How to Clean and Maintain Adhesive Trowels

Clean a notched trowel while the adhesive is fresh, using only the method on the adhesive's label. The notches meter the bed, so protect every tooth.

What you need

Read the adhesive's cleanup method and safety data sheet. Set out the cleaning medium, wipes and capture pan before you spread.
Stop and clean at a natural break, before residue skins in the notches.
Remove bulk with a soft, non-damaging tool. Never pry with the notched edge or bang the trowel on a bucket.
Clean both broad faces, the blade-to-handle line, corners and tapered ends. Then wipe each notched edge toward an open end.
Use water only on adhesives that allow it. Clean while fresh and do not soak overnight.
Use a solvent only if the adhesive names it and it suits the whole tool, including handle, rivets and aluminum spine.
Wipe and drain the tool so no liquid stays in notches or at rivets. Dry at room temperature.
Inspect under raking light, then store it clean and dry with the edges apart.

Name the exact adhesive on the blade. Cement mortars, mastics and solvent adhesives clean up differently.
Do not use heat, a torch, a wire wheel, sandblasting or a pressure washer on a notched edge.
A notch is not a sharpened edge. Do not file a rolled or dinged notch square.
Wet portland-cement mortar is alkaline and can burn skin. Wear the protection the safety data sheet names.

A plastic handle that survives water is not solvent-proof. Do not use a stronger cleaner on a tool you have not checked.
Do not hammer, chisel or grind off cured residue. Use only a method the adhesive maker supplies for cured material.
Take the trowel out of use if the residue is unknown, a tooth is bent or cracked, or the handle is loose.

Questions about the right tool for your job? Email cs@hydestore.com or call 508-916-6442.