CleanSafe Services Managing Director Steve Broughton has praised a London council for taking an innovative approach to people who pee in public – with splash back paint.
Hackney Council is so tired of revellers peeing in public places that it is painting walls with hyper water repellent paint that results in the person doing the urinating getting splashed with their own pee.
It has made the decision just before Christmas, a time when the risk of people being ‘caught short’ after a night on the town, and acting irresponsibly it at its highest.
CleanSafe Services MD Steve Broughton said: “This is a great example of an interesting technical solution to a problem that has plagued areas around bars and nightclubs for years.
“As the UK’s leading extreme cleaners, we are frequently called in to clean up public areas that have become contaminated by people using them as toilets, and are ready for a rise in demand for our services over Christmas and New Year.
“Anything that can deter people who decide it’s a good idea to urinate in public must be good. It causes bad smells, hygiene problems, and additional cost for local authorities who use our services.
“I know people getting a splash they didn’t expect could result in us getting fewer commissions for cleaning up urine, but I would rather see public areas stay clean and safe for others to enjoy.”
Ultra-Ever Dry paint is a superhydrophobic (water-repellent) and oleophobic (hydrocarbon-repellent) coating developed by US company Ultra Tech.
It uses nanotechnology to create an almost invisible barrier of air on its surface. This results in any liquid that hits it being instantly repelled, which results in it being sprayed right back to where it came from.
The splash back paint coating will be used at two popular drinking locations in Shoreditch and Dalston, east London.
Hackney Council is taking the action, at a cost of £1,000, because it spends £100,000 a year cleaning urine off walls and pavements, and wants to create a deterrence. The coating also stops urine sinking into walls, creating long-term smells.
Steve Broughton said: “We work with our clients to create solutions to extreme cleaning problems. For example barrier coatings like this are often used to prevent graffiti. We hope this works for Hackney Council and will monitor the progress of this splash back paint to see if we can recommend it to our clients.”
“People who have had too much to drink, or just don’t care about the nuisance they cause, are quite creative about where they pee. Also we regularly have to clean up other nasty substances such as faeces and vomit.
“So I can still see a use for our extreme cleaning teams being kept busy for the foreseeable future, especially over the next few weeks as revellers enjoy Christmas and New Year celebrations. We work 24 hours a day 365 days a year, so we are ready to help clear up someone else’s mess at any time.”
