Now, place the dried paint brushes into the hot vinegar. Make sure that all of the bristles are submerged in the vinegar solution. Set a timer for twenty minutes and wait for the vinegar to begin softening the brushes. After twenty minutes, check the paint brushes to see if they’re softened. Cleaning your paintbrush well after each use keeps it in good shape for all of your home decorating projects. Even if you skipped a proper cleaning and there’s hardened paint on the brush, you can still get it clean. After use, wipe the brush on a rag or towel to remove as much wet paint as possible.

Yes it’s true vinegar cleans paint brushes extremely well. I love using vinegar to clean my home. Vinegar and water is used to clean my windows, mirrors, bathrooms, counters and chandeliers. And you’ve probably seen my post on how to distress using vinegar.Vinegar is amazing isn’t it.

I bet if you looked in the ingredients in most foods you’ll find vinegar. Vinegar is a disinfectant and it’s edible! So why am I sharing this? Well, I’ve stupidly forgotten about paint brushes, left them out over night and found them the next morning all dry and hard.

If this happens don’t freak out I have a few solutions for you today. I usually use hot water to rinse and clean my paint brushes, but I heard about two techniques to clean paint brushes. One is using vinegar the other fabric softener. Let’s first talk about how vinegar cleans paint brushes. Here’s what you’ll need to do to use vinegar to clean paint brushes.

1. Get a clean empty jar, I always keep old pickle jars for painting and cleaning my brushes.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, heat distilled white vinegarin the microwave. I heated mine for 1 minute. But it depends on your microwave, you want the vinegar to get hot.
3. Place brushes into the vinegar. I clean my brushes one at a time, because I’m using a jar it’s too small to add more than one.
4. Let the brush sit in the vinegar for up to 30 minutes, then rinse well.
5. If you still have paint stuck on your brush, use thisPainters combto remove paint from bristles.

Here’s A Tip

Cleaning Acrylic Paint Brushes With Vinegar

Make sure that the brush doesn’t completely slide into the vinegar. You may have to get creative with how your brush is sitting in the jar. But, the vinegar will rust out your metal part of your brush if it sits in the vinegar.

I bet you didn’t know that vinegar cleans paint brushes did you? I have to tell you that this worked really well, but I still needed to try the fabric softener technique. If you don’t like the smell of vinegar and many people don’t another way to clean paint brushes is using fabric softener.

How To Clean Paint Brushes Using Fabric Softener

1. Get a clean jar and put fabric softener inside , filling it up half way.
2. Add your brush or brushes to the softener and let these sit a few hours or overnight.
3. Remove brushes from softener, then using a painters comb, remove paint from the brush.
4. Rinse paint brushes off and lay them on a towel to dry.

Besides using vinegar and water to clean paint brushes , fabric softener is a great alternative. Although I must admit, I thought that vinegar worked much better at removing chalk paint from my brushes.

Let’s talk about cleaning wax brushes.

If you use a wax brush to apply wax to your pieces you’ll want to know how easy it is to take care of your brush.

Using Dawn dish soap ad a drop of it to the tip of your wax brush.

Dip your brush in water, you can do this under a faucet, I’m just sharing it this way because it’s easier for me to photograph. Work your brush in a lather, rinse and repeat a few times. I’ve found that Dawn soap works the best for cleaning the wax off my brushes.

Oh, I almost forgot, here’s one more tip! So, let’s say you’re painting, and you have to stop for awhile. But, you don’t want to rinse your brush off because you’ll need to paint another coat. Take your paint brush and place a baggie over it. This will help prevent the paint from getting hard. I’ve actually had a brush sit in paint overnight in a baggie and it never got hard. It’s not advisable to do, but I’ve done this without ruining a brush. And that’s it!

I hope that these tips are helpful to you when your cleaning your brushes. Have you tried either method? If you have let me know your results in the comment section.

Supplies Used

You pull a clean, fresh paintbrush out of the pile, and a smile stretches instantly across your face. There is simply no better feeling!

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could keep your brushes in this good of shape for as long as possible? It may not come as a surprise, but all it takes is some regular care and maintenance.

But, while dirty brushes are the bane of every painter’s existence, they happen. Whether they are accidentally forgotten about after a long day in the studio or merely on their last leg, seasoned artists and brush makers have a few tricks up their sleeves for bringing your brushes back to life.

So, think twice before you pop that trashcan lid, and consider these twelve tips for caring for and salvaging your favorite brushes.

“Repeat the washing and rinsing process until the soap and water runs clear. Keep your water warm, but not hot, as hot water may cause any remaining paint to clot.” - Winsor & Newton

“Soaking your brushes in fabric softener periodically will help restore softness and pliability to their bristles, keeping them from becoming brittle and breaking off.” - Paint Nite

“You can use vegetable oil for cleaning a palette and dish soap and water for brushes. Just don’t let them sit in the water—it will ruin them. But, if they do lose shape, you can stick them in boiling water for a few seconds and they will reshape.” - Lori McNee, Fine Art Tips

“ Remove all excess paint with a soft rag or paper towel. Never let your brush rest on its head. There are many accessories available that will suspend your brush.” - Princeton Artist Brush Co.

“The most important thing to remember with regard to caring for your acrylic brushes is not to let the paint dry following use, as the paint is not soluble in this state and will produce a plastic-like dried texture.” - Winsor & Newton

“Soak oil paint-covered brushes for 5-10 minutes in baby oil (yes, baby oil). This gets a lot of paint and medium off before washing thoroughly with mild soap and warm water. “ - Teri Granger Martin

“The area near the ferrule is often the hardest to clean, but it's actually just as important for maintaining a brush's shape as the tip. Any paint residue that coats the bristles at their base will prevent them from coming together at the top.” - Craftsy

“If the ferrell gets gummed up, I was told that you can soak your brushes in rubbing alcohol for a couple of days and that will solve the problem.” - Carol McIntyre

“After washing with dish soap and water I finish the job as a usual rule with olive oil! You fight oil base with oil! Won't believe how much oil paint is removed from what I thought was a clean brush! The olive oil keeps the bristles soft as well!”

“Grab a glass cup and fill it about 1-2 inches deep with distilled white vinegar. Heat it in the microwave for 1-1.5 minutes then submerge your nasty paintbrushes into it… Take some dish soap (Dawn, Palmolive, etc.) and rinse off the brushes in warm soapy water.” - Crafty Morning

“If you have a painting project in mind, but the only paintbrushes you have are old, hard, and frayed, don’t go through the trouble of buying new ones. Revive old acrylic brushes with hair gel instead! Coat frayed bristles with any hair gel to mend the tips, then wash and soak them in fabric softener. They’ll be good as new!” - Paint Nite

Clean Dried Paint Off Paint Brush

“No matter what works for you, ensure that you reshape your brushes to the way they first looked when you bought them before you let them dry.” - Rosemary and Co

Hungry for more painting tips? Check out this smart advice for all painters we scored at the Plein Air Convention this year!

Clean Your Paint Brush With Vinegar

*Tips may work differently for acrylic and oil paint brushes. Make sure you double check any recommendations with the type of brush and paint you are using, as it varies with paint types.

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Cleaning Paint Brushes With Vinegar