If you’re looking for an alternative to turpentine or expensive brush cleaner for cleaning brushes, I’ve had luck with cooking oil or canola oil for removing oil from brushes.

Also, after being cleaned with cooking oil, the bristles on my brushes are very smooth and soft. They’re not brittle or dry at all.

To clean brushes with cooking oil, here is what I do:

Pour 1/3 inch cooking oil into a re-usable container (a takeout container, a coffee can both work well)
Swish the brushes around in the oil (a coffee can works great for this if it is corrugated or if it has ripples, it has a washboard effect)
Empty the container of cooking oil into the trash
Wipe clean the excess remaining oil in the container with a paper towel.

I personally loved this when I discovered it because - no smell! And the oil is easy enough to get out of the container, so that the container can be used again.

This also works with olive oil, and though I haven’t tried it I bet it works with other oils used for cooking, like sesame oil.

Until next time -