ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Pressure-washer manufacturer Kärcher has formally asked French politicians to stop using its name to score political points.

Presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse recently announced on French radio and television that it was time to "get the Kärcher out of the cellar again" to sweep drug dealers and criminals away from the country's city suburbs.

But family-owned Kärcher has responded by objecting to the politician taking its brand's name in vain.

This is not the first time the company has responded negatively to politicians using its brand. In 2005, Karcher objected to the then interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy declaring his resolve to "nettoyer au Kärcher" - clean with a Kärcher - following the death of an 11-year-old boy in the crossfire between two gangs.

Sarkozy had said he planned to use the company's pressure cleaner to wash the criminals out of the Paris banlieues.

Kärcher has now issued a statement claiming it is not the banner of any political party.

"The Kärcher group has been fighting for years to ensure that its brand is not exploited in the French political scene, where it has no place," said the company. "We are opposed to being associated with any political party or ideology."

The company claims that these types of statements from politicians create a link between Kärcher products and violence and insecurity. Karcher claims to be "dedicated to cleaning" adding that it had just begun cleaning the Luxor Obelisk at Place de la Concorde - the oldest monument in Paris - in partnership with the ministry of culture.