Reuse Paint Rollers
When working on a home improvement project, costs can add up quickly. One easy way to save money is to reuse paint rollers, rather than use new ones each time you paint. While the roller clean up may be a bit messy, it's a cost-savings process that pays off and helps the environment, too. Use these steps to help you to recycle and reuse paint rollers.
Steps
- Roll the excess paint from your roller onto a disposable surface. As you finish up for the day or complete your project, use up as much paint on your roller as possible. The less paint on your roller, the easier the clean-up process will be. Roll excess paint from your roller onto newspapers, cardboard or any other disposable surface.
- Remove paint from roller. Latex paint and oil-based paints require different methods of cleaning the rollers.
- Wash latex paint from your roller with soapy water. Submerge the paint roller in a bucket of soapy water, swirl the roller around and squeeze excess paint from the roller with your hand. Empty the water, refill the bucket and repeat the process until the roller water rinses nearly clear.
- Clean oil-based paint from rollers with paint thinner. Wearing gloves to protect your hands, pour paint thinner into a clean paint tray, and roll the roller in the paint thinner several times. When mostly clean, submerge the roller in a bucket of warm, soapy water to clean it for reuse.
- Hang the roller to dry. Cut off the side of an ordinary clothes hanger. Attach the roller to the bottom part of the hanger to dry. Drying the roller this way helps to save the nap, which keeps it fluffy for the next time you wish to use the roller. A roller with smashed nap may paint unevenly.
- Store the dried roller in a sealable plastic bag. Insert the roller into a large, food storage bag and seal it. If you don't have a food storage bag large enough to fit the roller, use a plastic grocery sack and tie it closed. By sealing or tying the bag closed, you keep the roller clean and dust-free for future use.
Tips
- Freeze the roller if you need to use it the next day. Roll off as much paint as you can, and place the roller in a plastic grocery sack or plastic bag, and tighten with a rubber band. Place the roller in the freezer. Take it out 30 minutes before you plan to paint with it the next day. This only works when you plan to reuse the roller with the same paint color.
- If you have a couple of empty plastic water bottles around, just cut off the spout ends just past the tapered area. Roll excess paint out of the roller. Slide the first bottle over the roller sleeve. Then pull the roller off the roller handle by squeezing the bottle for grip on the roller sleeve. Simply slide the second bottle over the other end of the roller sleeve with a twisting motion so that the two bottles overlap, pushing until both ends of the sleeve hit the end of the bottles, thus forming a reasonable seal. This will keep the roller sleeve useable for a few days or more. For extended time, wrap masking tape around the joint area. You may keep a roller sleeve useable for a week or more, with most types of paint. This saves time, and cleaning solvents, not to mention you are recycling water bottles in a unique way.
- Note: If using "bushy" or very coarse sleeves, roll out enough paint prior, to reduce its diameter enough to allow the bottle to slide over it easily, and without a mess.
Things You'll Need
- Bucket
- Soap
- Warm water
- Clothes hanger
- Paint thinner
- Plastic bag or grocery sack
- Gloves
- two plastic water bottles for the method numbered 1 .
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