How to clean paint rollers

Nothing gives a better sense of accomplishment when you do the house painting yourself. Apply your favorite color on your walls and on your ceiling and give your home a stylish finish. Give it a shade of white, a tint of green, and an accent of brown, and, just like that, you have transformed your simple home into a lavish one. You can be proud of your accomplishment. It is such a great way to give your home that cozy vibe.

It just doesn’t end there. You need to clean and remove the paints on your paint roller. How to clean paint rollers is the biggest challenge that you need to huddle after your long session of beautification. We don’t want to advise you to just throw off your paint rollers, clean them for another round of painting in the future. Let us find ways on how to clean paint rollers and enjoy another round of beautification.

How to clean paint rollers?

Cleaning a paint roller requires you to have a set of tools to scrape off effectively excess paint so it won’t get sticky and hard on your roller. You would need the following household items that can make your job easy. Removing the paint is an enjoyable task since it doesn’t require specialized training or some weird technical stuff. Anyone could do it, you can even ask the children to help you out with it.

You will need the following tools for cleaning a roller.

• 5-in-1 tool – it looks like an odd-looking can opener of some sort. But it is actually very useful for this task.
• Putty knife – You’ll need it for scraping and removing excess paint on the roller
• Buket
• Firm bristle brush, paint brush comb and plastic bristle brush
• Rubber gloves and,
• Safety glasses

Aside from those tools, you would also need some materials to in removing and washing the paint from the roller. You can find these materials in your home. Here are the things that you will be going to need.

• Dish detergent
• Disposable plastic bottles
• Mineral spirit or thinner
• Newspaper and rags
• Warm water

STEP 1 – Getting the excess paint that is stuck on your roller

Rollers are like sponges. It absorbs paint and holds it there. Start cleaning by getting all the excess paint absorbed by the roller. When you don’t remove the excess paint, you’ll end buying buckets after buckets because the excess paint would dissolve with a new set of paint in the new bucket. Remove or scrape the excess paint using the curve edge of the 5-in-1 tool or with your putty knife. Be sure to do it lightly because scrubbing the roller with too much force may destroy it. Scraping it hard may end you up with dried bits of paint that fall off the roller and into the bucket.

STEP 2 – Removing or scraping off more coating

Getting more excess paint off the roller before washing would save you more time and make your job easier. Roll it on an unpainted surface of your wall or you may use the newspapers until you see no more paint drops from the roller.

STEP 3 – Washing the frame

This is now the fun part. You need to wear your gloves for this part. Remove the cover that is attached to the roller and set it aside. Clean off the roller frame while the paint is still wet. Waiting for paint to dry will make your job harder. Glossy paints are more challenging and are harder to remove.

Removing latex paints

Remove latex paints by washing the roller in a bucket of warm water with a drop of dish soap. Scrub the frame using a firm bristle brush that fits in the cage. A long-handled brush would be preferable in using removing stubborn patches. Discard the water and let it dry.

Removing oil paints

Oil paints would require you to use a rag applied with a liberal amount of mineral spirits or thinner. Please wear your glasses in case a few chemicals would splash into your eyes.

STEP 4 – Cleaning the roller cover

The roller cover that was used for latex paint would have to be rolled over n bucket of warm water with drops of detergent. Gently scrub off the paint using your hands. Use a bucket with a new set of clean water in rinsing the cover. Remove the excess water by shaking it out of the cover and let it stand on its end for it to dry.

An oil paint-dipped roller cover would have to let you use a container fill with thinner or mineral spirit. Submerge the roller cover until the paint dissolves away from it. You may soak it for 5 minutes or more and you need to roll it off and place it again on the container until there is no more paint that is removed after you have rolled it.

Pour the solvent onto disposable bottles. Wipe the container with a rag or paper towel and rinse the cover with some clean solvent. Remove the cover, letting the excess thinner or spirit drip into the container. Let it dry in a well-ventilated area. Put the used thinner on the bottle and wash the cover in warm water with drops of dish detergent, let it dry.

STEP 5 – Cleaning the tray

Get the excess paint and drain it back into the can. If you are using latex paint, let the paint dry completely and when it dries, peel it off. You can scrape any dried paint that clings on the tray using your 5-in-1 tool or with a putty knife. But if the tray needs to be used right away, wash it with warm, soapy water.

Wipe the tray with a rag or paper towel if we used it for oil paint. Add some thinner to the basin and brush the spirit around the tray until the paint is loose. If there is still excess paint, you can scrape it using a putty knife. You can put the thinner into the bottle to be used for another time. When all the scraped paint. Wash it with warm soapy water let it dry.

Cleaning paint rollers is easy when you have everything you need. We would like to recommend you something to help you start your painting task. We hope you will enjoy your DIY painting job and we are happy that you have taken steps in transforming your home into a beautiful one. Good luck and always come and visit us for more tips on how to make your daily DIY task easy.