Q&A for How to Reuse Paint Rollers

You can, but try to scrape off as much paint as you can before washing it so it's easier to clean.

Yes, or the paint will run down your wall surface. It needs to be completely dried before reuse.

You can try to soak it in water or paint thinner a while, then try to remove it.

Yes, for a while. Don't count on the foam to last long, though, unless you wash all the thinner off with soap and water afterwards.

There are a couple of things you can do to remove dried paint so you can reuse a paint roller. Latex paint and oil-based paints require different methods of cleaning the rollers, so you'll need to adjust your approach based on what type of paint you used. Wash latex paint from your roller with soapy water. Submerge the paint roller in a bucket of soapy water, swirl the roller around and squeeze excess paint from the roller with your hand. Empty the water, refill the bucket and repeat the process until the roller water rinses nearly clear. Clean oil-based paint from rollers with paint thinner. Wearing gloves to protect your hands, pour paint thinner into a clean paint tray, and roll the roller in the paint thinner several times. When mostly clean, submerge the roller in a bucket of warm, soapy water to clean it for reuse. Once you finish remove the paint, attach the roller to a hanger and leave it to air dry. Once it's fully dry, you're good to go!

A quality paint roller is definitely worth cleaning and salvaging! It's also not too difficult to do. As you finish up for the day or complete your project, use up as much paint on your roller as possible. The less paint on your roller, the easier the clean-up process will be. Roll excess paint from your roller onto newspapers, cardboard or any other disposable surface. If the paint is already dried on the roller, you can remove it with soapy water if it's latex paint and paint thinner if it's oil-based. Once the paint is removed and the roller is clean, hang it up to dry on a clothes hanger so the nap isn't flattened. Once it's dry you can store it until you need to use it.

It depends on what type of paint you used. Latex and oil-based paints will need different cleaning solutions in order to fully remove the paint from the roller. For latex paint, fill a bucket with water and add a few drops of dish soap to get it nice and soapy. Swirl the roller around in the water and squeeze out the excess paint with your hands. As the water in the bucket changes colors, swap it out for fresh, soapy water and repeat the process until it runs clear out of the roller. For oil-based paints, pour paint thinner into a clean painting tray and roller the roller in it several times. When the roller is mostly clean, soak it in a bucket of warm, soapy water to clean it off. When you're finished cleaning your roller, hang it up to dry on a hanger so you don't flatten the nap. Once it's dry, you can store it until you need to use it again.