Kärcher uses pressure washers to create the world's largest drawing

May 7, 2007 -- Over the past 20 years Kärcher has conducted restorative cleaning projects on more than 80 buildings and monuments, including Mount Rushmore in 2005. This time the Kärcher team turned their high-powered spray into a "paint brush" of sorts and produced the world's largest-ever drawing—an 8,000 square meter (26,247 sq ft) illustration covering the face of the Oleftal Dam in Hellenthal, Germany's Eifel National Park.

Following a pattern created on the dam surface by artist Klaus Dauven using a laser beam, the Kärcher experts were lowered over the side of the Oleftal dam and selectively blasted away the dark build up of dirt, algae and moss. The cleaning left lighter streaks and lines that formed a massive motif featuring many of the animals—including a 15-meter-high (49 ft) squirrel—that reside in the nearby forests and game preserves.

The project was completed on April 12, only 11 days after it was started. It has already begun to draw thousands of sightseers and will remain in place for many years until the algae and moss overtake the sprawling illustrations.

For more on the dam project, see: http://www.karcher.com/int/Sponsoring/Projects/Oleftal_Dam.htm

###