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.

​New strategy for discouraging graffiti: Ohio judge orders graffiti tagger to use toothbrush instead of paint brush as part of sentence.

After being caught for spray painting graffiti on a railroad caboose, Judge Michael Cicconetti gave the graffiti tagger a choice.

Option 1: 10 days in jail

or 

Option 2: Paint railings with a toothbrush. The toothbrush required hours of effort while a paint brush could have completed the job in minutes.  

When asked about this creative sentsense, Chief Probation Officer Dave Washlock said, “Somebody will think twice. Maybe they’re gonna vandalize or paint something else. The message is here. You’re caught in this court’s jurisdiction, this could be you.” 

Two teenage graffiti vandals tagged the Milford High School, not far from Boston, in Milford Massachusetts with red and black spray paint.  The spray paint graffiti appeared on the school's front doors and on a variety of wood and painted structures on the athletic fields.  

The best graffiti remover for metal and glass doors is Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover for painted surfaces. Clean City Pro green Label Graffiti Remover is a fast, effective and safe medium duty graffiti remover for removing Spray Paint, Permanent Marker, adhesive and stickers from a Wide Range of smooth Surfaces including Painted Metal, Plastics, trains, buses, vehicles, panel trucks, bumpers, playgrounds, bathroom partitions, mail boxes, benches, and much more.

Step-by-step instructions for removing Graffiti from Smooth Surfaces such as a painted metal and glass front door.

APPLICATION BEST PRACTICES FOR REMOVING GRAFFITI FROM SMOOTH SURFACES using Clean City Pro Medium Duty Green Label Graffiti Remover.
1.  Always test in inconspicuous area before use.
2.  Use chemical resistant gloves and ventless goggles.
3.  Spray Clean City Pro graffiti remover onto affected area.  (Ready-to-use. No dilution necessary)
4.  Prevent drips using non-scratch scouring pad, microfiber, cotton rag or soft paper towel. 
5.  Allow dwell time (from 30 seconds to 3 min).  Note warmer ambient temperature and scrubbing increase speed of graffiti removal.
6.  As soon as graffiti tag bond with substrate "breaks", lightly loosen paint with non-scratch scouring pad, microfiber, cotton rag or soft paper towel.  The quicker the process, the less likely there will be any paint loss from substrate.
7.  Wipe clean with dry rag or towel.
8.  Rinse with water or wipe with wet rag to remove any remaining graffiti residue. 

The best graffiti remover for painted wood and metal bleachers is Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover for painted surfaces. Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover is a fast, effective and safe heavy duty graffiti remover for removing Spray Paint and Permanent Marker from a Wide Range of Surfaces including Painted Metal, Plastics, Concrete, Brick and More  

Step-by-step instructions for removing Graffiti from Smooth Surfaces
APPLICATION BEST PRACTICES FOR REMOVING GRAFFITI FROM SMOOTH SURFACES using Clean City Pro Heavy Duty Red Label Graffiti Remover.

1.  Always test in inconspicuous area before use.
2.  Use chemical resistant gloves and ventless goggles.
3.  Spray Clean City Pro graffiti remover onto affected area.  (Ready-to-use. No dilution necessary)
4.  Prevent drips using non-scratch scouring pad, microfiber, cotton rag or soft paper towel. 
5.  Allow dwell time (from 10 seconds to 3 min).  Note warmer ambient temperature and scrubbing increase speed of graffiti removal.
6.  As soon as graffiti tag bond with substrate "breaks", lightly loosen paint with non-scratch scouring pad, microfiber, cotton rag or soft paper towel.  The quicker the process, the less likely there will be any paint loss from substrate.
7.  Wipe clean with dry rag or towel.
8.  Rinse with water or wipe with wet rag to remove any remaining graffiti residue. 

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.

​
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.
​
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.

Louisville Kentucky Police arrested a suspected graffiti tagger after he posted images a graffiti on highway grade signs and highway billboards on his Instagram account.  After the arrest, the suspect admitted to graffiti tagging the a State Highway Sign and is suspected of graffiti tagging of a highway billboard along I-65 north. 

Graffiti is not a victimless crime.  Graffiti damage to the highway signage was estimated to cost $5,000.  The graffiti tagger is also suspected in tagging the brick wall of a restaurant with an estimated repair cost of $2,500.

Often graffiti taggers share images of their graffiti on social media.  Social media can be an effective tool to identify graffiti tagging suspects and also to help confirm responsibility during court proceedings.  Because of the tendency of graffiti taggers to share their tags, the quick removal of graffiti is essential to discouraging future graffiti attacks.

How to remove Graffiti from traffic signs5 Simple DIY Steps to Remove Graffiti from Traffic Signs.
Traffic Signs are very delicate so extra care needs to be taken to remove the graffiti tag without damaging the delicate signage.  Anti-Graffiti Films protect signage substrates and allow graffiti to be easily removed.

Step 1: Spray Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover or Clean City Pro Yellow Label Graffiti Remover.  
Step 2: Allow short dwell time of 10 to 30 seconds
Step 3: Swirl gently with soft rag or paper towel.
Step 4: Wipe surface clean with dry, absorbent rag.  
Step 5: For the best results, rinse with water or wipe down with wet rag.
Repeat as necessary.

Note: For traffic signage protected with a anti-graffiti coating such as 3M Anti-Graffiti Film or Avery Dennison Anti-Graffiti Film, Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover can be used without fear of damaging the underlying delicate substrate.

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.

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.

After racist graffiti tags were spray painted on a building which sells products made by minority artists, the Boston Herald published an editorial calling for more aggressive defence against graffiti.  Included in their recommendations to reduce graffiti were an increase in fines and harsher penalties for graffiti tagging.  They recommend security cameras as there are documented cases where graffiti taggers were brought to justice after being filmed by security cameras.   

According to a 2016 Department of Justice report, “There are huge public costs associated with graffiti: An estimated $12 billion a year is spent cleaning up graffiti in the United States. Graffiti contributes to lost revenue associated with reduced ridership on transit systems, reduced retail sales and declines in property value. In addition, graffiti generates the perception of blight and heightens fear of gang activity.”

Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover is a fast, effective and safe heavy duty graffiti remover for removing Spray Paint from Brick.

3 Simple Steps for graffiti removal 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 30 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.

​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.