Stop Throwing Away Paint Rollers After One Use

Article

A lot of DIYers treat paint rollers like disposable tools. They use one for a room, let it dry out, then throw it away.

That works, but it gets expensive and wasteful fast. A quality paint roller can be used again and again if you take care of it.

Buy a better roller cover

The cheapest roller cover on the shelf is rarely the best deal. Cheap covers can shed lint, leave fuzz in the paint, require more passes to cover well, leave a streaky finish and more.

A better roller cover usually holds paint better, rolls smoother, and cleans up better. It may cost a little more up front, but it can save money over time.

For an example of a quality roller cover at an affordable price, look at the Purdy White Dove.

Better yet, get yourself a Tru-Lamb 9" Lambskin Paint Roller Covers – 100% Natural Lambswool Professional Roller.  These are the Cadillacs of paint rollers.  I've used them and they work great. 

Here's a few of the benefits of a Lambswool paint roller-

• 100% Natural Lambskin Roller Covers: Premium Lambskin Fibers hold and release paint evenly for smooth, professional-quality results.
• High Paint capacity for Faster Coverage: Dense Lambskin absorbs more coating, reducing reloads and helping painters cover large areas more efficiently.
• Works with Oil and Latex Coatings: Perfect for applying oil-based paints, stains, varnish, sealers, and many latex paints on smooth, semi-smooth and rought surfaces.
• Smooth, lint-free paint application: Natural Lambskin helps produce a more even finish with fewer roller marks compared to many synthetic covers.

Use a Quality Paint Roller Frame

I know they all look about the same but the difference is usually that a cheap paint roller handle, or frame, will flex more, putting uneven pressure on the roller, resulting in, you guessed it, uneven paint.  A quality fame is stiffer and has some other nice features built in.  Check out this Purdy Paint Roller Frame for more details

Do not let paint dry inside the roller

The biggest mistake is letting paint dry in the nap. Once paint hardens deep inside the roller, it is impossible to restore it completely.  Even if it just dries around the outer edges, the roller is still ruined.

If you are taking a short break, wrap the roller tightly in plastic, or a zip lock bag, or use a sealed roller storage tube. ToolFuze makes the RollFresh  for storing a wet roller so it does not dry out between painting sessions.

Remove extra paint before washing

Before washing the roller, remove as much paint as possible. This helps the roller rinse faster and reduces the amount of paint waste.

If you have it, a 6 in 1 works, although it takes multiple passes to do this.  Or a tool like the CleanSweep Pro can help squeeze excess paint out before cleanup and it does it in one pass because it cleans around the entire circumference at once.

Clean it before you get tired

Most people finish painting when they are already worn out. That is when tools get tossed in a bucket and forgotten.

Try to make cleanup part of the job, not an afterthought. Even five minutes of proper cleanup can save a roller from being ruined.

There's many ways to clean a paint roller instead of throwing it away.  You can wash it under a sink, but that can literally take 5-10 minutes and still not do a great job.  And if you do it this way, you still need to spin out the excess paint wash water and let it dry right.  Many people try to just 'throw it out' by holding one and and slinging it through the air, and then find they still didn't get it clean.

Or you can use the garden hose and spin it on the paint roller.  By spraying the roller cover at an angle you can get it to spin and sling water out as you wash it.  I've actually done it this way hundreds of times, but I always knew there had to be a better way.

I've bought most of the gadgets that are meant to clean a paint roller easier, and faster and most were inefficient, bulky, or just not well designed.

So after many years I created a tool that does it better.  It can literally clean a paint roller in 30 seconds.  Mind you I had to go through about 20 designs before I finalized on the current one, but it was worth it.  This tool saves so much time and hassle, and well, it just worked.  At first this was just for my personal use on jobs I was working on, but then I realized this needed to be out there on the market, so after a lot of thinking, I decided to release it.

Now You Can Just Spin The Paint Out in 30 Seconds

I call this the Spinfuze as my company name is ToolFuze, and this uses centrifugal force to spin the paint roller clean in just 30 seconds.

 

The SpinFuze from ToolFuze uses a drill to spin the roller in a bucket of water, back and forth for about 3 seconds at a time, then you spin it off in a bucket, laundry sink, outside etc, then repeat 2-3 more times.  After the final spinning the roller is nearly dry, fluffed up and can be stored to dry, or put back into immediate use as there's very little water left in the rolller.  

Watch this video to see it in action

Store it right

Once the roller is clean and dry, store it where it will not get smashed. Do not throw it under a pile of tools. A crushed roller will not roll evenly the next time. And getting debris, dust, spilled drinks etc on it can ruin it or cause issues the next time you use it.

Good painting results start with clean, well-kept tools. Take care of your rollers and they will take care of your paint job.

In other posts, I'll cover things like technique, more tool choices, wall prep, masking etc.

If you want to watch some of my painting videos, check out this playlist on YouTube

Take care,
Guy Purcella

Creator of That Kilted Guy DIY Home Improvement channel on Youtube with over 350,000 subscribers and 40 million views

aka That Kilted Guy