How to Clean Modern Gravestones

Memorial gravestones have changed over the centuries. Older gravestones are made of limestone, slate, marble, or sandstone. Modern headstones are made of granite or bronze. If the gravestone is in good condition, you can clean it easily. Cleaning a gravestone will help to promote the lifespan of the gravestone, as well as to help preserve it for the future. Cleaning does remove some of the surface of the stone, so don't clean too often. Cleaning about every 18 months is sufficient.

Pump sprayer
Water
Plastic scrapers
Toothbrush
Soft scrub brush (car wash-type brushes are suggested)

Instructions

- 1
  Fill the pump sprayer with clean water.
- 2
  Saturate the gravestone with water from the pump sprayer.
- 3
  Gently scrub the stone with a soft brush. Don't use a previously contaminated brush. Scrub in a random circular pattern with multiple sizes. Begin at the bottom and work your way to the top of the stone.
- 4
  Rinse and check for flaking. It is important to rinse often to make sure that you aren't damaging the stone. You will want to rinse the stone before it dries as you are cleaning, to avoid streaking.
- 5
  Scrub the letters and numbers with a toothbrush, sweeping gently back and forth, removing residue out of the lettering.
- 6
  Rinse the entire gravestone with the sprayer.
- 7
  Use the plastic scrapers to gently scrape away biological growths or activity attached to the gravestone.
- 8
  Rinse the gravestone.
- 9
  Repeat steps 2-8 until the gravestone has all undesired deposits removed.

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