How do I clean paint brushes and rollers properly?

A decent brush lasts a decade if cleaned properly and one job if not. Paint that dries at the base of the bristles splays them permanently, and that is almost always where inadequate cleaning leaves it.

Safety

What you'll need

• Warm water and washing-up liquid
• White spirit for oil-based paint (optional)
• Brush comb or old fork (optional)

Step by step

1. Scrape out as much paint as possible before washing.Draw the brush across the tin rim, then across newspaper. Less paint to wash out means a better result and less waste.
2. For water-based paint, rinse in warm — not hot — water.Hot water can loosen the adhesive holding the bristles in the ferrule. Warm with washing-up liquid is right.
3. Work the base of the bristles with your fingers.This is where paint hides and where brushes are ruined. Squeeze and flex right at the ferrule until the water runs clear.
4. For oil-based paint, clean in white spirit first.Work it in a container, then a second clean container. Follow with warm soapy water to remove the spirit residue.
5. Reuse solvent rather than discarding it.Let it stand in a sealed jar; the paint settles and the clear spirit can be poured off and used again.
6. Spin or shake the brush dry and reshape the bristles.Reshape by hand, then hang it or lay it flat. Standing a brush on its bristles bends them permanently.
7. Wrap clean dry brushes in paper or their original keeper.It holds the shape while storing. A brush stored loose in a drawer splays.
8. For breaks between coats, wrap tightly in cling film or a bag instead of washing.Airtight, a loaded brush or roller keeps overnight or longer in the fridge. It saves cleaning twice and is far better for the brush.

Tips

• Rollers are harder to clean than brushes and cheap sleeves are often not worth the water. Good sleeves are, and a curved scraper removes most of the paint first.
• Never leave brushes standing in water or solvent. The bristles bend and the ferrule loosens.
• A brush comb costs very little and gets paint out of the base far better than fingers alone.

Common mistakes

• Only rinsing the tips — Paint at the base of the bristles dries hard and splays the brush permanently. That is what ruins brushes.
• Standing brushes bristle-down to dry — The bristles bend and set that way, and the brush never cuts a clean line again.
• Pouring solvent down the drain — It contaminates water and is illegal in many places. Settle it, reuse it, and take the residue to a waste site.

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