Cleaning Old Marble Headstones

I have been cleaning and restoring old grave markers for a number of years.

Cleaning old marble headstones.

Soak the stone with water to saturate any growth that may be present. How to clean a marble headstone. How to clean marble headstones. Inspect the entire headstone for cracks wear and signs of damage.

Spraying down the headstone first will help maximize the effectiveness of the cleaning solution. Regardless of what kind of stone you are cleaning the first rule is always to be as gentle as possible. Cleaning weak marble can result in further irreparable damage. Headstones can be very porous and can soak up the cleaning solution before it has a chance to work.

Rinse and wipe the marble headstone once all of the debris has been removed by the soapy water mixture rinse the entire surface of the marble headstone thoroughly with clean water and a clean cloth. It was very effective with no damage. If there is growth remove using a wooden scraper. Steps to clean a marble headstone.

You want to keep the marble wet throughout the cleaning process by continually wiping the marble headstone with a cloth and clean water. I talked to the technical folks at wet and forget. Only marble that is in good condition should be cleaned. If these are present it may be best to leave it as is.

When the product wet and forget became available in the usa i was skeptical about using it on old sandstone or marble markers. It is important that you know what type of stone you are dealing with. This is the opposite of an all to common assumption that extreme measures given the contaminants should be used on exterior marble cleaning. Clean a marble gravestone.

Marble needs to be treated even more gently than granite. Different types will require different cleaning methods. Soak the stone by spraying it down with a hose or dumping a bucket of clean water over the entire surface. Most common gravestones are likely to be sandstone slate marble limestone or granite although there are many other possible options.