Blog / When it’s time to wash up

July 26, 2018

When you have job fatigue and you’re ready to move on, cleaning up is likely the thing you dread the most. Brushes are one thing, but drop cloths? Often oversized and made of different materials, it’s tempting to do a quick rinse or shake and be done with it.

That’s a good way to increase your supply budget and decrease the reusability of your cloths.

Here are some tips for cleaning the five most commonly used drop cloths:

Canvas: Often a simple shake-out is good for a canvas drop cloth, but if your cloth is coated with drywall dust or wood shavings or something similar, give it a shake and throw it in the washing machine (by itself!). Machine wash warm, tumble dry low.

Vinyl: With a backing that’s 31 percent more slip-resistant than a traditional plastic drop cloth, Trimaco’s Stay Put® Vinyl Dropcloth is easy to clean; the Stay Put® technology will help keep it flat while you wipe it down. Simply spray with a multi-purpose cleaner and wipe clean with the Leak Resistant One Tuff® Wiper. These absorb stains and paint splatters like a sponge, without leaving lint behind.

Butyl: Standing up to heavy duty traffic and long jobs, consider Trimaco’s Eliminator® or Rubber-Duckie® Dropcloths. A lighter weight butyl like the Rubber-Duckie drop cloth can be machine washed in cold water and lined dry. For a heavier duty butyl drop cloth, like the Eliminator, you can clean with One Tuff® Durable Absorbent Wiper Cloths. Engineered with a tough patented fiber, Sontara®, these wipers have a competitive edge. A special process spins the fibers together, creating Trimaco’s most durable wiper yet.

Polypropylene: These covers can often simply be thoroughly rinsed. Trimaco has a Polypropylene Toilet Cover that is held in place with elastic, so spot-cleaning with a sponge or a wiper is a cinch too.

Plastic: The most economical of drop cloths, Trimaco offers coverings in different weights and sizes; cutting to size is also easy. For a little more durability, consider the SuperTuff® Paper/Poly Dropcloth. Use with the poly side down and the paper side up. Depending on the amount of clean-up needed, these are often best to toss and replace.

For a painter’s drop cloth, carpet shield, or floor protector, check out Trimaco’s catalog here.