... Are they? I've never had issues cleaning them at all.

Just throw it into dishwasher. I won't dull the blades too much

Just buy a new one each time no need to clean then

You just scrub in the opposite direction....

Now some of the other grating faces on some models that stick straight out are more of a challenge.

Let it soak for 20 mins

Eh, really not bad if you hit it immediately.

I've never had issues cleaning them. They aren't super easy to clean but I came up with a method that works well for me.

Put it in a pot, add dishsoap, then pour boiling water in it and let it soak for a bit. Seems a bit weird and extreme but it gets majority of the cheese off of it. There's also a technique involving lemon and salt to clean them. Oh and if one has a dishwasher that works very well too, but I know many people don't have them (I practically don't, since the one here doesn't work).

Let it soak for 20 mins