Hi. I'm Ryan with Healing Headstones.
I'm going to walk you through how I scrape,
scrub, and deep clean moss-covered headstones.
I start by assessing the stone
and make sure, especially if it's older,
if it can handle a deep clean.
The dirtiest parts are the very base at the ground
or also deep in the letters.
The letters seem to hold on to the most dirt and grime
because they're cut into the stone.
Most of the newer stones are made
of either marble or granite.
They have more of a glossy finish.
The stones before the '20s, they don't have,
if they did have gloss, it's not there anymore.
So I think that's why they get stained way worse
and it's way deeper into the stone.
The first thing I do is
spray down the stone with water
to make the moss removal easier.
I use a hand-pump sprayer to wet the headstones
and also to spray them off.
I'll start scraping the moss top to bottom,
'cause that's the easiest method.
And you can see on the bottom layers of moss,
it turns into almost a concrete-like material,
which makes it even harder to get off and remove it.
I use a special scraper.
It's kind of a plastic and rubber bill at the same time,
so it's made for headstones.
I'll use the corner of the scraper
to get into the small crevices
and remove any other debris.
Now, when you're using the scraper,
you have to be careful of the condition of the stone,
'cause some of them, they can have what's called sugaring,
where it's almost, as you touch it,
it'll turn into a powder.
Same thing with cracks,
and the same thing with stability.
With a scraper, you're not really
trying to get all the moss,
you're just trying to get the top layer off
without damaging the stone.
You want to remove as much moss as possible
so it's easier when you start scrubbing the stone.
The black is mold and moss buildup.
It can also be green.
Sometimes you'll see orange, but that's more,
they have the metal rods holding the stone,
and that's where water's gotten on the inside
and the rust starts to run out.
And that can stain them as well.
Sometimes you can scrape the moss off
and you can find mold underneath,
which has stained it black or green into the stone.
I'd say the moss on this stone
has been built up for minimum five years.
Environment and climate can both have an effect
on the growth that's on the stone.
The finish of the stone
can affect how much grows on it,
what grows on it.
The rougher finishes can hold water,
and it holds algae and stuff that builds up,
which kind of just eventually will take over the stone.
With a smooth surface,
even the rain can wash away the growth
or anything that starts to build up there
before it ever takes a hold.
Once all the moss and debris is off the stone,
I spray down the stone with D/2 cleaner.
After I let the spray cleaning solution
set for about 10 minutes,
I'll follow that up with a soft-bristle brush.
And I have found that using a circular pattern
is the best method.
The technique can vary depending on the stone design
and the engravings on the front of the stone.
I'll sometimes use a toothbrush
to get down into the smaller crevices.
It just helps to more thoroughly get all the debris
and things out of the small places.
I'll use a wooden pick to go inside the letters
and some of the engraving if it's a deep, small area
that a brush can't really get into.
To get it back to its original state
or as close as you can, sometimes you have to do
certain parts of the process over and over.
I'll do a final spray off
to make sure all the debris is off the stone.
I finish the cleaning with a protective coating
of the cleaner, 'cause it continues
to keep anything from growing or building up on the stone.
I would recommend checking a stone
at least once every six months, minimum,
to make sure nothing has started building up,
before it gets to an excessive level.
It's rewarding to be able to help these families
and also honor those whose graves are left unmaintained.