How to clean a roller contaminated with water-soluble paint if the waste water is not allowed in the sink?

Question

I used to wash roller and brush in the sink, but then I moved elsewhere and realized that doing this I clog the system, because there is a sump with a pump in it that pushes sewage into a small, narrow pipe. As it turned out, the paint from the rinses had coated the pump and disabled it.

So I searched on the Internet and the professionals recommend removing the paint with a spatula and then washing the roller in the sink. However, that's what I can't do. I could try washing the roller in buckets of water, but where would I pour it if there is no open sewer in my area?

Answer 1

I agree with Ray Butterworth that throwing the brushes and rollers away is the easiest solution with the least impact on your local sewage system. Especially if you used special water resistant paints or those with special covering properties (to cover water stains), this may be your only solution.

If you insist on cleaning the tools and you only used "normal" wall paint, the key is to remove as much paint as possible without water. Some ways to do that:

• scrape the paint off with a spatula or piece of cardboard
• put the rollers into an old paper or plastic bag and squeeze as much paint as possible out with your hands
• wipe the brushes and rollers on old newspapers or paper towels

If you have any lumps of leftover paint, it's always best to let them dry and dispose of them in the garbage.

What's left of the paint after this first cleaning should be dissolved in water in several steps:

1. Rinse the implements very thoroughly in a little amount of water. It will quickly look like the water is saturated, but that impression is wrong. Really push and work the tools in that water to dissolve as much paint as possible. This small amount of water should be either left to dry or disposed at a local recycling facility like regular paint (never pour paint into a sewer system).
2. You can repeat cleaning the implements with old newspaper or paper towels to get as much paint as possible out.
3. If necessary, repeat step 1 and pour the dirty water into the same container, then dispose of it as in step 1.
4. Rinse the tools in a big amount of fresh water. At this stage most of the paint should have come out already. Regular wall paint should be so diluted now that the rinsing water can be disposed via the local sewer system.

If you think that the water after step 4 still has too much paint in it, you can let the bucket stand undisturbed for several days. Slowly the paint should form a layer of sludge at the bottom with clean water at the top. You can drain the clean water and dispose of the sludge at a local recycling facility or let it dry and throw it in the garbage.

Answer 2

How perfectly does the painting need to be, how expensive are the roller and brush, and how valuable is your time?

I generally use inexpensive products and just throw them away at the end of the job.

If it's going to take a few days, wrapping the brushes and rollers in a sealed plastic bag prevents them from drying out and they can be reused the next day.

Answer 3

1. Put some water in a plastic bag.
2. Wash whatever needs to be washed.
3. Dispose of the water in any suitable way.
4. Dispose of the plastic bag in a suitable way.

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You did not give more information, so here is another possible solution:

Instead of throwing the water in the sink, throw it in the toilet. Unless the toilet is also connected to the same (or other) pump.

Answer 4

For water based paint, clean the brushes and rollers outdoors.

Use 2 buckets: one for the cleaning and one with a supply of water. Rinse out the brush or roller in a little water several times. A little water several times, is more effective than using a lot of water just a few times.

After each clean, tip the rinse water into an empty paint can or whatever. Finally tip that water down an external drain, which is where it would go if you did the job indoors.

Note that I have seen rollers with a removeable sheath, and you throw away the sheath after each job and keep the handle and roller, not very much to clean.