# Roller Cleaners



## jr.painting (Aug 30, 2008)

Ok, this might have been posted before (sorry if it was). I really don't clean my rollers has I just throw then away and use a new one. I recently bought a nice purdy roller cover and I like it. Is it worth it to clean it with one of them roller cleaners you can buy. I have been looking at the ones from SW.

Or should Just through them away as I finish the job.

Thanks for the help.


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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

Depends on what it costs to clean them. Whats your time worth, and if you throw one a day away, and you do that say, 150 times a year, what does it cost?
I don't buy the cheap covers, and use mine until they start to shed. I also don't pay my help to clean them, I take them home and clean them myself. But I am trying to keep my total tool and material costs down. If you add that with some other things, it adds up to savings.
We have a big thing that looks like a bong and hooks to the end of a hose for the 18" sleeves. The 9' get rinsed out in a big sink, then spun in a 5 gallon bucket. Do that 3-5 times and they are clean. Takes 5 minutes tops.


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## jr.painting (Aug 30, 2008)

Ok, cool, Would you suggest any kind of roller cleaner, or are they all the same. Like I said I have never cleaned them before so I guess I don't know what's out there for roller cleaners. 

Plus I have all the time in the world after I get done for the day. I guess I will start to clean them, as they are not cheap.


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## Paul_R (Apr 19, 2007)

Bikerboy, I too wash my roller covers, and have struggled with the question of "is it worth my time?" I have a utility sink that I use, and it does take me 20 minutes a day, not including brushes to wash everything down to clear water. Just was thinking that there must be a better way. I was wondering if you could send us a picture of your apparatus that you use for the bigger covers? I am not familiar with the roller cleaners that you can buy, just the ones that you scrape across the cover. Maybe I am out of touch?:confused1:

Paul.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

http://www.o-geepaint.com/Painttools/Addons.shtml


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## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)




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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

I use two of the items Chrisn posted. The spinner for 9" sleeves and brushes, the roller washer for the 18" sleeves. Watch out for the longer naps in the roller washer. If you don't scrape out the excess paint really well, and crank up the pressure, it will blow the end cap off.

Nice thing about the washer is hooking up to the hose and going on to cleaning something else. 

Here's a link. 

http://www.rollerwasher.com/


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## timhag (Sep 30, 2007)

jr.painting said:


> Or should Just through them away as I finish the job.
> 
> .


*through*







/θru/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[throo] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation 
_–preposition _1.in at one end, side, or surface and out at the other: _to pass through a tunnel; We drove through Denver without stopping. Sun came through the window. _


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Slick, do you actually throw your covers in the wash machine and does it get them clean? I remember someone on one of these forums posted that they did that. I think my wife would kill me if I tried it though.


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## Thomas Painting (Aug 11, 2008)

@ $3.19 for the white CS SW roller covers ..... its not worth cleaning them. If you buy a lot of covers .... beat your local paint store sales manager up ... they will lower the price if you bitch enough. I dont pay more than $4 for a 9" cover .... and my time is worth more than a cover any day.


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## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)

DeanV said:


> Slick, do you actually throw your covers in the wash machine and does it get them clean? I remember someone on one of these forums posted that they did that. I think my wife would kill me if I tried it though.


One of the reasons I prefer the plastic tubed ones is that, yes, I will sometimes throw them in the washing machine
Not all the time, I don't wash them all
But occasionally it's convenient to do so, and I've got too much cheap azz swamp yankee blood in me not to
Granted, it's got to be woolies or whitedoves or something
I always like to have a few washed White Doves in the van for when I'm having issues rolling, I can always compare to a "known good" used White Dove
...or when I want a good finish, but it's a small area and I don't want to wet a new one

Basically, for washing machine washing:
1) The wife has to not be home
and 
B) They have to be followed by a load of "whites" to ensure no paint in the tub

*Note: This method is not recommended for cardboard tubed 18 inchers
(ask me how I know...lol)


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## [email protected] (Mar 1, 2008)

I to am a user of the *Warn's Roller Washer* But I do it a little different. I don't use the end cap but leave the skin on the roller and hold the skin/roller against the bottom of the sink. Have gone throgh 2 or 3 of them over the years


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## CobraCDN (Jan 8, 2008)

I don't wash out oil base, but our latex roller I do... never in a sink though.. that takes time, I wash them in a 5 gal bucket. Use a roller scraper (5 in One) and remove as much paint as you can. Put about a gallon of water in the five and swish that baby around like your trying to imitate a jacuzzi. Spin, throw water... now pour half a gallon in the bucket and repeat... spin and repeat with another half gallon. Spin it well and put it away. I find this method beats the sink for time by about 2/3rds. Was gonna do a study... but the government financing did not come thru.. instead they gave the bucks for a public restroom graffiti study lol

Cheers


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

CobraCDN said:


> I don't wash out oil base, but our latex roller I do... never in a sink though.. that takes time, I wash them in a 5 gal bucket. Use a roller scraper (5 in One) and remove as much paint as you can. Put about a gallon of water in the five and swish that baby around like your trying to imitate a jacuzzi. Spin, throw water... now pour half a gallon in the bucket and repeat... spin and repeat with another half gallon. Spin it well and put it away. I find this method beats the sink for time by about 2/3rds. Was gonna do a study... but the government financing did not come thru.. instead they gave the bucks for a public restroom graffiti study lol
> 
> Cheers


Can you make us a how to video on that


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## CobraCDN (Jan 8, 2008)

lol Careful what you wish for lol... rotflmao  

Cheers


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## cole191919 (Jan 10, 2008)

Check this cleaner out. http://www.jetpro.us/ watch the video. 

It says it can clean your rollers in 15 seconds, using only 1 gallon of water. 

Hmm...?


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

Hmm...?

BS, no , double BS:wacko:


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## johnthepainter (Apr 1, 2008)

i throw out the skin and the pan liner


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## patriotpainter (Jul 31, 2008)

It all depends on the covers! Lambswools clean up quick and last a long time, I always clean them. My new favorite covers are the ones made from polyamide yarn, like the Whizz Big Dippers or Purdy Collosus or the brand new Wooster Cirrus covers, These covers clean up faster than lambswool and are half the price and last a very long time. If you pay a guy 15.00 a hour and it takes him 10 minutes to clean a rugular cover that costs, $2.50, 5 minutes $1.25 in labor. The Polyamides and lambswools both take now more than 2 minutes to clean.


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## Boyfromthenorth (Jun 18, 2008)

I was talking to our Purdy rep the other day, he said he gets really nervous about cleaning them, he was telling me that especially if you're using an actual chemical cleaner, that is can degrade the adhesion of the fibers on the roller. I've personally never done it, but I thought that info might help.


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## CobraCDN (Jan 8, 2008)

A painter will use between 8 & 10 gallons of water to clean a sleeve? ROTFLMAO

not! 

Cheers


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## johnthepainter (Apr 1, 2008)

maybe just wring them out in a bucket of mek,,,,put it in the back of the van till it dries.


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## PinnacleResidential (Aug 10, 2008)

I have a device I just bought that I wish I would have had years ago. It's a tube that is capped on each side. You hook it up to a hose and let it rinse the roller out. Come back five minutes later and you've got a brand new (as good as) skin.


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## JNLP (Dec 13, 2007)

Boyfromthenorth said:


> I was talking to our Purdy rep the other day, he said he gets really nervous about cleaning them


Ofcourse he does! The more you clean, the less you buy. :thumbup:


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

Come back five minutes later and you've got a brand new

You let the water run for 5 minutes? I hope you are at the clients home and not yours. What is that 20+ gallons of water?


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## PinnacleResidential (Aug 10, 2008)

I live on a lake and use well water. It's a pretty limitless supply. Anyway, when I say five minutes I probably mean two and I would guess it's about 5 gallons per 18" roller.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

It's a pretty limitless supply

Water is NOT a limitless supply, sorry you think like that, sorry anybody thinks like that.


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## Pearce Services (Sep 27, 2008)

slickshift said:


> Basically, for washing machine washing:
> 1) The wife has to not be home
> and
> B) They have to be followed by a load of "whites" to ensure no paint in the tub


 
Why not just use your customers washing machine?


Does anyone worry about the paint stains in the grass when cleaning outside? I try to rinse it all out but end up with a big white puddle, and worry what the customer thinks about the mess.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Personally I find a used roller does not shed. I dread using a brand new roller - that and like Slick, "I've got too much cheap azz swamp yankee blood in me not to"

I do get a little concerned with the clips of these roller cleaners when I see all the paint going down the drain. Now, you all DO scrape and roll all the excess out so as little paint gets into the environment as possible, right? :thumbsup:

My favorite way, but usually only doable at home, is to leave the sleeve on the frame and spray a fast jet of water along the surface, perpendicular to the axis of rotation. This gets the roller spinning REAL fast while wetting it. Rinses and spins all at once. You'll learn quick how to hold it so you don't get wet. 

The idea came from a roller cleaner using the same principal that someone posted on another forum


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## Wd Gann (Oct 19, 2010)

I used to throw them away, but found a new product called WashARoller that cleans
them in under a minute is inexpensive and actually works as advertised.


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## Wd Gann (Oct 19, 2010)

I bought one too. Its called a WashARoller.


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## Dbo (Nov 29, 2009)

I toss them myself cause I don't like washing them and don't like using them after they are washed for interiors. They seems to have more texture after a wash. I will wrap them up if using the same color for multiple areas. I think I can make up the few dollars other ways in a day.


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