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Last Updated: , Created: Tuesday, September 14th, 1999

Cleaning up the painting tools.

OK, you have finished painting. Do you throw the brushes and rollers away? Or do you clean them.

Of course if you bought really cheap ones, you could just thrown them away. However, not only are you being rather wasteful from an ecological point of view, you probably had a real hard time painting with the cheap tools. And if you had the pleasure of painting with good tools, you will want to clean them and keep them around for years to come.

So, how do you clean good rollers and brushes?

What you don't do is clean either solvent based or water based paints right in the sink. Running all those solvents into the drainage system is really a bad idea for your septic tank, or the city's sewage system. Running diluted water based paint is not so bad, but still not very bio-degradable and it could cause clogging.

So start by wiping or scraping or painting off as much excess paint as you can wipe off the brush or roller.

Now, of all the tools and gadgets for cleaning up after painting, my favourite is the spinner. You can put paint rollers on it, or paint brushes into its grips, then hold it down inside a garbage can and spin off all the excess paint, then clean it and then spin off all the cleaner. All the stuff goes into the garbage bag, not down the sink. If you have tried one and it broke apart on you because the plastic casing couldn't handle the abuse (usually of you pulling back too far), then let me tell you, it is worth the investment in a quality metal roller and brush spinner.


Keywords: Finishes, Gadgets, Brushes, Cleaning, Handles, Environmental, Paint, Tools

Article 138