How do I clean a tombstone?
by
Lou
My local cemetery, has not been keeping up with their maintenance and, actually wants to charge to clean the mess they cause to accumulate on the surface of the tombstones when they do their maintaining (lawn cutting/weeding). I am happy to do the cleaning but not sure what products would be safe to use(?).
Related Discussions
Suggested Project Book
Check out wet and forget outdoor. There is a great video on QVC. I bought it at Lowe’s. Great for this application. I think they even show a tombstone on the video or their site.
Yes, Wet n' Forget will clean the headstone, but you'll save some wait time if you can scrape off some of the algae or moss buildup, using a very light touch and a thin steel nail file with rounded tip on much older marble headstones, or a tongue depressor on granite headstones. When done, discard the dirt and saturate the headstone with Wet n' Forget, using a garden sprayer.
Best done on an overcast day when rain is not expected for 5 hours. Try to avoid spraying on grass, unless you have access to water, to wet the grass prior to and after Wet n' Forget application.
Hi Lou, how nice of you to clean the headstones. Here is some information to help you. Good luck and again thank you for doing the cleaning. How to Clean a Gravestone: 12 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow
Rating: 94% - 18 votes
If there's any natural growth on the stone, like lichen, mix 1 part ammonia with 4 parts water and use a sponge to scrub the affected area. Aim to clean the gravestone once every 18-24 months, or as needed.