Street Cleaning, Graffiti and Gum Removal
Don't let vandals leave
their mark
Paul Casson, technical field manager, Rentokil Specialist Hygiene, provides a guide to graffiti cleaning
The work of Banksy, Stik and Inkie
has brought street art to the
masses and they are renowned for
their colourful and intricate murals
which bring visual excitement to
otherwise uninspiring surroundings. As
a result, some brands now commission
street artists to create murals promoting
their products or latest releases.
Graffiti, on the other hand, is
generally unwelcome. It’s traditionally
seen as a more anti-social form of street
art, which is usually carried out to
deliberately deface, mark or ‘tag’ a wall,
property or other surface, without an
intent for people to enjoy looking at it.
For businesses, the unexpected
appearance of graffiti on a premise can
be detrimental to the property and more
importantly, the brand’s image. This is
especially the case in the retail, transport
and property sales industries, where the
presence of graffiti has been associated
with a wide range of negative side
effects, including decreased sales,
reduced passenger numbers, and a steep
decline in property values in the area. In
schools and public places, the presence
of graffiti is equally unfavourable,
potentially conveying the message that
crime happens frequently and is
tolerated in the area.
Time is of the essence
The sooner graffiti disappears, the
better. Its quick and effective removal
often acts as a deterrent, where the
offender may feel as though their efforts
have been wasted if their work only
appears for a very limited time.
It is also worth noting that under the
Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, the
person responsible for the surface is
accountable for the cost of getting
graffiti removed. This means that it falls
to the owners or managers of a building
to deal with the problem. If graffiti is left
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untouched for too long, local authorities
can issue a Graffiti Removal Notice,
which gives the property owner or
manager a timeframe to remove the
graffiti or face the risk of prosecution.
The offending material could just be
painted over, but this is not always a
practical solution. In fact, it can
sometimes create what is seen as a blank
canvas, inviting even more graffiti in the
future. Luckily, the permanent and
effective removal of graffiti needn’t be as
onerous or time-consuming as you
might think.
The benefits of Ecoblasting
In our opinion Ecoblasting is one of the
most successful ways to remove graffiti.
It works by using compressed air to blast
an environmentally benign abrasive,
such as bicarbonate of soda or recycled
glass, on the surface to remove substrate
layers. Traditional methods of graffiti
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