Cleaning

All memorials will get dirty after some period of time.  One of the most common questions we are asked is "How can I clean the memorial?"  Here are some tips:

• First, remember that it took quite a while for the stone to get dirty so it will take a bit of time and effort to get it clean again.
• It takes a lot of clear water to clean a monument as much as twenty gallons.  If you do not have access to water on site be sure to bring a lot with you.
• Always use a good fiber brush, never a wire brush. A denture brush with it's long bristles can come in handy with those deep grooves.
• Never clean a hot stone or in hot weather as it can dry too fast and leave spots or streaks.
• Start by soaking the stone completely with clear water
• Keep the stone wet at all times especially around where you are working.  Splashing that dirty water onto dry stone will leave a spot.
• Scrub by hand with just water and elbow grease.
• Rinse by cleaning the brush then rinse the stone with clean water while scrubbing with the brush.
• Rinsing is very important since any dirty water left on the monument will dry to leave an obvious dirty spot on a clean stone.
• It will take roughly twice as much time, effort and water to clean the unpolished parts of the stone than the polished parts.
• On a vertical monument, start at the bottom and work your way up.
• Rinse your brush thoroughly and give the monument a complete scrubbing rinse all with clean water.  Then repeat for a final rinse.
• In the case of hard water or difficult stains you can use a soap solution of dishwasher soap like Cascade or Electrasol and water.  Make sure you dissolve the detergent completely so that no abrasive is left.  Rinsing now becomes even more important.
• Stay away from the other cleaners on the market.  Most of them are strong chemicals and can damage the stone.  If you have a stone you can't get clean doing the above, let us know and we can help you.