How To Clean A Paint Roller

How to clean a paint roller:

You have just completed your new paint job and that feeling of excitement and relief washes over you until you look down and see your roller, full of paint. Before you throw away your quality roller, we have some quick and easy paint roller cleaning and care tips for you.

How to clean a paint roller that has been used with water-based paint:

1. Wash your roller in warm water and soap.
2. If you do not have a paint cleaning tool then use a putty knife to help scrape off that stubborn paint.
3. Do not forget to rinse, rinse and rinse again until all the soap and paint has been washed away.
4. Squeeze out all the excess water and dry. Please ensure when drying the roller that it is not placed on a flat surface but rather hang it up through a dowel stick or wire to keep a uniform surface on the roller.

How to clean a paint roller that has been used with oil-based paints:

1. Always read your product label, you can find the most helpful information right on your tin of paint. A few solvents that are most popular would be paint thinner, mineral spirits and denatured alcohol.
2. Pour the solvent into a container big enough to hold your roller, proceed to submerge the roller completely in the solvent and lift it out.
3. After repeatedly dipping your roller, you will need to change the solvent when it becomes too saturated with paint. Do this until your roller is clean.
4. Shake your roller dry, taking care not to get any in your eyes, then hang up to dry as per the water-based procedure.

To ensure your roller is well taken care of for multiple uses you should trim any dried tips of paint on the roller. Do not hack away pieces of the roller but rather gently trim so that the surface of the roller remains smooth for paint application. Before using your stored roller run a lint roller over the surface to remove any dust.

Alternatively, you can also use a paint roller keeper system to store your paint rollers until you need to use them again. With the storage system, there is no need for cleaning which means you save time and paint!

We hope these tips will help you in saving your rollers, and some money, for your next painting project.

Happy painting.