The City of San Marcos has armed itself with a new tool to try and get rid of graffiti.

It's a blaster that actually uses baking soda to erase the unsightly spray painting.

City leaders say it's better for the environment and better for the community.

 Mayor Susan Narvaiz like the idea "our commitment is to get it down and get it repainted and back to it's natural state within 48 hours."

The city has had the machine for about three weeks.  Crews have been blasting buildings.. bridges and signs.  They tell us baking soda is easier to work with than sand and better for the environment.

Jimmy Venable with the Parks and Recreation Department says it has other advantages too "another good thing about the baking soda.. if you are around buildings with windows it won't scratch the windows."

The city also hopes to use the machine to help private businesses.  Mayor Narvaiz explains "we also want to extend this to the private sector. We are going to look at some special waivers of liability for us to go onto their property and remove it."

The goal is to have all the graffiti cleaned up in six months.

The blaster costs $32,000.