cleaning a tomb stone

[Warren Lake]

The old guys wife passed recently and now all four of that family are gone. Two sons included in that statement and I drove home a bit numb realizing they are all gone. I had mentioned the tomb stone has some moss stuff growing on it and ill be doing a clean up.

Is this as simple as a stiff dish brush and some warm water or is there a better way. I dont want to use any chemicals and leave any marks or stains. I guess I could call the people that supply and engrave the tombstones as well.

thanks,

[Doug Garson]

Try 30 second cleaner, it does a great job on algae, mould etc. While it is a chemical, it claims to not harm vegetation when used as directed.

[Lee Schierer]

It depends on the type of stone. I would check with a monument company before attempting any cleaner on the stone.

[Tom M King]

I've stopped using that 30 second cleaner for anything. I used it on an old outbuilding here and it made galvanized siding nails rust through what looked like a good coat of paint on it. I have no idea what kind of paint it was. It may be okay for sidewalks and such, but I just quit using it. I used it as the cleaner on that building before pressure washing it. It cleaned it up nicely, but rust came through over every nail.

The first thing I would try after getting off as much of the algae as possible mechanically would be the Spray and Forget stuff for roofs. I used some of that on the rental house roof and was pretty impressed with it. The azaleas under the drip line bloomed normally. You just spray it on and leave it for rain to wash off. It got black stains and algae roots on those asphalt shingles.

[Dave Fritz]

Great advice Lee. Thank you.

[Warren Lake]

there used to be a place right in the area so ill check and see if its still there and ask them.

[Bill Dufour]

Marble will be eaten up by acids. Granite will take most anything.
Bill D

[John C Cox]

Back when, there were a lot of marble and sandstone headstones. Probably because it was easier to hand carve. be very careful with those, as they are easy to damage.

Now they're mostly granite. Tough stuff.

[Warren Lake]

Its marbelous, turns out I wont have to take it for granite cause it is.

I cant screw up in case he's watching me. German and that at the finest they come cause he was Canadianized, perfection and no square head. He could laugh at the German thing. He used to watch Hogans heroes and it made his wife mad. He also invited the Jahovahs Witnesses in whenever they showed up. He know more about the bible than they did. His wife finally told the guy not to show up there anymore it ticked her off. They showed up here enough times cause I was never rude to them, one day talking the guy used to work in a cabinet shop,. I mentioned my teacher and he said his wife told us not to go there anymore . I do remember him being upset about VW as they had done stuff to fudge Etests on their cars. That really bothered him.

He told me once if I didnt keep taking care of his son when he was gone he would haunt me. Then his son died six months after he did. I better do right here. If he wanted to show up and talk about Door cores or id be fine with that. Whoever designed this life life thing should have made it so people can visit once a month for a few hours. Id even have my questions ready ahead of time.

[Warren Lake]

got done today. boiled water several kettles woth into a cooler. Different automotive details brushes and only one or two of 10 was strong enough. I took water in a squirt bottle and good I did to wash it down as it was staining. Wish I had a battery leaf blower. Whipper snipped and raked out most of the thatch. I asked about flowers and rules are nothing to the sides, in front and not more than 12 inches forward.

Id think maybe a couple of Autumn Joy Sedums as they are succulents and wont need to be watered buy maybe two tall. His wifes name was supposed to be engraved so that will need a follow up.


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[Ronald Blue]

Glad you got it done. We just use Windex on our sons tombstone. We haven't had any moss or algae growth however. As I think of it I will be going there soon for the Memorial day holiday.

[Mel Fulks]

Well, If Paul Harvey , ….(Old Radio Commentator )was still Around he would recommend Bar Keeper’s Friend. It’s made of a soft stone
that doesn’t scratch stuff like “ Other Bathroom Cleaners” . “Good for sinks ,too”
Paul Harvey ,…. good day.

[Pat Germain]

Back when, there were a lot of marble and sandstone headstones. Probably because it was easier to hand carve. be very careful with those, as they are easy to damage.

Now they're mostly granite. Tough stuff.

I recently found a picture of my great-grandfather's tombstone. Apparently, it was made of sandstone.

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