I’ve been doing a bit of interior painting lately, and wondering if any of you had advice/info/opinions on how best to clean the roller covers.
It seems impossible to get all of the paint out of them. I basically rinse everything under warm water. The tray, roller, and brushes clean up great, but no matter how long I rinse the cover, some paint remains. Holding it under the stream, working from one end to the other, it seems the water never runs entirely clear. And as I stand them on end to dry, they leave a circle of residue.
I’m able to get them clean enough that they are okay to re-use, but I was just wondering if anyone had any tips.
Also, how many uses ought one expect to get from a roller cover? I know they aren’t that expensive, but no reason to spend more than necessary.
Just my 2 cents from painting houses to pay for college, I’d run them under the sink(using dish detergent), like you’ve indicated, then take them outside and spin them on the roller. This seemed to really get them clean, but not 100%. Stand them up on a paper towel and they were usually good to go the next day. I prefer using 1/2" to 3/4" nap rollers, 'cuz they could really roll out a smooth wall and obviously could be used on rough surfaces. I’ve had a decent roller cover with good paint and good cleaning last easily for seven or eight uses, cleanings. YMMV.
I used to paint for a living and you can buy a roller cover “spinner”. Essentially it’s a device that fits into the tube of the roller and you place the thing in an empty five gallon bucket and you proceed to operate the spinner as it throws water/paint out. It’ll clean out the roller pretty good and dries it at the same time.
Be sure that prior to doing this that you rise out as much paint as possible under running water. I always use that hand tool that looks like a scraper but has a circular cut out on one side to scrape out as much paint as possible. After that…go to the spinner.
Yeesh. Yes, as grienspace mentioned, if you eat latex paint it will give you one heck of a tummyache. And, if you make a steady diet of it, you can cancel the subscription to the opera. But just in case you didn’t plan to eat any of it, the above suggestions – rinse as well as you can, then spin the heck out of the thing – will work just fine. Just one suggestion – since the paint doesn’t actually dry in the conventional sense, but actually cures in the chemical sense, I’ve found that taking the wet (mostly rinsed) roller cover and wrapping it in plastic wrap to keep the air out will extend the service life almost indefinitely. Rinse as best you can, spin out the excess water, wrap it in Saran wrap, or whatever, while still wet, and the next morning you’re good to go.
What was getting me is that I’d find myself putting in up to 10 minutes to clean a $3-4 roller cover. At some point, you start wondering if it is worth it, or if it would be better to just get the cheapest covers available in bulk, and toss them after each use.
And grienspace, I wasn’t thinking of dumping excess paint down the drain - just cleaning my supplies. Or would you prefer that I simply buy disposable plastic to toss in a landfill.
This is my cousin’s advice. I’ve tried it and it works well.
For multiple-day painting project using the same paint, put the roller cover (unrinsed) in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer. Next day, defrost the roller cover and resume painting. When you are done with the project, or with that color paint, throw the roller cover away.
The best way is the spinner. You can also get the spinning done outside on the lawn with a garden hose. Latex paint is basically water, mica, and some colorent, so no harm to the lawn. If it’s too cold outside, use a bath tub.
But, SPIN, SPIN, SPIN. No other method works as well.
For oil priming, or anything with oil, if it has to be rolled, use a roller cage and cover that you won’t miss. Then, throw the whole thing away. Same with epoxies.
I paint and remodel for a living, btw. This is the way everyone of us down here do it. Your local laws may vary concerning waste disposal.
If you’re really worried about envirohazard of any paint, latex or not, use a 5 gal bucket and a screen instead of a paint pan. Keep roller submerged in the paint overnight with plastic or a wet rag covering the bucket. When all done, save the paint in other pails that can be securely closed, and dispose of all the other trash in compliance with local laws.
And you wonder why painters seem to charge so much…