Clean up easily after decorating – and as you go along – with these top tips.

• Water-based paints are much nicer to use than oil-based ones, and also easier to remove. They generally come off flooring, skin and clothes (don’t let the paint dry on fabric) pretty easily with water or water and household cleaner or sugar soap.
• It’s harder to remove oil-based paints, especially once they’re dry, but fresh paint can usually be cleaned off with turpentine substitute (turps) or white spirit. If you have to put either of these on your skin, wash it thoroughly afterwards with soap and water.
• Large emulsion rollers are a pain to clean, so if you’ve started painting with one and haven’t finished, don’t waste time cleaning it. Instead, wrap it in a couple of plastic bags overnight. This will keep the paint moist, so it doesn’t dry out, and you can carry on painting where you left off the next day. You can do the same with paintbrushes.
• If you don’t get rollers really clean, the paint will dry on the sleeve and ruin the finish next time you use it. With emulsion rollers, it’s a good idea to soak them in water first and then clean them thoroughly under a running tap (not very eco, I know), wringing them out constantly to remove the paint until the water runs clear. For an easy alternative, try the Dulux PaintPod painting system, which cleans the roller for you. Rollers for oil-based paints (made of foam) usually have to be thrown away after use.
• Your paintbrushes should also be washed out in water or turps/white spirit, depending on the type of paint used. If you’re doing a lot of DIY, keep your brushes soaking in jam jars or tubs (topped up regularly), as they can become unusable when they dry out. As long as the bristles aren’t squashed out of shape, they should be fine. Using a plastic biscuit tin is a good idea because you can lay the brushes pretty much flat.

DIY news bulletin

Got the holiday blues? Try Crown’s Le Petit Palais paint range if you went to France this summer and were inspired to create a little French sophistication in your home.

The range of 28 matt emulsions is based on the delicate colours of the French countryside and the elegant interiors of châteaux. With everything from deep, rich and vibrant colours to soft pastels and neutrals, Le Petit Palais has something for everyone.

The standout colours for me are Blue Ciel, a gorgeous duck-egg blue, and Isobelle, a darker version of the same shade that’s just as lovely – they go together beautifully. Menthe and Armoise are a pretty pale and darker pistachio green respectively, while Lait is a creamy neutral that would work well in rooms that need warming up.

Crown Le Petit Palais emulsion costs £17.98 for 2.5ltr from B&Q. See the range online at www.diy.com

Autumn’s well and truly with us, and Bosch has launched two tools that come into their own this season.

KEO is a new cordless garden saw designed to make trimming branches and cutting back your garden easier.

The saw weighs less than 1kg and has a special hook that holds the branch in place so you can saw one handed. It cuts branches up to 6cm in diameter with the hook on, or 8cm without it, and can do up to 190 cuts on one battery charge – ideal if you want to clear your garden before putting up a fence.

Bosch has also launched a cordless leaf blower, the ALB 18 LI, which weighs 1.8kg and has a removable nozzle for easy storage. One battery charge gives you up to 10 minutes of blowing time, but the battery is interchangeable with those for other Bosch power tools.

The ALB 18 LI leaf blower and the KEO garden saw cost £89.99 each, available from garden centres and DIY stores. For more information, visit www.bosch-pt.co.uk

Ask the expert…

Q: I know I have to prime wood before painting it, but do I also have to use undercoat?

A: Yes – the better your preparation is, the better your finish should be and the longer your paintwork should last.

The easiest thing to use is a combined wood primer and undercoat, but if you already have some primer, you can buy separate undercoat. Try 1 Hour Undercoat, £8.49 for 750ml, International, which is a really good quick-drying product (touch dry in 30 minutes, overcoatable in an hour). It’s great if you have a lot of painting to do, or want to get it done fast, and it can be used on all interior woodwork.

Seasonal task…

Last week, weather forecasters predicted another chilly winter, brrrrrrr, so start thinking about how you can DIY your way to a winter-proof home. They expect some parts of the country to get snow as early as October, so there isn’t much time!