The One Mistake That Will Ruin Your Cheese Grater

If you own a cheese grater, you're likely using and cleaning it incorrectly. For instance, most of us are inclined to only use one side of the contraption, but actually, each side of your grater does something unique. Similarly, for a while in 2021, TikTok was divided on the correct way to use a cheese grater, questioning its use in both vertical and horizontal positions. Don't worry, though: Both ways work just fine.

Other common cheese grater mistakes have to do with effectiveness, both while you're using it and then while you're cleaning it. When you use a cheese grater, you probably find that it clogs up with cheese really quickly, which is then a pain to clean. However, Taste of Home notes that if you first spray your grater with olive oil, the cheese will no longer stick. Talk about a grate hack!

Perhaps the biggest mistake of all occurs when you attempt to clean your cheese grater. It might seem tempting to just toss it in the dishwasher, but this will only spell disaster.

Believe it or not, putting your cheese grater in the dishwasher is bad for both items. According to The Spruce, cheese graters and other sharp kitchen tools can damage the waterproof coating on your dishwasher racks. Once that coating is broken, your dishwasher racks will start to rust. No one wants that.

Furthermore, the holes in your cheese grater are much too small for a dishwasher to properly clean. Instead, you should hand wash your cheese grater, but not with a sponge. Instead, you should clean your cheese grater with a lemon.

Because lemons are acidic, their juice cuts through that cheesy buildup, easy peasy, lemon squeezy. All you have to do is scrub your grater down with a lemon wedge, let the juice sit, and then rinse the grater with hot water. Say goodbye to the days spent trying to clean your cheese grater and destroying countless sponges in the process!