Silvia Lim CQ, visiting from Sweden, takes a self-portrait at the Gum Wall attraction in Post Alley. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times)

Creativity takes many different forms. The gum wall in Seattle’s Post Alley, located in the Pike Place market, is a good example of interactive public art. Who hasn’t stuck their chewed gum there?

But this week, the gum wall is getting scrubbed. The gum needs to be cleaned off to preserve the historic buildings in the area. The cleaning begins today and will likely take three to four days to complete.

According to The Seattle Times, “Kelly Foster, of Cascadian Building Maintenance, said the gum will be removed with an ‘industrial steam machine that works like a pressure washer.’ The machine will melt the gum with 280-degree steam; it will fall to the ground, and a two- to three-man crew will collect the gum in five-gallon buckets. ‘This is probably the weirdest job we’ve done,’ Foster said.”

But never fear, perhaps the gum can come back in targeted areas, and not spread out so much like it was. “The Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority plans to place more public art in the alleyway and hopes having 20 years of gum removed will keep future visitors more targeted when placing their gum,” the article says.

Read the full article here: Pike Place Market to clean 20 years of gum from famous gum wall