A good paint project in the winter brightens up your home and makes everything fresh and clean. However, when you are finished with the fun stuff, you still must clean up your brushes, rollers, and paint-filled rinse water. Many people just pour all residue down the drain. This action can cause environmental issues and plumbing problems. For any paint left over, check with your local disposal methods for proper disposal of paint.

Like calcium lime etc. Also it is safer for a painter to wash their brushes out in a sink than outside with a hose. The paint goes down in the earth and when you wash inside it goes down a drain. Some good elbow grease with baking soda or special cleaner should do the trick. In 90% of the jobs I do I wrap my brushes and take them back to my shop sink to clean. If the HO has a really grody slop sink in their garage or shop, and they have said it's okay, I will wash out some brushes, but even then it's likely the majority of them will get cleaned at my place.

Cleaning Paint Brushes

• Make sure your paintbrush has all excess paint removed by scraping it against the inside rim of the paint can and work the remaining paint into a newspaper.
• Read the paint can and use the solvent suggested for cleaning. Latex paint can usually be cleaned with soap and water. Oil-based paints require stronger solvents.
• Immerse the brush in the appropriate solvent. Work the paint free of the bristles of the brush.
• When you believe the brush to be free of the paint, dip it into a pail of clean water to rinse.
• Wrap the paintbrush in heavy paper to help retain its shape.

Disposing of the Dirty Paint Water

When cleaning up from your winter painting project, here are the steps to clean and properly dispose of paint-filled water.

1. Set the bucket of dirty paint rinse water to the side. A warm, dry climate works best.
2. You can wait for the water to evaporate and the paint solids to settle on the bottom of the bucket. When the water evaporates, peel out the dried paint residue and dispose of the hardened paint in a trash bag with your other trash.
3. Or, if you don’t want to wait for the water to evaporate, you can set the rinse water bucket to the side and allow the paint solids to settle on the bottom of the bucket. Then carefully tip the clear water at the top of the bucket onto a flat, grassy area that is away from sewer and storm drains, other waterways and wells. Then allow the liquids to dry to solid form and dispose of them in your trash bag.

Paint solids from dirty paint rinse water over time will clog up your plumbing, damaging drains and piping. Making sure to dispose of your dirty paint water properly will save you time and money.

Pouring dirty paint rinse water down your drains can cause build-up and plumbing issues.Already dumped your dirty paint water down the drain? Call the plumbing professionals at Estes Services. We will help you with any plumbing maintenance or crisis.

You can clean latex paint from brushes using a kitchen or bathroom sink but to wash rollers, you'll need a utility sink. The splatter that comes from a thorough cleaning of rollers will be too messy for the kitchen or bathroom. Check the bottom of this page for videos demonstrating how to efficiently clean paint brushes and rollers.

Washing a Latex Paint Brush

Cleaning Paint Brushes In Kitchen Sink

Wash a brush by first scraping it on the side of the paint can to remove all the excess paint. In a sink, use a small plastic pail or food container to collect a couple of cups of warm water. Bounce the brush bristles against the bottom of the pail several times until the water is saturated with paint and then dump it out. Rinse the pail and collect a couple more cups of warm water. Bounce the brush several times in the fresh water and then dump it.

How To Clean Hardened Paint Brushes

Cleaning Paint Brushes In Kitchen Sink

Repeat this process until the water remains clear when bouncing the brush. Shake all the water from brush bristles by spinning the handle back and forth between your palms or hitting the handle against the upturned toe of your shoe several times to throw the excess water off. Stand the brush with the bristles pointing up in the pail until it dries. When you're ready to paint again, flex the bristles back and forth in your hand a few times to soften them.