Paint roller cleaner

A paint roller cleaner comprising:

• a base comprising a bottom surface, at least a portion of which is flat and on a plane for resting on a sink surface;
• a knob comprising a longitudinal axis, and a conical outer surface slanting from a lower diameter at a lower end of the outer surface near the base, to an upper diameter at an upper end of the outer surface, wherein said upper diameter is smaller than said lower diameter and said knob is sized to he inserted into, and seal with, a paint roller internal passageway at a location between the upper end and the lower end of the knob having a diameter equal to an internal diameter of the internal passageway, wherein the knob is pivotally connected to the base on a pivot axis that is parallel to said plane of said portion of the bottom surface of the base;
• and
• wherein the knob is pivotal on said pivot axis relative to the base to an acute angle relative to said plane to place the longitudinal axis of the knob vertical when said portion of the base is set on a non-horizontal portion of the sink surface, so that water filling the roller will overflow evenly around a top edge of said roller to clean the entire roller outer surface.

A method of cleaning a paint roller, the method comprising:

• providing a paint roller having an internal passageway and a cylindrical roller outer surface, and a paint roller cleaner device, the cleaner device comprising:
• a base comprising a bottom surface, at least a portion of which is flat and on a plane;
• a knob comprising a longitudinal axis, a generally cylindrical outer surface having a lower diameter at or near a lower end of the outer surface near the base, and an upper diameter at or near an upper end of the outer surface, said upper diameter being smaller than said lower diameter, wherein the knob is pivotally connected to the base on a pivot axis that is perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of the knob;
• and
• the method further comprising:
• placing the cleaner device in a sink with said portion of the base resting on a non-horizontal portion of the sink so that said plane is non-horizontal;
• pushing said paint roller onto said knob after said placing of the cleaner device in the sink, so that the knob is received in an internal passageway of said paint roller and sealed to the internal passageway at a location, between the upper end and the lower end of the knob, having a diameter equal to an internal diameter of the internal passageway;
• and
• pushing the paint roller down to press the base against the sink surface and pivoting the paint roller to pivot the knob relative to the base to an acute angle relative to said plane to place the longitudinal axes of the knob and of the paint roller in a vertical orientation;
• and
• filling the roller with water from a faucet supplying water to the sink, so that the water overflows around a top edge of said roller to clean the entire roller outer surface.