Hello, in this video we'll be showing you the basic procedures for cleaning a stone
grave marker.
There are two things to remember.
First is always exercise personal safety and the second is to do no harm to the grave marker
itself.
Stone is a very durable material.
However, keep in mind stone can be affected by pollution and weathering over it's lifetime.
So exercise caution before proceeding with any treatments.
Now, before we get started, let's briefly go over what not to do.
We don't want to do anything that will remove or damage the original surface of the stone.
We never recommend the use of bleach or other salt laden cleaners.
It is also never advisable to use any strong acids or bases.
Finally, we don't want to use any harsh mechanical devices such as sand blasting, high pressured
power washers, or power tools such as sanders or drills equipped with a wire brush.
All of these methods can damage the grave.
Ok, so now that we know what to avoid, let's get started and set down the ground rules
for how we'll proceed.
In keeping with our "does no harm" policy," it's important to select the gentlest cleaning
method possible to accomplish the task.
The first thing we need to do is to select our tools before we proceed with the cleaning
instructions.
Always locate your nearest water supply; it takes a lot of water to properly clean stone.
If your cemetery does not have running water then it is important to bring barreled or
bucketed water to the site with you.
Also, it is good to have your selected cleaner in a convenient spray bottle.
As for the brushes you always want to use soft bristle ether natural or synthetic.
The general guideline is that if your brush is safe for cleaning the hood of your car
that it will work well for historic stone.
For chemical cleaning, acceptable products are non-ionic detergents, solvents, surfactants,
biocides, and intermittent water misting.
When looking for the right type of cleaning product to use, try to find a non-ionic detergent
or a product containing biocide with either a neutral pH or a pH similar to that of the
stone you're cleaning.
We can learn more about the cleaners by reading the product literature and the material safety
data sheets.
All right so lets get started.
In keeping with our "does no harm" policy, we're going to want to make small tests to
make sure we're not going to damage the stone.
We have evaluated the selected cleaners and we like the properties of this particular
one for this stone.
There doesn't appear to be any damaged caused by the cleaner and the appearance is satisfactory,
so we're good to continue.
Now we're going to want to soak the stone before we begin.
Stone is very porous and will quickly absorb any cleaner that is applied to it.
By soaking the stone first it allows the cleaner to stay on the surface on the stone.
This minimizes the impact to the stone and maximizes the cleaner's effects.
Once it's wet, we start cleaning from the bottom and slowly work our way up.
Starting from the bottom of the stone minimizes streaking.
We're going to want to use small circular motions as we go; this helps to get into all
of the crevices.
Sometimes it is important to switch brushes to meet the situation.
Also, as we said before, we're going to want to use lots of water.
And there we have it.
We've gone over the basic cleaning methods that will work with a variety of stones.
These procedures are not only useful for general cleaning but can also be performed before
more complicated repairs or conservation work.
Good luck.