# brush water



## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

I normally fill a couple buckets with water and pressure wash my brushes in them, then dump the water in some gravel outside or down the toilet. What are you guys doing these days. 
Also, I stopped washing out my rollers. Instead now, I drain as much back into the can with my 5in1, then just let her dry out.. thoughts?


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## SprayerMiken125 (Jan 11, 2013)

Wire brush and clean my brushes in sinks
I always clean my roller naps 
Do u throw urs away or somthing?


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

Laundry tub that has roughly 7 million colours spattered all over it with a wire brush and waste way too much water cleaning my brushes. I've tried to figure out a different method that doesn't require me to pray in front of this thing as I watch the bristles sloooooooowly rinse out. I haven't been successful. Worst part of my day.

I've never cleaned out a roller sleeve since I started painting. I may re-use the same one for 2 or max 3 days, but after that it goes in the garbage (assuming of course that I'm doing the same colour). I'm not willing to risk having to repaint stuff for a matter of a few bucks.


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## Oden (Feb 8, 2012)

Cleaning brushes is my favorite job. Means I'm done for the day....

I'll use a sleeve in the same color for months. I got one here in my garage in my main house color that is probably three years old. It's in the bucket wit the paint and ready to go for next time. I don't even like a new sleeve.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Considering this is posted in the green practice section, I should elaborate. Im not certain that washing brushes in the sink is the best option. Its also messy.. The 3 bucket method works really well! Wash, rinse,spin..
I also re-use my sleeves if im painting the same colour..but i prefer not to wash them, as all that paint gets washed down wherever. Kick off of the cage and let dry up and throw out..


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## Paint Pro CA (Jun 17, 2014)

I always wash brushes in the laundry sink or utility tub with a brush comb unless Im doing exterior with no access to the house then I use buckets filled with the hose. Never had a problem with leaving a mess or had a homeowner complain about a slop sink. 

Roller sleeves I generally use for that job only and then throw out. I sometimes wash a couple out and keep a stash of them around for exterior, priming or rolling paint on a garage or shop floor or something like that but if Im doing interior walls I buy new for every job. 

Not very green but what can I say there is nothing "green" about painting no matter how you slice it.


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## JPiacentino (Jun 14, 2014)

I drink my paint water so when im working out in this heat and start sweating, I just roll myself along the clap boards and call it a day.:thumbup:


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

I use the envirowasher. I add their chemical to the dirty water and it separates the paint into sediment and I can pump out the clean water onto the lawn.

Heres some info if you're bothered to download it-

http://www.dulux.com.au/media/658430/160aus.flv


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Paint Pro CA said:


> I always wash brushes in the laundry sink or utility tub with a brush comb unless Im doing exterior with no access to the house then I use buckets filled with the hose. Never had a problem with leaving a mess or had a homeowner complain about a slop sink.
> 
> Roller sleeves I generally use for that job only and then throw out. I sometimes wash a couple out and keep a stash of them around for exterior, priming or rolling paint on a garage or shop floor or something like that but if Im doing interior walls I buy new for every job.
> 
> Not very green but what can I say there is nothing "green" about painting no matter how you slice it.


 Your correct. Painting in general is not that green. Howeve there are lots of little things that can lessen waste and chemicals getting directly into waterways..Like using buckets to clean brushes. Re-using the water and dumping into grass/gravel instead of sink.
Also getting most of the paint out of the roller sleaves before you kick them off. I let them dry up in the tray first so its not in the garbage wet..


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## Paint Pro CA (Jun 17, 2014)

finishesbykevyn said:


> Your correct. Painting in general is not that green. Howeve there are lots of little things that can lessen waste and chemicals getting directly into waterways..Like using buckets to clean brushes. Re-using the water and dumping into grass/gravel instead of sink.
> Also getting most of the paint out of the roller sleaves before you kick them off. I let them dry up in the tray first so its not in the garbage wet..
> 
> 
> Sent from my SGH-I747M using PaintTalk.com mobile app


Whether you wash some paint from a brush down a drain or dump paint filled water on the grass in the yard it still gets into the environment. 

Over 600 million gallons of paint is manufactured each year by chemical companies in the US alone. The manufacturing process is less than eco friendly and the product is lets be honest toxic to begin with. Until these multi-billion dollar chemical companies with their track records of poisoning entire water systems come up with a drinkable product our waterways will continue to be the recipient of chemicals and little old me not washing my brush out in a sink isn't going to ever change that. 

Besides when I paint a home in a high rise condo in downtown Toronto there isn't a patch of grass or gravel anywhere and I sure as heck aren't about to start lugging 15 gallons of paint filled water to my own yard in the truck. On the residential repaint we did last week I watched a chlorine filled swimming pool get emptied into the storm drain. In fact there was another pool company doing the same to another pool on the same street. Not washing a brush down a drain is like a spit in an ocean. Wont change a thing for the water ways around here. 

That being said I did work for a few months in your beautiful province near the town of Lewisporte. The waterways there are pristine. I was not a painter then but would certainly have not washed brushes down the drain there.


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## Delta Painting (Apr 27, 2010)

Global warming.. Pffftttt!


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Paint Pro CA said:


> I always wash brushes in the laundry sink or utility tub with a brush comb unless Im doing exterior with no access to the house then I use buckets filled with the hose. Never had a problem with leaving a mess or had a homeowner complain about a slop sink.
> 
> Roller sleeves I generally use for that job only and then throw out. I sometimes wash a couple out and keep a stash of them around for exterior, priming or rolling paint on a garage or shop floor or something like that but if Im doing interior walls I buy new for every job.
> 
> Not very green but what can I say there is nothing "green" about painting no matter how you slice it.


Most household waste water is routed to a waste water treatment plant before ever being discharged into a natural body of water. The waste stream from a resident dwelling is shared by a home's laundry, sinks, and toilets. It is actually "Greener" to flush wash water from the painting and clean up procees, down the toilet or sink rather then the storm drain, which does go directly to a natural body of water in most cases

However, I would check with your individual jurisdictions before assuming its OK to flush wash water down the household drains, or storm drains.


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## George Z (Apr 15, 2007)

CApainter said:


> Most household waste water is routed to a waste water treatment plant before ever being discharged into a natural body of water. The waste stream from a resident dwelling is shared by a home's laundry, sinks, and toilets. It is actually "Greener" to flush wash water from the painting and clean up procees, down the toilet or sink rather then the storm drain, which does go directly to a natural body of water in most cases
> 
> However, I would check with your individual jurisdictions before assuming its OK to flush wash water down the household drains, or storm drains.


Agreed.

Alex, one of our Job Managers is an Environmental Scientist.
This blog she wrote has some useful info.


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

CApainter said:


> Most household waste water is routed to a waste water treatment plant before ever being discharged into a natural body of water. The waste stream from a resident dwelling is shared by a home's laundry, sinks, and toilets. It is actually "Greener" to flush wash water from the painting and clean up procees, down the toilet or sink rather then the storm drain, which does go directly to a natural body of water in most cases
> 
> However, I would check with your individual jurisdictions before assuming its OK to flush wash water down the household drains, or storm drains.


In BC all storm drains go to rivers, and streams (dumb idea), and there are lots of areas that still use the old septic tank system....which you can't dump any form of paint into because it doesn't break down in there system


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

journeymanPainter said:


> In BC all storm drains go to rivers, and streams (dumb idea), and there are lots of areas that still use the old septic tank system....which you can't dump any form of paint into because it doesn't break down in there system


This is why I like the idea BrianC implements. I have looked into a couple of different water recycle systems that separate the suspended paint particles from waste water, and allows reuse of the water. I believe aluminum is used to separate the solids which are later dried and disposed of. But, I haven't finished my research yet. 

I did contact a guy down in Australia, and he referred me to a guy in the States who I've yet to follow up with. I'm thinking of building my own unit once I have the proper components down.


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## 6126 (May 9, 2010)

Homeowners kitchen sink right after I make myself a sandwich :whistling2:


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## Painter-Aaron (Jan 17, 2013)

Woodland said:


> Homeowners kitchen sink right after I make myself a sandwich :whistling2:



I used to settle for a sandwich but then I discovered that people usually hide their steaks deeper in the fridge  


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## 6126 (May 9, 2010)

Painter-Aaron said:


> I used to settle for a sandwich but then I discovered that people usually hide their steaks deeper in the fridge
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PaintTalk.com


Lol :thumbup:


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Which is beside the beer:

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## JPiacentino (Jun 14, 2014)

Painter-Aaron said:


> I used to settle for a sandwich but then I discovered that people usually hide their steaks deeper in the fridge
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PaintTalk.com


Garage fridge is where the goldmine is.


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## RedOak (Nov 17, 2012)

i spin my rollers all which are expensive lint free microfiber, and i found it was easier to "throw" the paint from my brushes after a light wash


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

We wash in the kitchen sink and spin out here as well. Especially rollers. Have you priced an 18" 1/2 nap sleeve lately? I get about 6 jobs out of my pro-dooz before they're too worn out. Brushes...well I am brushless, so that's a moot point there. We may use a brush for about 10 feet of wall total in a 1500 sqft apartment, they see more use wiping the 5 gal bucket than anything.

What's the point of being eco friendly if your disposing of your tools each job? Now a factory has to run longer due to the increased demand of excessive disposal. Save the water and nothing else? And your dried up roller won't re-hydrate in the landfill?


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Exellent array of answers. Im curious driftweed. How do you go about brushless? Is this in demand in your area. Tape and spray?

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## burchptg (Jun 30, 2013)

I clean my brushes in 5 gal buckets then go find a gopher hole to dump it down. I hate those little rodents! If I had a nickel for every gopher that dug a hole under the ladder while I was up on the damn thing, I could afford the "silver" obamacare package. 

As for rollers, hell yeah, I clean them up. Water is a hell of a lot more recyclable than a mountain of trash. Besides, they work best the second time. All the lint is worked off of them. After the 4th or 5th time, they get used for primer, then into the heap. I toss all my brushes and roller into one bucket. Everything gets run through a first wash in the same dirty water because for some reason, that gets it all clean faster. Paint dissolves paint?


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

I used to wash my brushes and rollers on the lawn. Apparently paint has anti mould properties in its consistency and that kills grass and plants. I didn't know that until it was pointed out to me by a paint chemist.


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

finishesbykevyn said:


> Exellent array of answers. Im curious driftweed. How do you go about brushless? Is this in demand in your area. Tape and spray?
> 
> Sent from my SGH-I747M using PaintTalk.com mobile app


Plastic is for pansies:


http://www.contractortalk.com/f8/how-i-spray-146342/

BTW: I do rentals, but this works in any unoccupied building.:thumbup: If I felt the need in residential, I would move everything to the center and cover it just to reassure the client. I do maybe 3 residential jobs a year, that not my market.


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## PRC (Aug 28, 2014)

Since we work in the countryside and most customers have septics most of our washing is done with hose and 5's. I dump the water(strained for large debris) in a hedge on the edge of the fields alternating spots and in the areas with the most weeds and away from any waterway. I believe it the best option available to me because a septic is pretty much leaching straight to underground water. At least this way some of the mineral components could be bio-accumulated by the plants. The exception is when it's 20 degrees outside.


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## ReNt A PaInTeR (Dec 28, 2008)

I shower with all my brushes and rollers when I get home everyday.


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## Red dog (Jul 20, 2014)

I pour it in my a**hole neighbors flower beds.....late late at night.


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## JourneymanBrian (Mar 16, 2015)

you guys use these things? http://www.hornbach.de/data/shop/D04/001/780/494/563/1/DV_8_4400172_01_4c_DE_20120808152441.jpg

Good for cleaning rolls as well.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

jeesh no! What is that?! It looks cool!,


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## JourneymanBrian (Mar 16, 2015)

it has a metal end so you can use it with a hammer, too.


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## JourneymanBrian (Mar 16, 2015)

http://www.stanleytools.com/default...&PARTNUMBER=28-206&SDesc=3"+6-in-1+Paint+Tool


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