Kärcher cleaned the staircase of St. Michael in Schwäbisch Hall

The historic steps in front of St. Michael's Church in Schwäbisch Hall were being cleaned free of charge by Kärcher. The campaign was part of the company's 90th anniversary celebrations, during which it was carrying out 90 cleaning projects worldwide. Built at the beginning of the 16th century, the staircase with its 53 steps is a central meeting place and stage for the city's famous open-air theater performances.

“We take the gentlest approach possible when cleaning. We remove biological growth such as algae, lichen, and moss, as well as man-made contaminants such as shoe marks and chewing gum, not by pressure, but by using high-temperature steam, which reaches around 95 degrees Celsius on the stone surface,” explains Samuel Scheerer, cleaning expert at Kärcher. A team of up to six Kärcher employees worked on the project for a week. They were using hot water high-pressure cleaners, which operate in a gentle steam mode with a low impact pressure of only 0.5 to 1 bar. This virtually pressureless and very gentle method protects the historic sandstone of the steps. Another advantage of the high temperature is that it destroys the seeds and spores of biological growth in the rock pores. This delays the regrowth of vegetation on the stairs and ensures a longer-lasting clean result.

You might be interested in