How to Clean Paintbrushes With Vinegar

Vinegar is one of the best all-purpose cleaners you can find. It's gentle enough for some of the most delicate cleaning jobs, yet it can still be used to loosen extremely tough, dried-on paint from paintbrushes. If you've allowed paint to cement itself to the bristles of your brushes, just dig out an old saucepan and your jug of vinegar. You'll be amazed at how quickly you can get them clean.

Things You'll Need

• Dirty paintbrushes
• Old saucepan
• Oven range
• Vinegar

Instructions

1. Pour some vinegar into an old saucepan. There's no need to measure, but make sure the vinegar is deep enough to cover the bristles of your brushes.

2. Put the vinegar on the stove over medium heat and watch it until it begins to come to a boil.

3. Hold a brush by the handle and dip the bristles into the boiling vinegar. Move the brush back and forth, scrubbing the bristles against the bottom of the pan as if you were painting it.

4. Pull the brush out every 15 seconds or so to evaluate the cleanliness. Return the brush to the boiling vinegar as needed, continuously brushing the bottom of the pan until the brush appears clean.

5. Repeat steps three and four on any remaining brushes, then rinse all of your brushes in clean, cold water.

6. Shake any excess water off of the bristles, then gently compress the bristles with your hands to squeeze out even more water. Allow the brushes to air dry completely before storing them away.

Tips & Warnings

• It is safe to use the same pan used for this procedure to cook food again, provided that you clean it thoroughly with hot water and soap. However, this is the kind of job that is ideal for older pans.

• If your brush has a metal band around the base of the bristles, as most brushes do, be careful not to scrape it against the inside of the pan. You might scratch the non-stick coating.