Kärcher Stories

Nobody knows the underground stations in Munich as well as Klaus Merkel. And this knowledge will also stay in the family for a while because his son Alexander has taken over the advertising company.

Philip Chrobot is studying at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy – and has won the Kärcher difference Award, now presented for the first time. His inspirational short film "Spiros – Rent A Boat" gives insights into the life and working world of the 58-year-old boat renter Spiros Bardis on the Greek island of Corfu. In this interview, Chrobot speaks about the filming and the competition.

People around the world spend just over two hours cleaning each week. From a mop and broom, to cleaning with steam, or leaving the chores to a vacuum robot, preferences vary around the globe. But everyone agrees about the "Why": 94% of respondents think a clean home is important.

They are as much a part of Australia as kangaroos and the Great Barrier Reef: road trains supply remote areas with goods of all kinds. At over 50 metres long and weighing 130 tonnes, they are the kings of the road. But these giants spend their days exposed to extreme temperatures and aggressive dirt. A normal wash system simply wouldn’t be able to cope.

Different challenges are in the foreground across all industries when it comes to cleaning. Cleaning methods and appliances vary accordingly. An overview.

After the Antarctic and the Arctic, the glaciers in the high mountains of Asia are the third largest store of fresh water on the planet. Their meltwater fills the continent’s major rivers and supplies drinking water for billions of people. Due to their high altitude, these areas are particularly affected by climate change. The consequences for the region are fatal, with the threat of avalanches, floods and, in the long term, a significant shortage of water. Geologists use high-pressure cleaners as drills to penetrate deep layers of ice.

Family and friends, education, health and prosperity: in its study of 155 countries, the World Happiness Report indicates that discrepancies in these areas significantly influence our feelings of happiness. The PNAS* study “Buying time promotes happiness”, meanwhile, draws attention to an additional factor that has previously remained hidden: time. Because only those who have time are able to spend it doing things that make them happy. Of course, it is up to each individual to decide whether to treat themselves to a babysitter, a cleaner or special equipment to make housework and gardening quick and easy.

What is dust actually made of? What exactly is the difference between cleaning and tidying up? And what’s the most effective way to clean your home? We take a closer look and uncover the secrets of a squeaky-clean apartment.

School grades and interest were a barriers to the initially planned degree in electrical engineering, so Ulrich Sukup chose Media Psychology and started his career as an advertiser for a large agency. Why he was missing a "purpose in life" and how he ended up in the airy heights of the Vierungsturm of the Votivkirche church in Vienna in order to carry out cleaning work – an exciting tale.

The world has one thing in common as far as cleaning is concerned: a clean home is important or very important to almost everyone. This shows that household cleaning, whether regularly or irregularly, is simply part of life. But what precisely is behind all this? Who spends the most time cleaning and what aids are used most frequently for cleaning?

Robot vacuum cleaners have long since become a modern-day reality and networked cleaning systems are becoming established in the building service contractor market. But how will it continue?

Many people aim to reach for the sky in life, but only few follow the path being trodden by Murezi Casanova. At the Benedictine Monastery in Disentis, Switzerland, the novice and trained landscape gardener takes care of the greenery and monastery garden, and will soon add the salvation of his fellow human beings to his list of duties.

Felipe Valderrama is a very busy man. The Colombian works for the non-governmental organisation Fundación Humedales, which, among other things, is committed to providing clean water in remote areas of Colombia. And he is the one who makes it possible.

9,000 kilometres, a lot of desert soil almost impassable, and only one goal in mind. Each and every year, it is fascinating to see how the drivers in the Dakar Rally deal with the distance. While they are on their own between stages,The whole spectacle is by no means a one-man operation, though. A look behind the curtains...

Ulrich Teufel, engineer and passionate amateur astronomer, loved to gaze at the stars through the attic window of his bedroom as a boy, which is why he joined the society that looks after and maintains the observatory early on. He was no longer able to see through the dirty telescope. So he took the initiative: "Today we are going to start cleaning the telescope mirror," says Teufel. And what sounds like a simple task proves to be somewhat more challenging.

If Santa is not careful, he will also bring dirt into the house as well as presents. We offer practical tips on how to remove this dirt quickly. We will also provide an insight into how Christmas is celebrated around the world – by looking at different Christmas customs and traditions.

Sparkling ice needles, glinting wafts of mist, white hoarfrost – nature is full of fascinating phenomena. Thomas Rappaport is an artist with an eye for them. In his project "giSCHt – melting sculptures" he artistically accompanies a cherry tree on its terminal way. After 80 years of blossoming, coming to red rich fruition, giving shade und being part of the all-terrain microclimate, the artist creates a unique portrait of the tree.

In order to make polluted water potable, people in Kenya often boil it – this requires a lot of firewood. This need contributes to the increasing rate of deforestation, which leads to an increase in CO2 emissions. A climate protection project in Kenya is trying to counter this. The project involves distributing water filters to households.

Anyone who has used a pressure washer before knows that cleaning outdoors can be a lot of fun. They can be used to clean practically everything on or around the house in next to no time. But how does a pressure washer actually work? And how is it made? Take a look inside the cleaning machine and come with us on a journey to the Kärcher factory in the Swabian town of Obersontheim, where we make our K 7 Full Control pressure washer.

Up to 5,000 tourists visit the Jungfraujoch in the Bernese Oberland every day – and bring a lot of dirt along with them. The workers on the Jungfraubahn railway use Kärcher cleaning appliances to clean the trains and buildings daily for their guests.

By combining industrial production with modern information and communication technology, new manufacturing concepts are created. Kärcher is confronting these new challenges and is working with an assembly line which employs Industry 4.0 principles.

With 1.4 million visitors annually, dirt and rubbish is often left behind in Cologne Zoo. Both the animal enclosures and green spaces must be cared for and the paths cleaned regularly. The MIC 34 municipal vehicle is used at Cologne Zoo to carry out these tasks.

From the big spring clean to weekly household cleaning, the questions are often the same: where do I start and where do I stop? And above all: what is the quickest and most effective way of doing it? Question after question: the cleaning experts from Kärcher and domestic economist Urte Paaßen provide the answers.