Graffiti is usually applied unsolicited to the property of others. Objects damaged by graffiti can concern homes of private individuals, but also buildings of companies and government, as well as trains, bus shelters and electrical cabinets. Removing graffiti is not always easy and there are various methods for removing it and cleaning, for example, a facade. The costs of disposal are high and who pays for them?
Who pays the costs of removing graffiti?
When someone unsolicited graffiti on someone else’s property and is caught and arrested, a police report will be drawn up by the police. Normally, this perpetrator is also ordered to remove the graffiti or to pay the costs of the removal. In practice, however, there are few so-called red-acts, and if someone is already arrested and sentenced to pay the damage, then in practice the amount of the damage appears to be hardly collectable from the offender. In general, the victim pays for the costs of removing the graffiti and any damage. Incidentally, there are insurers that provide limited compensation for damage and costs caused by (the removal of) graffiti.
How can graffiti be removed
There are several ways in which graffiti can be removed, and which cleaning method is chosen depends, among other things, on the paint used, the type of surface, the size of the surface on which graffiti is located and the expected damage due to the removal. Some means and methods by which graffiti can be removed include:
- Nowadays there are products that are biodegradable, such as HG Graffiti Remover, GRATCH Graffiti Remover and Graffiti Go.
- A cheap, but not environmentally friendly, way is to use chemical agents that dissolve the paint, such as turpentine.
- On certain surfaces, such as stainless steel, natural stone and glass, the graffiti can be sprayed off the surface with compressed air. Baking powder is added to this compressed air, so that the graffiti is, as it were, scrubbed from the surface.
Whatever cleaning method is used, it must be realized that with any method permanent damage to the substrate can occur, either from the graffiti or from the method used to remove the graffiti. Especially with walls of monumental buildings, but also with processed walls, an expert should really determine with which cleaning method the graffiti can best be removed.
Companies specialized in graffiti removal
There are many companies that have included graffiti removal in their service offering. This can concern companies that offer general services in the field of cleaning and facade cleaning, but also companies that specialize in, for example, the prevention and removal of graffiti. In the unlikely event that one is regularly confronted with graffiti, one can often agree a tailor-made service with these companies.
Remove graffiti; facade cleaning needed
In certain cases it is necessary to remove graffiti to proceed with facade cleaning. Some points for attention in this context:
- Because graffiti normally only concerns a single layer of paint and on the surface next to the graffiti you can see exactly what the surface is like, fortunately it is fairly easy for experts to determine how best to carry out facade cleaning.
- Unfortunately, practice shows that a surface that has just been stripped of graffiti seems to have an even greater attraction to be smeared with graffiti again.
- In certain cases, a protective layer can be applied, which makes the graffiti easier to remove when a repetition occurs.
- In the event that a certain object is frequently contaminated with graffiti, it makes sense to pay attention to prevention! Think of anti-graffiti and camera surveillance.
