How to Remove Dried-On Paint Rollers

Hello, dear friends! Today I am going to share how we get dried-on paint rollers off of their rollers. I am notorious for leaving rollers filled with paint inside gallon-sized Ziplock bags so I can continue using the roller on the next project…

Here are three rollers which I used last year while painting in the kitchen, the laundry room, the hallway and finally in the living room and family room. It was a lot of painting and I was happy to be done for a bit. 🙂

I put those bagged rollers in the laundry room closet on top of the paint cans, shut the door, and there they sat… for a whole year.

So when I went to paint our primary bedroom closet recently, I had to go get new fuzzy rolls to put on those rollers. 😉

And, I also had to get those rollers off. Since Mr. Ethereal was off on a business trip, it was up to me to cut these dried-on rolls off those rollers since he wasn’t here to help me with this chore.

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How to easily remove those dried-on rollers

• First, remove those rollers from their Ziplock bags and pull out a cutting board. You can do this in the garage but sometimes there is actually some wet paint left on the roller. I find it’s easier to clean your hands with the sink right there. Our counters are taller and this makes it easier to saw into the dried rolls. Take care when using these tools!
• If there is some dampness left, let it dry for a few hours then start cutting it off. Cutting through dried rollers is easier and safer than trying to cut off wet rolls, in my opinion.
• Find a heavy-duty sawing tool in your garage (like the one pictured above) and saw through the end of the dried tube. Mr. Ethereal likes to use this handsaw plus often our Dremel tool. I also used a box cutter to help cut through to the core.

• As you get through to the core, rotate the roller and cut into another section.
• Once you can open up the end and it comes free, you should be able to easily pull that old roll off.

Clean your roller and it’s all ready to be put to use again! And that’s just what we do. 😉

Ready to go again! Hope this helps you get rolls off your paint rollers if yours ever gets dried on. Leave me a comment and let me know if you’ve had to remove rolls like this, too, and what you’ve done.

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Happy painting,