Declaring war on graffiti and gum
August 1st 2005

Leicestershire brothers Craig and Simon Bailey are spearheading a war against graffiti and chewing gum, with Contractorheavy duty pressure washers from Nilfisk-ALTO in the front line The brothers’ company, CSB Environmental, provides a wide-ranging high-pressure contract cleaning service across the industrial spectrum and helps numerous local authorities rid their streets of unsightly graffiti – and the sticky problem of gum on pavements.

The brothers opened CSB five years ago. For the past 18 months their fleet of cleaning machines has included two Contractor Silent models – one trailer-mounted as a Nilfisk-ALTO MOBILE CLEANING SYSTEM, the other custom-built into a service van.

“The Contractor Silent is well-suited to urban cleaning jobs because with its soundreducing cabinet it causes minimal disturbance,” says Simon Bailey. “The heat performance is exceptional. It produces steam at 150°C which shifts gum rapidly – making it much more productive than competitive systems. It is also very reliable.” One of three diesel or petrol driven Contractormachines, the ContractorSILENT pumps around 1200 litres of water an hour at a pressure of 200 bar, delivering a cleaning impact of 6.9kg. Fuel consumption in the 12.6kW Mitsubishi engine is 3 litres/hour, while the boiler uses 4.4 litres/hour. It has a 60 litre diesel fuel tank, shared by both systems. Overall, the machine weighs 510kg.

Nilfisk-ALTO also offers the ContractorHEAVY DUTY and the ContractorMASTER. All three machines have a robust steel chassis and frame. The standard 10 metre high-pressure hose gives a good operating radius. Designed for intensive cleaning in industry and the public sector, the Contractormachines have a powerful heating system with steam stage for additional power against grease, oil – and gum.

Despite extensive publicity campaigns and heated debate right up to the highest levels of government, the problem of gum littering remains severe. A recent survey shows London boroughs alone are spending £2.3 million a year on the problem, while another £2 million goes on gum removal on Underground trains and stations. The UK chews through more than £250 million worth of gum annually.

“The problem is not getting any better. Towns we cleaned last year are already as bad again,” says Simon Bailey. “A tax on gum would help. Even if it does not deter littering, it would help to pay for removal. It costs about £2 a square metre to remove gum – and up to £4 in some cases.” Fortunately, with most pavement surfaces, the steam removal process combined with rotary cleaning equipment avoids lasting patchiness.

However, this can be a major problem with graffiti removal – especially from historic stonework.

“A good cleaning Contractorshould be able to remove graffiti without damaging a building or leaving any ‘ghosting’on the masonry,” says Simon Bailey. “However, if a building has significant carbon deposits on its walls, then you can’t avoid leaving ‘clean’ spots after graffiti removal.” In addition to its specialised cleaning services, CSB has an expanding dealership, selling equipment, accessories and consumables to general industry and the contract cleaning sector within range of its head office near Leicester. Nilfisk-ALTO pressure washers, vacuums and floorcare equipment feature prominently in its product line-up.

Simon Bailey says: “The cleaning materials and health and safety products we sell are based on what we had difficulty obtaining for our business.

Now we have a good supply and we can help our industry too.”

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