The City of Tallahassee Florida is implementing measures to fight back against the blight of graffiti. The City Council approved ordinances for city inspectors to issue violations and fines to property owners who fail to remove graffiti after being notified.

The City of Tallahassee Florida Graffiti Abatement Plan will be a pilot program will go into effect in October of 2019. Using a code enforcement process, Tallahassee will work with property owners on getting rid of graffiti.

Painting over graffiti is one option for homeowners, but graffiti removal using a soy-based graffiti removal solvent like Clean City Pro Green Label is another great option to allow residents a fast, easy and effective graffiti removal tool.  Homeowners are victims of graffiti tagging.  They should be given the tools and training to fix the problem when it occurs.

After a rise in graffiti tagging and the blight associates with graffiti in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the Downtown Development Authority and the Cheyenne Police Department are partnering with a pressure washing company to remove graffiti throughout the city at no cost for residents and businesses.  There is a from that property owners can fill out to request the graffiti removal services.

"It is vandalism on the building and we are trying to beautify downtown and and make downtown better and a more friendly place, and stuff like this doesn't help the cause" says Cameron Karajanis General Manager of Provisions Wine & Spirits.

Special Projects Manager Esther Gonzales says "We have tourist, visitors, workers, and residents, that drive by here everyday, and the impression that we get is its not a very favorable neighborhood and that's what we are trying to defeat."

Graffiti taggers caught will be fined or face jail time for their misdemeanor or felony crimes.

Graffiti removal is not a one-time project.  Graffiti removal from a community is a long-term campaign.  Graffiti taggers must be deterred.  Fast and effective removal of graffiti discourages graffiti taggers.  The sooner the graffiti is removed, the less likely they are to graffiti tag that location. 

Large graffiti tags on brick, concrete or other porous surfaces require removal with a pressure washer and heavy duty Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover.  Alternatively, painting over large graffiti tags is an option for this type of graffiti.

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Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover is a fast, effective and safe heavy duty graffiti remover for removing Spray Paint and Permanent Marker from porous surfaces including
Concrete, Brick, limestone, stone, Rock and other difficult surfaces 

Product Benefits:

• Gel Formulation is designed to cling to vertical surfaces and provide maximum dwell time
• High-Performance
• Highly-Effective
• Spray and Pressure Wash
• Safe  for User
• Safe for Pets
• Safe for Environment
• ​Scientifically-Formulated
• Non-Hazardous Shipping

ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES

• "Green" Graffiti Remover
• Super Low VOC
• Low Odor
• Non-Toxic
• Non-Hazardous Shipping
• Soy-Powered
• Bio-Based
• Readily Biodegradable
• Non-Corrosive
• Non-Flammable
• Non-Aerosol

After months of complaints about the blight from graffiti tags, in Dayton, Ohio, community residents in partnership with the Dayton Police Department organized a community Graffiti Removal Clean Up Action Day to remove graffiti blight from commercial corridors.  Volunteers armed with graffiti remover and pressure washers were able to clean dozens of graffiti tags including large spray paint graffiti tags from brick.  The $600 and six hours were spent removing graffiti.

Then, a couple of weeks later, the graffiti taggers returned and retagged many of the places where the graffiti had been recently removed. 

"It's very irritating. With the amount of time that we spent, and the fact that we came in on our own time to clean it up, it's huge. it's not something that we take lightly." Dayton Police Office Christine Hamilton said.

The Dayton Police Department is conducting an investigation to identify the graffiti tagger and bring him to justice.  Aggressive community policing and security cameras do help deter graffiti vandalism.  Additionally, when graffiti vandals are caught, significant fines and jail time help to deter other graffiti vandals in the community.

Graffiti removal is not a one-time project.  Graffiti removal from a community is a long-term campaign.  Graffiti taggers must be deterred.  Fast and effective removal of graffiti discourages graffiti taggers.  The sooner the graffiti is removed, the less likely they are to graffiti tag that location.  Graffiti is a battle of attrition to see who has greater stamina, the community or the graffiti tagger.  In locations where graffiti is common and long periods of time pass before tags are removed, additional effort needs to be spent to change expectations around the graffiti.  The fact is that if graffiti is not removed frequently or quickly, the graffiti taggers are winning.  After a single graffiti action clean up, they will expect that this was an isolated event and return to re-tag the recently cleaned surfaces.  If however, this is expected and the graffiti clean up is actually a campaign, then the new graffiti can be removed and the cycle will continue.  Eventually, the community will win.  The graffiti tagger takes a risk everytime he goes out tagging that he will be caught, so he will look for spots where his tags will stay up longer.  If the city reclaims an area as graffiti-free with aggressive and rapid graffiti removal, the tagger will move on to less actively maintained locations.  Often these secondary locations are behind buildings and much less visible from the street.  While the vigilance against graffiti tagging must remain, pushing the tagging from view from the main commercial streets into alleys and behind buildings does make an important positive impact on the amount of graffiti blight experienced by the community.

Graffiti Action Days are innovative volunteer graffiti removal events that empower the community to reclaim their neighborhood from the visual blight of graffiti.  They can make a significant and tangible impact on the appearance of a targeted commercial corridor, park or neighborhood plagued by graffiti.  
 
Graffiti Action Days are typically spearheaded by Municipalities, Neighborhood Organizations, Schools, Aldermanic Offices, Chambers of Commerce, or Block Clubs.  

Volunteers can quickly and safely remove hundreds of graffiti tags armed with the highly-innovative, highly-effective, highly-green Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover.  During the two-hour events, volunteers report personally cleaning an estimated 30 to 50 tags.

Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is highly environmentally-friendly and  therefore very safe to work with. It is fast acting and can completely remove most tags within a couple minutes without impacting the underlying surface.   
   
Because Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is safe enough to be used by non-professionals, a group of volunteers armed with spray bottles, sponges and buckets of water can effectively remove the majority of the graffiti in a commercial corridor on non-porous surfaces including signs, mailboxes,  newspaper boxes, meter boxes and lamp posts. 

Large graffiti tags on brick, concrete or other porous surfaces require removal with a pressure washer and heavy duty Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover.  Alternatively, painting over large graffiti tags is an option for this type of graffiti.

Often graffiti action volunteers will encounter street art while removing graffiti.  It is not necessary to remove street art.  Street art has been demonstrated to improve the urban environment, unlike graffiti tags which blight it.  So what is the difference between Street Art and Graffiti Tagging?  1. Street Art is constructive, Graffiti Tagging is destructive. 2. Street Art adorns the urban landscape, Graffiti Tagging scars it and accelerates urban decay. 3. Street Art is about the audience, Graffiti Tagging is about the tagger.
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Fast and Easy Step-by-step guide for how to Remove Graffiti from Painted Metal Newspaper Box using Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover.

Step 1: Spray Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover onto graffiti tag

Step 2: Allow short dwell time of 20 to 100 seconds.  Sharpie or permanent marker will break within 15 seconds.  Paint marker will break within 30 to 60 seconds.  Grease pen will break within 2 minutes and agitation will assist the removal as the grease chunks break free.  Spray paint will break within 60 seconds to two minutes.

Step 3: Scrub lightly with scouring pad

Step 4: Rinse clean with water or wet rag.

What's the difference between Graffiti Tagging and Street Art?

1. Street Art is constructive, Graffiti Tagging is destructive.
2. Street Art adorns the urban landscape, Graffiti Tagging scars it, accelerating urban decay.
3. Street Art is an embrace of the city, Graffiti Tagging is an attack against the city.
4. Street Art stretches your mind, Graffiti Tagging is a slap in your face.
5. Street Art is about the audience, Graffiti Tagging is about the tagger.
6. Street Art says "Have you thought about this?", Graffiti Tagging says "I must be important because I see my name".
7. Street Art was done with a smile, Graffiti Tagging was done with a scowl.
8. Street Art was done with an outstretched hand, Graffiti Tagging was done with an outstretched finger. 
9. Street Art takes skill, Graffiti Tagging takes anger and distain
10. We mourn losing Street Art and celebrate losing Graffiti Tagging. 

Good Street Art is great, good Graffiti Tagging is gone!
 
Wild Flowers are not weeds: Protect Street Art

"Street Art are urban wildflowers.  In a formal Rose Garden, wildflowers are weeds just like the buckthorn, crabgrass, and dandelions.  But in a vibrant, dynamic native garden, wildflowers are different.  They bloom in colorful bursts, attract bees and butterflies.  They require no watering and they don't choke out other native plants.  But the weeds that grow around the wildflowers need to be cleared so that the wildflowers can prosper."
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Do your part to allow Street Art to Thrive
Do your part to keep the streets clean of graffiti tagging so that Street Art can thrive!  The only way to change the perception that all graffiti is bad, is to raise the bar and eliminate the bad graffiti and graffiti tagging.  A single Street Art sticker on the back of a sign can make a strong visual statement.  Graffiti stickers covering a sign drown out Street Art and turns the sign to blight.  

Ugly racist graffiti was spray painted on the brick wall of a United States Post Office in the Bronx, New York.  The racist graffiti outraged the community. The post office is across the street from a neighborhood park and playground.    The graffiti tags were spray painted onto a red brick wall and onto a metal painted door.  The police are conducting a investigation.  There is hope that surveillance cameras will provide the information necessary to identify the graffiti vandal and bring him to justice.  Surveillance cameras provide a critical role in identifying graffiti vandals and evidence in criminal hearings.

Rapid graffiti removal is essential to deter future graffiti attacks.  Graffiti removal must be complete without leaving a graffiti shadow, or damaging the surface.

3 Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from Brick.
​Step 1: Spray, pour or brush Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover or Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover onto graffiti tag.
Step 2: Allow a moderate dwell time of 5 to 15 minutes
Note:  A longer or shorter dwell time is possible depending on conditions.  If spray paint is highly saturated, the brick is highly porous or the temperature is cold, allow for a longer dwell time. 
​Step 3: Pressure wash using a wide, fan tip pressure washing nozzle such as 25 degree green tip.  Repeat if necessary.

Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover is a fast, effective and safe heavy duty graffiti remover for removing Spray Paint and Permanent Marker
from porous surfaces including Concrete, Brick, limestone, stone, Rock and other difficult surfaces.

5 Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from Painted Metal Door.
5 Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from Painted metal Door.
Five Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from a Painted Metal Surfaces such as a metal door.
Step 1: Spray Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover or Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover.
Step 2: Allow short dwell time of 10 to 30 seconds
Step 3: Swirl gently with mild scouring pad
Step 4: Wipe surface clean with dry, absorbent rag.
Step 5: For the best results, rinse with water or wipe down with wet rag.

Notes:  When removing graffiti from a heavily painted surface, less delicate removal is required, as the substrate is painted with multiple layers of the same color.  Additionally, with elements such as the traffic pole below, perfection is less important than speedy and complete graffiti removal. 

For more information, check out our Best Practices in Graffiti Removal page, our Graffiti Removal Selection page or our Tips and Techniques for Graffiti Removal page.

A 21 year old University of Delaware student was arrested for 82 charges related to graffiti crimes.  The charges include 38 counts of graffiti and 37 counts of graffiti implements.  His graffiti tagging spree has lasted approximately 6 months on campus and in Newark.  Graffiti tags were spray painted onto brick buildings, plastic garbage dumpsters and plastic porta-potties.

The suspect was brought to justice after a police investigation that includes surveillance camera footage, information provided by witnesses, and police vigilance.  Active policing and enforcement directly results in decreased instances of graffiti.  Also, widespread publicity around the arrest of a well-known and prolific graffiti tagger can have a chilling deterrent effect on other graffiti taggers in the community.
  
The cost of graffiti to communities is significant.  The appearance of blight drives down commerce and drives up the cost of graffiti removal.  Cities are forced to reallocate dollars for improvements to graffiti abatement.

It is an essential graffiti removal best practice that graffiti be removed as quickly as possible after a graffiti attack.  

​Step-by-step instructions for removing Graffiti from Rough Surfaces
​STEP-BY-STEP APPLICATION BEST PRACTICES for Removing Graffiti from Concrete, Brick using Clean City Pro Heavy Duty Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover.
1.  City Pro Heavy Duty Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover is for use on non-sensitive surfaces such as brick concrete, stone and other difficult surfaces.  If using on sensitive surfaces, always test in inconspicuous area before use.
2.  Use chemical resistant gloves & goggles.
3.  Spray or brush graffiti remover onto affected area.  (Ready-to-use. No dilution necessary)
4.  Control drips using nylon or wire brush 
5.  Allow dwell time from 10 to 20 minutes (longer in cold temps)
6.  Warmer temperatures, hot water, and agitation with wire brush increase effectiveness 
7.  Rinse with pressure washer using even, slow passes.  Use 15° fan tip or wider.
8.  Repeat if necessary.

​Step-by-step instructions for removing Graffiti from Plastic garbage Toters.
Five Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from Plastic Garbage Toters.
Step 1: Spray Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover or Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover
Step 2: Allow short dwell time of 10 to 30 seconds
Step 3: Swirl gently with mild scouring pad
Step 4: Wipe surface clean with dry, absorbent rag.
Step 5: For the best results, rinse with water or wipe down with wet rag.

Step-bystep instructions for how to remove Graffiti from Bathrooms and Portable Toilets.
Five Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from Bathrooms and Portable Toilets
Step 1: Spray Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover or Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover
Step 2: Allow short dwell time of 10 to 30 seconds
Step 3: Swirl gently with mild scouring pad
Step 4: Wipe surface clean with dry, absorbent rag.
Step 5: For the best results, rinse with water or wipe down with wet rag.

For more information, check out our Best Practices in Graffiti Removal page, our Graffiti Removal Selection page or our Tips and Techniques for Graffiti Removal page.

In Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, business owners were upset when their building was tagged with gang graffiti.  After it was cleaned by the city graffiti removal crew, the gangs tagged it a second time.  Between graffiti shadow and much of original paint marred by the repeated graffiti removal attempts, the owners decided to take matters into their own hands for how to stop the tagging and to beautify the commercial corridor.  They decided to paint a giant black and white head shot of Dolly Parton with the assistance of a projector that allowed them to trace the iconic image.  The result has been widely celebrated in the neighborhood and has ended the gang graffiti at that location.