Cleaning Marble Grave Monuments

Soak the stone by spraying it down with a hose or dumping a bucket of clean water over the entire surface.

Cleaning marble grave monuments.

Spraying down the headstone first will help maximize the effectiveness of the cleaning solution. Lichen is one of the more challenging growths to clean from memorial stones. How to clean marble headstones soak. After the rinse water drains examine the surface for any areas that need additional attention due to moss lichen algae or other organic growths or particularly dirty soiled spots.

A note about removing lichen. As with interior marble cleaning soak the cemetery headstone with water before adding a cleaner. Wait 15 minutes and spray the surface again. Use soft bristle brushes and a mild stone cleaning solution mild ionic soap or detergent ph neutral working in a circular motion to gently remove dirt and dust.

Dry the granite headstone when you finish washing the granite headstone use a clean white cloth to dry the headstone immediately. However it still must be a very gentle cleaning. Cleaning weak marble can result in further irreparable damage. Bleach is alkaline so it doesn t pose the big risk of acidic.

An undiluted cleaning agent may leave a residue in the marble s pores. This second spray will work the product into the second layer of the lichen. Currently a product called d 2 is recommended and is the cleaning agent used on the white house and various statues and monuments. Do not re use the cloth that you used with the soapy water.

The most gentle way to clean is to spray it on and allow mother nature to do the rest since the more you agitate the stone the more wear you cause on the stone and fine edges of the engraving. Mix 1 tablespoon of the non ionic soap with 1 gallon of water. Once you have completely wiped the surface s with your sponge rinse the marker or monument thoroughly with clean water. Wooden or plastic scrapers can be utilised to remove larger build up such as bird poo or moss and lichen.

Cleaning gravestones with bleach is never a good idea church said but it s especially bad when you re working on porous stone. Soak the stone with water to saturate any growth that may be present. Wash the granite headstone several times with another clean rag or cloth. The hardest of the natural stone type of monuments that you will see in a cemetery is granite which is still widely used today granite has a hardness of between 7 and 9 and can withstand a little more cleaning than the other types of natural stone.

Use the wooden scraper to remove any algae or moss growth from the surface.