What’s a city transit agency to do when people won’t stop urinating all over the walls of its stations? There’s a pee-repelling paint for that, and Philadelphia is the latest to consider using the stuff in an effort to clean up public spaces.

A spokesman for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority confirmed to news site BillyPenn that the agency has plans to test a brand of paint called Ultra-Ever Dry, the same liquid-repellant stuff officials used in San Francisco and the St. Pauli neighborhood of Hamburg, Germany. SEPTA says testing is slated to start in a few weeks.

“It’s imminent. It’s coming soon,” spokesman Andrew Busch said. As for where those trial spots will be, that’s “still being determined.”

Busch says waste complaints are among the most common the agency receives, and that SEPTA’s maintenance crews are always looking for new ways to right the mess.

“This is just one more thing that SEPTA will have to help keep the system clean,” he told NBC 10.

The paint’s “superhydrophobic” qualities cause liquid to splash back at its source, which could make for a very unpleasant experience if you’re relieving yourself against a wall or other surface.

SEPTA will test a pee-repellant this fall [BillyPenn]
SEPTA Tries Urine-Repelling Paint to Clean Up Stations [NBC 10]

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