A fresh approach to graffiti removal

Paul Hannay — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:40:27 +0000

Graffiti is a growing challenge. Community fear grows when they see it, and it’s embarrassing when visitors experience it. Historically, dealing with graffiti has been time-consuming and expensive; with councils having to adopt a largely reactive stance.

According to the Norfolk Police “Evidence does show that if graffiti is removed rapidly and persistently, it is less likely to come back. A neglected physical environment is unsafe as it undermines pride in the local community that can lead to further degradation. It can also trigger other anti-social behaviour activities”.

A rapid response to graffitti removal appears to be the best solution (drawing inspiration from New York’s ‘broken windows’ policy). However, traditional approaches using teams of removers with high-pressure washers spraying chemicals around public areas can be dangerous, time-consuming and expensive.

But not anymore.

Coating surfaces such as stonework, painted walls/doors, litter bins, seats, lighting columns and bus shelters with Tecqua enables graffiti to be removed in a fraction of the current cleaning times, without the use of any expensive toxic chemicals.

Fly posters simply peel off surfaces like a price sticker on a bunch of flowers. All of this results in huge savings in time and money – whilst improving responsiveness – and it’s totally environmentally-friendly.

And because Tecqua-coated surfaces are up to 80% self-cleaning, where rainfall does most of the work in removing bird-droppings, grime and mould, ongoing cleaning and maintenence costs are significantly reduced too.

We’re currently working with a two large councils in Scotland, who are keen to adopt a more cost-effective rapid response approach with ‘roaming graffiti removers’ throughout the city, quickly cleaning graffiti off as it appears.

Would this approach work for you?

Graffiti is a growing challenge. Community concern about graffiti grows when they see it, and it’s embarrassing when visitors experience it. Historically, dealing with graffiti has been time-consuming and expensive; with councils having to adopt a largely reactive stance.

Tecqua is a state-of-the-art nanotechnology ‘liquid glass’ coating 1/5000^th the thickness of a human hair. Graffiti, moisture, dirt, grime and mould can’t adhere to this protective layer, making it much easier to wash off. Graffiti can be removed in a fraction of the current cleaning times, without the use of any expensive toxic chemicals. Fly posters simply peel off. Coated surfaces retain their look and feel.

Tecqua is chemical-free and 100% environmentally friendly. The technology recently won an award from The Green Organisation as the UK’s most environmentally-friendly product.

Tecqua-coated surfaces will also enable The City of Edinburgh Council to adopt an innovative rapid response cleaning approach with ‘roaming graffiti removers’ throughout the city, should this approach be desired.

A quintessentially French explanation of nanotechnology!

Paul Hannay — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:42:41 +0000

We thought we’d use this blog to help people understand what nanotechnology is, and the many forms it takes.

One application is water filtration, which in the coming years is likely to become one of the planet’s biggest issues.

This short video clip, where a lump of French cheese is the star of the show, explains how nanotechnology increases the surface area of materials – making for more efficient filters and chemical reactions.

Clever, eh? Have you seen what Tecqua does?

Our shiny new website! (and blog)

Paul Hannay — Sun, 24 May 2009 21:29:09 +0000

And it’s all for you!

What would you like to know about Tecqua?