Pressure Washers for Graffiti Removal

Pressure washers can be an effective tool to in the never-ending war on graffiti. The earlier method of rag, brush, and soapy water does not work anymore. There are too many walls and painted sidewalks, and not enough rags to go around. Moreover, graffiti artists have become more enterprising, they use every kind of spray paint and permanent dye to leave an indelible John Hancock.

The worst part about traditional graffiti removal methods is that they involved the use of large amounts of harmful chemicals that could damage the health of the applicator. The best solution is to use pressure washers, which can remove graffiti using less chemicals. For enhanced graffiti removal power, users can opt for environmentally-safe green cleaners to add to their pressure washing machines.

Which Pressure Washers are Best

Basic cold-water pressure washers are less effective than other machines on paint, even if you use chemical cleaning agents. You stand a better chance of removing graffiti if you use a hot water pressure washer. Heated water can remove some kinds of paint, but not all. Super heated steam pressure washers that reach temperatures of 330ºF will do a much better job of removing water-soluble paints and dyes. This high temperature steam softens and dissolves paint, allowing it to be blasted off with high-pressurized water. You can purchase pressure washers with all the three options i.e. hot, cold, and steam.

By far the best results are obtained by using wet sandblasting, or a pressure washing machine with a wet sandblaster. Essentially, there are two methods of sandblasting: dry and wet. Though dry blasting can clean graffiti, it creates other problems. The use of compressed air for dry sandblasting requires the user to wear protective clothing and to be careful not to inhale all that airborne sand (or baking soda, for that matter).

Wet sandblasting is a much cleaner and convenient method of removing graffiti. Pressure washers have an inlet through which sand is sucked in and mixed with water in a controlled manner. This sand is then carried through a specialized tube into the head where it is mixed with high pressurized water. It is then sprayed at high pressure levels. This combination of grit and high pressure removes tough paint layers and chemical deposits quickly and effectively.

If you operate on a license for cleaning public areas or you face a variety of cleaning tasks in your own commercial or industrial facility, consider buying a portable pressure washer with features such as hot, cold, and steam cleaning as well as wet sandblasting. A single device with all these built-in features will help you deal with many types of cleaning tasks - grease, chewing gum, food, dust and of course graffiti. The pressure washer can be put up on a truck and taken around on cleaning "rounds".

However, it is important to note that wet sandblasting is safe only with cold-water setting. Additionally, wet sandblasting pressure washing systems often feature narrow spray patterns and are not efficient for cleaning large areas. For indoor use, where electric outlets are easily available, electric pressure washers work well.

Pressure washers are versatile cleaning systems that can be used for a variety of outdoor cleaning purposes, including graffiti removal.