Cleaning Up After an Interior Paint Job

When you’re painting an interior room, prepping for the paint job is only half the battle.

It is important to clean up properly after painting the interior of your home in order to protect your floors and other belongings.

Once the paint has dried, it is important to clean it up.

Tools You’ll Need

If you drip while painting and the paint is wet, you can easily wipe it clean with a damp rag. We recommended having one on hand while painting. In most cases, it can be easier to address the drip the instant it happens instead of waiting until you’re finished with the job.

While the paint on your walls is drying, you should clean up all of your tools carefully. Make sure to dump any excess paint from the pans back into the paint buckets unless it has started to dry in which case you should wait for it to dry completely and throw it out.

Make sure to carefully wash your brushes so they can be reused for the next job. For latex paint, move a brush along the bottom of a bucket filled with warm water to remove the paint. Rinse with clean water until the water runs dry, and hang with the bristles pointed down. If there’s stubborn dry paint, use a painter’s comb to loosen it.

If you are using rollers, use a scrap piece of wood to scrape the excess paint off of the roller, back into the paint bucket. Rinse the roller in warm water until the water runs clear and leave them to dry. You should discard the roller if you used an oil-based paint.

Secure the remaining paint cans with the lid and store it in a dry space in your home where it won’t freeze or overheat.

Touch Ups

If you’re working on a big project, chances are flecks of paint have landed where they weren’t supposed to go. If there is paint on the carpet, allow it to dry and snip out the paint spots with a pair of scissors.

Remove the masking tape from windows, door frames, and molding. If there is paint on your windows, it can be scraped off with a bladed scraper.

If you’d rather leave the work to the professionals, contact Richard Stewart Painting today, the premiere choice for interior and exterior commercial and residential painting.