill with hot water with soap, put the grater with cheese facing down the sink, let sit overnight and in the morning pop it in the dishwasher. Less hassle and less work. In the past, I've put it directly in the dishwasher before and half of the time would have a bit of cheese stuck on a glass etc.

dishwasher

you could also try using a toothbrush

Assuming your cleaning it just after using it, you should be able to wipe off most of the cheese with little effort. If it’s been hanging around for a while, you will need to leave it to soak.

also, one of those little plastic scrub brush thingies is what I use on the tiny holes. Again, right away.

soap and water?