Tararua District Council's new steam cleaner can lift 20-year-old chewing gum off the pavement in two seconds.
Operating at 90 per cent capacity, the cleaner is so finely balanced it can clean efficiently without tearing into the asphalt and in a demonstration on Chamberlain St last week it was producing steam just below boiling point and blasting away lichen and moss in seconds.
"We initially had ordered it to clean the pavements on our district's main streets, but after Dannevirke resident Barbi Ormandy slipped and fell while walking down Chamberlain St recently it became a matter of safety," said Peter Wimsett, council's manager of strategy and district development. "We're pleased the machine removes the lichen very well."
Colin Hook from Karcher said once an area was cleaned it would just need maintenance and although the incorrect connections for the rotary blaster had been sent, he was pleased with the results of the demonstration.
The machine can operate with steam, hot and cold water and chemicals if necessary, Mr Wimsett said.
"The trailer-based system has its own water reservoir, pump and petrol engine and having it on a trailer means we won't have it sitting on pavers causing damage," he said.