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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To throw away paint brushes instead of cleaning them ?

58 replies

Lardlizard · 21/02/2020 09:34

Used two this week proabky cost about two quid form the range
Just can’t be arsed to clean then
It is water based paint so can be cleaned

Feel guilty chucking them out though

OP posts:
Lolly86 · 21/02/2020 09:35

Clean themHmm

Pineappletree33 · 21/02/2020 09:36

Yabu. Don’t be lazy.

JKScot4 · 21/02/2020 09:37

You can’t be bothered to run a brush under a tap? Christ you’re a lazy get.

Jamandpeater · 21/02/2020 09:37

Clean them. Especially if they have plastic handles.

Tombakersscarf · 21/02/2020 09:38

Chuck them

Nanny0gg · 21/02/2020 09:38

Yep. Obviously we need more stuff going to landfill, not less.

Why have you posted?

WaterSheep · 21/02/2020 09:39

Feel guilty chucking them out though

Don't lie. If you felt even a little bit of guilt, then you would put in the tiny amount of effort required to clean them.

ddraigygoch · 21/02/2020 09:40

My husband does this. Drives me mad. Luckily there's not much painting that goes on.

ConcentricCircles · 21/02/2020 09:42

In a world where resources are becoming more and more precious and need to be totally appreciated, you 'couldn't be arsed' to wash them!
They may be 'just' paintbrushes, but they are a re-usable item, and will last for years if cared for properly.

Shame on you.

EnglishRain · 21/02/2020 09:50

YABU, especially water based paint!

hippopootamus · 21/02/2020 09:50

In the time you posted this, you could have cleaned them.

KittenVsBox · 21/02/2020 09:51

Kids paint brushes and paint? They are easy to rinse and reuse.
"I've just repainted the lounge and wont be decorating again for the next 6 month" waterbased paint, I'd be more inclined to chuck.

Reginabambina · 21/02/2020 09:56

I chuck painting supplies after a few uses (I don’t want to buy really expensive brushes that are difficult to clean but equally cheap ones done last more that a couple of uses).

FizzyIce · 21/02/2020 09:57

Yanbu , We chuck cheap emulsion brushes Blush
We do have a really good one that we always wash out properly though, the cheap ones just seem to loose bristles as you wash them anyway so what’s the point

LuckyLickitung · 21/02/2020 09:57

During the job, I wrap them up to keep them fresh for next time.

It is difficult to wash them out thoroughly and washes paint into the drainage system which is not consequence free for the environment. White spirit to wash out oil based paints should not be washed down the drains at all.

During the last DIY project we had, compared to the amount of builder's waste and rubble produced, paint brushes will have scored less than 1% of waste produced.

Reginabambina · 21/02/2020 09:58

@hippopootamus when was the last time you painted? I spent ten minutes washing out a brush last week. When I then went to paint a different room the next day I realised I Hadn’t cleaned it out full because the colour from the day before had leeched into the new paint which I then had to scoop out and reward the brush.

butwhateverfor · 21/02/2020 09:59

I have good brushes - my late Dad bought them 40 years ago. Buy good ones and keep them!

bobstersmum · 21/02/2020 10:02

I've done this in the past because I was a lazy so and so but now I get some strange satisfaction from running then under a warm tap squeezing all the paint out, stick them on a paper towel on the radiator and they're good to go again next day! Good brushes aren't cheap either!

Laiste · 21/02/2020 10:02

YAB a bit U. Run them under a tap (bristles down) with a bit of washing up liquid and shake the excess water off. Takes less than a minute.

Cling wrap brushes if you stop half way through a job and they'll stay fresh and bendy for a good couple of days. That goes for water based (emulsion) and oil based (wood paint).

I must admit i don't clean cheap DIY brushes after doing wood work because of the farting about with white spirit.

HasaDigaEebowai · 21/02/2020 10:04

And this is a prime example of why we are fucked. You should feel very guilty.

Seriously, I've been painting this morning. It takes all of five minutes to wash a brush.

FizzyIce · 21/02/2020 10:17

@HasaDigaEebowai yeah , that’s the prime reason .. nothing to do with farming , factories , cars, lorries etc.. etc.. Confused

HasaDigaEebowai · 21/02/2020 10:19

I didn't say it was the prime reason. I said it was a prime example. Completely different.

Littlewelshridinghood · 21/02/2020 10:20

YABU, that's just lazy, ot literally takes a few seconds to put on the tap and rinse the brush clean.

sendhelpppppp · 21/02/2020 10:21

yanbu. They're never the same after. The only brush i was is my angled one because i love it. The rest generally get chucked Blush

(i know its environmentally awful, i do, but i do my bit in other ways i promise!)

Nooch · 21/02/2020 10:27

Of course you are. Where do you think they end up after you have thrown them in the bin? I guess that's probably the problem, some people either don't think or don't care.