Easy Method to Store Used Paintbrushes

One of the maintenance activities for a landlord would invariably include some painting. The best way to store used paint brushes away is to clean them first. For brushes used in oil-based paints, you clean them with turpentine or paint thinner. For those used with latex paint, with water. If the paint job is just for a day or two, handymen would just dip the brushes in either water or paint thinner (whichever is appropriate) in between painting.

But there's one thing you can do to store away paint brushes without dipping them in solvents or water. Here's what to do:

1. After painting, ensure the paint brush has little paint left on it.
   
2. Wrap the paintbrush's bristles with a plastic sheet or insert the bristle end inside a small plastic bag. The plastic should be long enough to cover the handle's neck or that narrow portion of the handle near the metal ferrule.
   
3. Tie the plastic sheet tightly around paintbrush's neck twist tie or a thin wire. The wrapped paintbrush should look like the one in the photo below.
   
   
   
4. Put the wrapped paintbrush inside the refrigerator (yes, refrigerator!) where it's unlikely to be moved.
   
5. Tell all that you have a paintbrush inside the ref so nobody mistakes it for a popsicle!

When you're ready to use the paintbrush, simply take it out the ref and it's good to go! Don't forget about it though if you need to defrost the ref.