Shops and businesses whose premises are covered in graffiti are less attractive to customers as they don’t feel safe visiting them.
Cleaning up a shop, and surrounding area, can help increase sales and revenue by making people more likely to visit.
There are lots of ways businesses can help prevent graffiti in their area:
Ongoing upkeep and rapid removal. Studies show that repeated removal within 24 to 48 hours results in a nearly zero rate of reoccurrence.
Incorporate shrubs, thorny plants, and climbers to restrict vandal access.
Add or improve lighting around the building to promote natural surveillance.
Use fences, controlled entrances and exits, and other barriers that discourage through traffic.
Limit access to roofs by moving bins away from walls and covering drainpipes to prevent vandals from scaling them.
Work with other local businesses to keep tabs on a business area and to organise and contribute to a “paint bank.” Paints, rollers, brushes, and other equipment from the bank are “borrowed” as needed. Ensure safe and environmentally appropriate storage of paint.
Employ graffiti-resistant materials or coatings on a wall that’s constantly hit with graffiti.
Refrain from using graffiti images in ads or promoting graffiti in any way.
Print graffiti prevention messages on bags, sales flyers, tray liners, book covers, calendars, and other promotional items.
How should graffiti be removed?
To select the appropriate method for graffiti removal, consider the surface, access, costs, and any local restrictions.
Removal methods may include:
Paint out – on painted surfaces, painting over graffiti is a low-cost removal method. Be sure to color match the paint to the surface. A patchwork of paint or a large block of different color paint is an ideal canvas and will invite more graffiti.
Chemical removal – this method employs some type of solvent to remove graffiti.
Power washing – this removes graffiti by applying water, usually hot, under pressure. Power washing may also be used after applying a paint solvent to the graffiti area. An abrasive, such as baking soda or fine sand, may also be added to the water to remove a thin layer of the surface, and with it, the graffiti.
Consider pooling resources with other merchants and together contract with a company that specializes in graffiti removal. This will encourage quick and appropriate removal.
Email the graffiti team for more advice at streetcare@hounslow.gov.uk or call us on 020 8583 5555.
You could organise ‘spot-squads’ to report multiple cases of graffiti in your area.
If you need to report graffiti please use our online form or contact us below.
Contact us
Community Environment Team
Bridge Road Depot
Pears Road
Hounslow
TW3 1SQ
Email: streetcare@hounslow.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 8583 5555