As a cultural cleaning expert with nearly 25 years experience, Thorsten Mowes has been commissioned to make wonders all over the world shine like new - from the London Eye to Christ the Redeemer. (Caters News)

Many of us want to preserve our cultural legacy, but there’s one man who does it literally. With 25 years of experience, Thorsten Mowes has spent his entire career cleaning and preserving the world’s most famous monuments—perhaps more than anyone else on the planet.He’s hung off Mount Rushmore and the Space Needle in the U.S. and has traveled around the world to clean landmarks like the London Eye, the Statue of Christ in Brazil and the Forbidden City in China, just to name a few.“It’s a fascinating job, because there is a huge amount to think about and every project is different,” he said. He is currently employed by German firm, Karcher.Each project comes with its unique set of priorities, and needless to say, cleaning isn’t always a simple matter of removing dirt. For example, when Mowes worked on the Space Needle, he had to clean it without destroying any of the lacquer that covers the building.

So far, Mowes has partaken in over 80 cultural cleaning projects, but his favorite was cleaning Mount Rushmore in 2005.“There were so many challenges,” he said. “There was no water supply nearby, no roads to give you access to the top and the object itself is huge.” The project required the combined efforts of the local community. Equipment had to be moved to the top of the structure with a helicopter and the water supply came from the local fire department’s fire engines’ water pump.In addition to the resources needed to cleaning, there are safety precautions that also need to be considered. “It can be quite dangerous when you are [328 feet] up in the air with heavy equipment and hot water spraying around,” he said. “But to solve these problems all you need is good preparation. Obviously we don’t always have much time, so when I get there I don’t want anything to be held up. Everything must be planned in advance.” A large project will require cleaners, engineering experts, support staff and photographers, according to Mowes.“And all this had to happen while tourists still had access to see it too,” Mowes said. “But it was great fun to work on.”Moews said that over 90 percent of his work is commissioned by heritage groups and governments. The sparkling results of his work speak for themselves, serving as an for his services.