How to Stop Vandalization of Bathroom Stalls

Graffiti removal quickly becomes tiresome, a task never finished. The best way to prevent graffiti is to present an alternative. A blank white wall invites trouble; stop vandalization of bathroom stalls in public locations by building a decorating scheme that either makes room for public interaction or simply has enough of its own style to deter improvisation. Alternately, get people to invest emotionally in keeping the bathroom clean for their community.

Things You'll Need

• Paint
• Framed art or posters
• Printed sign
• Blackboard
• Chalk
• Eraser

Instructions

First Method: Add Interest

1. Decide on a decoration scheme. Posters and colored paper can be cheap but do not last very long. Repainting in a plain color doesn't usually work to stop vandalism, but creating a style that adds visual interest, such as stripes, dots or other patterns, can.

2. Choose whether to decorate alone or hire an artist. Murals can work very effectively to deter graffiti on walls--Stern, et al., at the University of Pennsylvania, reviewed the community impact of murals in preventing graffiti--and they can do the same in bathrooms (see references 1). Permanent wall art may cost a few hundred dollars to commission from a small local artist, and save hundreds of dollars in vandalism.

3. Alternately, incorporate wall decoration and art into a single, versatile solution: give the stall walls some color and pattern using paint, then hang a few pieces of unique art over the new color scheme. Thrift store art can perform this purpose on a budget.

Second Method: Invoke Caring

1. Employ the novel method published by T. Steuart Watson, a professor at Mississippi State University, in 1996 (see references 2). In 1992, he posted signs in three restrooms reading, "A local licensed doctor has agreed to donate a set amount of money to the local chapter of the United Way for each day this wall remains free of any writing, drawing, or other markings" (see references 3). The actual amount was not very much, but in these cases the thought counts for a lot: the signs managed to stop vandalism without any enforcement. Throughout the fifty days of the study, no bathroom graffiti appeared.

2. Select a charity to offer donations. Pick one that has mass appeal to the people expected to use the restroom.

3. Post a sign in each bathroom stall with a message indicating that these donations will be given for every day the stall remains clean. Be creative. Using the example of Watson's signs, an appeal to authority is good. It doesn't require a doctorate, either: "A local small business owner has agreed to donate," or "A local teacher has agreed to donate," sound almost as good.

4. Follow through on the promise. The amount doesn't need to be large, nor does the sign need to specify it, but show some sincerity!

Third Method: Open Forum

1. If faced with a bar, cafe or school full of absolutely irrepressible creative types, deter graffiti by giving them a way to make their statements without damaging property.

2. Offer free expression in the form of a blackboard on the stall door and some chalk to use. Given the medium, most will happily write temporary messages instead of vandalizing.

3. Use a chalkboard eraser to instantly wipe away offensive messages: no cost, no harm.

References

• The Embeddedness of Community Cultural Institutions: Wall Art in Social Context; Stern et al., University of Pennsylvania, 1994.
• Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis: A Prompt Plus Delayed Contingency Procedure for Reducing Bathroom Graffiti; Watson, T.S., , 1996.
• The Guardian UK: Bathroom Graffiti Down the Pan: How Did a Doctor Get Toilet Graffiti Artists to Clean Up Their Act?; Marc Abrahams; Oct. 20, 2009.