Paint certainly serves its purpose as a good durable coating. However, even though you try to ensure that everything in the room is covered before you commence painting, it is inevitable that some paint will still manage to flick or splash somewhere. Removing all your painting equipment carefully from the room will help to eliminate any accidents.

It is obviously sensible to wear old clothes or overalls and old shoes for painting in, as paint can be very difficult to remove from clothing. If you do accidentally manage to get some paint on decent clothing, it will be easier to remove once dry – otherwise you run the risk of spreading the paint and embedding it in the clothing, making it almost impossible to remove. Try working the paint out of the fibers with plenty of warm water and scrubbing with a small brush. Depending on the type of material, you may be able to cut off small blobs of paint from the surface.

Paint on carpets may also be difficult to remove. Again, any blobs on the surface may cut of easily; otherwise, as with clothing, use plenty of warm water, but blot, don’t scrub, as this may damage the pile. Stubborn paint spots may loosen off by gently using a blunt knife. Always work in the direction of the pile and then blot dry.

Always fold dustsheets in on themselves before removing to shake outside. Make sure that you always know which is the clean side of your sheets before you place them back down the next time you paint.

When removing masking tape from the edges of windows and carpet edges, always make sure the paint is dry first and peel the tape off gently – never rip it off quickly. Any paint on windowpanes can be scraped off with a bladed scraper. The glass can then be washed and polished with a chamois leather.

Any spots of paint on fixed fittings can usually be removed by wiping with a damp cloth. For more stubborn spots, try scraping very gently with a blunt knife, taking care not to scratch any delicate surfaces.

An important job to do as soon as possible after painting is to clean out paintbrushes and rollers. It is very important to clean them all thoroughly after each painting session; otherwise you will constantly need to replace them.

  • First remove excess paint by either working the brushes on newspaper, or running a scraper carefully over the bristles. Then try to get the worst of the paint off in a bucket of water. Water base paints will wash out very easily under running water once the worst of the paint has been removed.
  • Oil base paints will need to be cleaned in a bowl of white spirit first, then rinsed under a running tap. Finally, wash them in soapy water and give them another rinse.
  • Shake out all excess water from the paintbrushes, and wrap them in wax paper and then seal with a rubber band. This will help them to retain their shape.
  • Rollers used for water base paints can be washed in the sink, by part filling it with water and rolling the roller back and forth. Finally, rinse under running water until the water from the roller is clear.
  • For oil base paint, rolling it in a paint tray containing white spirit can clean out the roller. Finish off by washing in soapy water and rinsing thoroughly. Hang rollers up to dry once they are clean.
  • A good tip for keeping brushes soft and ready to use later in the day without the need for cleaning, is to wrap them in cling film. This will exclude air and prevent them from drying out. In the case of rollers, wrap them in a sealed plastic bag.

Finally, unless you wear gloves, it is virtually impossible to keep paint off your hands. Luckily there are a number of special hand cleaners available to buy, which are very effective in removing paint from the skin without causing any irritation.

Always make sure that all the paint is thoroughly dry before you begin to clean up. Although clearing up can be a very tedious task, it is an important part of any job and ensures that you always have clean reliable equipment available for your next project.