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D.C. kicks off an 8-week graffiti removal blitz

It’s the third annual “Great Graffiti Wipeout” event

By Adele Chapin
The DC Department of Public Works kicked off the Great Graffiti Wipeout with a graffiti removal demonstration in Columbia Heights
Adele Chapin/Curbed DC

In Washington, D.C., fighting graffiti is matter of watching paint dry. Literally — the city just kicked off its third annual Great Graffiti Wipeout, an eight-week graffiti removal blitz timed to both National Public Works Week and the warm weather. It’s much easier to paint over graffiti during spring and early summer’s temperatures that it is during D.C.’s winters, after all.

The graffiti removal teams will spread out through all eight wards. Last year during the annual week, DPW crews cleaned more than 600 graffiti markings and removed more than 3,000 posters and stickers from public spaces.

Residents can request graffiti removal via 311 either by phone or online, or you can even use the 311 app to upload a photo of graffiti and tag it on the map.