How to Clean the Cheese Grater

One of the toughest kitchen gadgets to clean is the cheese grater. We wind up slicing our sponge to pieces when we attempt to clean one of our frequently used gadgets. The idea for me to do more research on this topic came from my online discussion about listing favorite gadgets and discussions on blogcatalog.com gave me the idea since we all seem to agree that we have issues cleaning this gadget without eating our sponges. Originally posted by blogcatalog username: Frosty 78: http://uncompromisedairways.blogspot.com/ and the idea then came from blogcatalog user: libdrone- http://libdrone.info/ and the discussion came from this long string of comments...take a look: http://www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/quick-name-your-favorite-kitchen-gadget -

Anyways, I have been busy asking around for tips and advice on how to accomplish this without wasting away the sponge. I was unable to answer it myself because, I too slice up my sponges. So This is what I came up with, please comment if you have any other ideas... our sponges thank you!

• Grate a potato or apple after you are done grating your cheese. Hopefully you have these on the menu as well, but this helps remove the cheese in the holes.
• Another crazy idea I heard was to put the cheese grater in the freezer and the frozen cheese bits will be easier to "crack" off. Kind of like how the Terminator eliminated his opponent. I think this one is just too much! If it works, then it works... I am actually gonna give this one a try.
• Spray the grater with non-stick before using- This will make the cleaning easier... my guess is because of the non-stick. wow, so many uses for that super spray!
• Soak the grater in hot water to soften the cheese. Now I am thinking, we have to use quite a large pot of hot water to get this thing fully soaked. I guess I have to plan accordingly and soak the grater along with the pots that needs to be "decrusted" by soaking.
• Clean from the inside first then the outside- Maybe I will combine this suggestion with soaking in soapy water.
• Use the dishwasher or high powered water stream: hmm, I am not too sure about this one, but it was suggested!
• Wash it immediately after you use it!
• I got many responses to use a toothbrush. Then again, won't the toothbrush be ruined too?
• Buy a new one with each use: Unless you are Donald Trump, I don't know if this is economical. I think I will opt for eating away at my sponges rather than this choice. I call this the turn the underwear inside out concept. Nope not a good idea.
• Don't eat cheese anymore: Wow! Problem solved, thanks, I guess I will stop using the toilet as well so I won't have to keep cleaning that as well.

From the responses I received, I would have to say, cleaning the grater right away and or right after each use, soak in hot soapy water and use non-stick spray before each use. If anyone else wants to put in their 2 cents, please help with this and leave a comment. Thanks.