Tips for Removing Graffiti

 The term graffiti comes from the Greek word graphein, which means, “to write.”  You’ve probably seen graffiti somewhere in your area. It’s the words, colors, and shapes drawn or scratched on buildings, overpasses, train cars, desks, and other surfaces. It’s done without permission and it’s against the law.

If your property has been a victim of Graffiti, you have to know that removing Graffiti could be a very difficult task. Hiring a professional is probably your best bet but if you want to try something like pressure washing on your own first, here are some tips:

Cleaning porous surfaces: Concrete, Stone, Brick, and Stucco
Being porous, “pores” tend to catch and hold dirt and Graffiti, they are the most difficult to remove graffiti from. Pressure washing is a fairly reliable way to get these kinds of walls clean, however, it is not always effective. If it is not effective, it may be necessary to hire a professional such as CleanSafe to remove the Graffiti.

Before you attempt to remove Graffiti using pressure wash, here is a quick checklist that will help make Graffiti removal safe and successful.

• Make sure you know your work-site well.
• Notice where runoffs from your property go, and know where your drain inlets go–unlike the sanitary sewer system that flows to the city’s waste water treatment plants, runoff that enters our storm sewer system drains directly into area creeks and rivers.
• Avoid harmful, toxic chemicals–especially methylene chloride.
• Absolutely no waste water containing any chemicals should be allowed to run off into the storm drains.
• Take time to cover outdoor electrical fixtures and receptacles with plastic bags and plastic tape. Be sure they are watertight.
• Use skin protection and eye goggles for the pressure washer.
• Apply a chemical remover to the Graffiti. Local hardware and paint stores carry citrus-based, biodegradable removers—usually the thicker the better.
• Be patient…use a stiff brush to agitate vandalized area.
• Position yourself approximately three feet from prepared surface, start washing with very low pressure.
  Work from top to bottom. Use back-and-forth overlapping strokes. Experiment–find the right distance and range to achieve best cleaning results.

Hiring a Professional Contractor
If scope of cleaning is much larger than what you can handle, hire a professional contractor to do the job. Before you hire a contractor, ask some basic questions such as:

• Ask your contractor what the best method of removal would be that would return your surface to its natural state.
• Ask your contractor how they plan to prevent the pollutants (i.e., dirty water, chemicals, etc.) from entering the storm drains.
• Ask if contract includes a provision requiring that the contractor comply with all environmental regulations.