Originally published May 15, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified May 15, 2008 at 7:41 PM

Space Needle gets its first deep cleaning since 1962

Cleaners armed with hot water and high pressure hoses took aim at the Space Needle Thursday as Seattle's iconic structure received its first deep cleaning since its 1962 debut during The World's Fair.

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COURTNEY BLETHEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

A cleaner sprays The Space Needle Thursday, May 15, 2008, during a cleaning process that's expected to last five to eight weeks.

Over the next five to eight weeks, German-based cleaning technology company Karcher will use what it calls an entirely green process to remove the decades of pollution, bird droppings, and plain dirt that have accumulated on the tower. Cleaning will take place from 11p.m. to 6a.m.

Karcher cleaners will use a rope-access method of cleaning to rappel down the Space Needle as they clean it. The rappelling method allowed cleaners to bypass construction of scaffolding -- something that was done for the tower's painting in 1998.

According to the project's press release, Karcher has experience cleaning other monuments and iconic structures around the world, including Mt. Rushmore and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

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