How to clean dried paint rollers involves a bit of know-how and even more elbow grease. Can you save a dried paint roller?
Have you ever been painting and gotten so busy that your forgot to rinse and clean your paint roller? Leaving your paint roller to dry can be a big disappointment the next morning when you go to finish off your project.
We’ll show you how to rescue your sad, dried up paint rollers so you can reuse them and get back to painting.

How to Clean Dried Paint Rollers: Water Based Paint
This is going to be the easiest clean of the whole post. Water based paints, whether you are using them with paint brushes, rollers or a paint sprayer, are a breeze when it comes to clean up. Soap and water and you’re laughing. Not so much when the paint has dried hard as a rock. So, how do you clean dried paint on rollers?
Basic Tools and Supplies for Cleaning Dried Paint Rollers
- Large Bucket, maybe even 5 gallons
- Paper towels
- Gloves
- Fabric softener
- Grease fighting soap
- Rags
- Paint stripper
- Mineral spirits (or an alternative we talk about here)
How to Clean Dried Oil Paint Rollers
You might think that cleaning oil-based paint out of dried paint rollers was impossible and thrown away your old stiff dried up rollers. You can actually get those rollers nice and soft again without too much hassle.
You will need an old glass jar or container that can hold liquid, like a big pickle jar. Then, you grab your mineral spirits or paint stripper and fill the jar. There are also natural citrus and soy-based paint strippers you can try, but we haven’t used them yet to remove dried paint from a paint roller.
Place your rollers in the jar and soak them, checking every few minutes to see how it’s progressing. Keep soaking your roller until all the paint is removed.
Massage dish soap into your roller, work in through and then rinse thoroughly with water once all the paint is removed. You might need to do this a few times until the water runs clear.
Cleaning Paint Rollers with Fabric Softener: Fake News?
Is it true that you can use fabric softener to clean dried paint rollers or is it just a myth? Can you reuse a dried paint roller? We are happy to report that using fabric softener actually works! Here is our step by step method for cleaning up your dried paint rollers.
Mix about 1/8 of a cup of fabric softener with 4 cups of water in a bucket or old glass jar. Stir to mix it well. Put your roller into the jar and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, start swishing it around in the fabric softener solution.
You should see the fibers on your roller start to become soft and loosen, and the paint start coming off the roller. Continue dipping and swishing your brush around in the solution until it comes clean.
Wash your roller off with gentle soap and water so fabric softener residue doesn’t end up in your paint the next time your use your roller.
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How do you Fix Stiff Paint Rollers?
A stiff paint roller is usually the result of not rinsing your paint roller with enough water once you’ve clean off wet paint. Some of the residue from the paint stayed on the roller and it dried, making the bristles stiff.
Good news is that it’s way easier to fix stiff paint rollers than dried paint rollers covered in paint. So, how do you make a paint roller soft again? You will have to follow our directions above for water or oil-based paint to fix your stiff rollers.
How Do You Keep Paint Rollers from Drying out Overnight?
Die hard painters will say you must clean out your roller every night. That’s just not practical for everyone. It’s also a waste of paint, water and cleaning supplies.
Instead, wrap your roller up in aluminum foil, plastic wrap or an old plastic bag and put it in the fridge. The world won’t come to an end if you do this once and awhile.
Just make sure to let your roller come back up to room temp before you start painting the next day.
Preventing Dried Paint Rollers
Paint rollers are a great tool for achieving a smooth and even coat of paint on walls and other surfaces. However, cleaning them can be a bit of a chore, especially if you let the paint dry on the roller. But to prevent dried up paint rollers, you have to do some work after you’re finished painting.
Scrape off excess paint from your roller. You can do this by using a paint scraper or a putty knife to scrape off as much of the paint as possible. This will make the cleaning process much easier.
Rinse your roller with warm water. You may need to use your hands or a soft-bristled brush to remove any remaining paint from the roller. Be sure to rinse the roller thoroughly to remove all of the soap and paint. Remove the roller from the paint roller frame and clean it too.
Conclusion
Follow along with our tried and true methods of how to clean dried paint rollers and you’ll restore those dried up paint rollers in no time. By following these simple steps, you can effectively clean your paint rollers and get them ready for your next project.
With a little bit of patience and elbow grease, you can keep your paint rollers in great condition.
- How to Clean Dried Paint Rollers: Water Based Paint
- Basic Tools and Supplies for Cleaning Dried Paint Rollers
- How to Clean Dried Oil Paint Rollers
- Cleaning Paint Rollers with Fabric Softener: Fake News?
- How do you Fix Stiff Paint Rollers?
- How Do You Keep Paint Rollers from Drying out Overnight?
- Preventing Dried Paint Rollers
- Conclusion
- FAQs
- Join our Email List for Tips and Tricks!
FAQs
Check out our detailed post about the best paint rollers you can buy for your projects.
How about writing an article that we Californians can use. Mineral spirits, HA.
I heard it has been banned in some States! Actually here is a link to an article we wrote to specifically help you out: Alternative to Mineral Spirits Solutions Hopefully, one of these works for you. Thanks for Reading, John.