Clean-Up, Storage and Disposal

It's the last brush wash of the weekend, and the drain by the back door is right there. Decide where the wash water is going before you start, and you won't be tempted.

First scrape and wipe as much paint as you can off brushes and rollers, back into the tin or onto newspaper; the less paint on the tool, the less in the water. Then, for water-based paint, wash the tools in warm, soapy water in a bucket or tub, not under a running tap, and rinse them into the same container. Keep that paint water out of drains and off the soil.

For solvent-based paint, use the cleaner the tin names, in a container, with a window open. Don't clean paint off your skin with white spirit or any other solvent; use what the label suggests, and wear gloves so it doesn't get there in the first place.