My name is Alicia Williams,
and I'm a gravestone conservator.
Today I'm going to show you how I clean gravestones.
Before I start a clean,
I take the time to assess the gravestone,
and I make sure that it's not wobbly
or in any way deteriorating
before I approach the clean.
The next step would be to apply a product
called D/2 Biological Solution.
It's been tested and shown
to be safe and effective
at removing all of the biological growth
on the surface of a marker,
and it doesn't cause any harm
or leave behind any residual damage or effects
like bleach would, or regular household soap.
I soak the whole marker,
and then I will allow that
to dwell on the surface for a few minutes,
and I will spray it down with a little water.
D/2 keeps working over time.
That's how it's formulated.
The warmer it is outside, the better it works.
I personally find the fall
is my favorite time to go clean,
because the D/2 works throughout the winter.
And so when you come back in March, April,
it's just an entirely new piece.
This particular marker
had a significant amount of mossy growth
on the surface of it.
It was a very satisfying scrape for me.
I am scraping the lichen
and surface debris off of this stone
before I begin the brushing process.
Lichen is just little mossy, flowery growths
that kind of stick onto the surface.
They're harmful over time.
They will completely overtake the stone.
The type of grime and dirt that's on a gravestone
varies depending on where you're located
and where the grave itself is.
Is it under a tree?
Is it in the shade? Is it on a hill?
Does it get any sun?
It's mostly different types of lichens and moss
and just dirt and grass and things
that get blown on it from mowing
and caretaking efforts.
I am using a regular bamboo skewer
that you would buy at your local grocery store
to make sure I get all of the debris out.
Occasionally I will pull those out
to facilitate the cleaning process.
The main type of brush that I use
is called a Tampico brush.
It is made with natural bristles,
and as you scrub the stone,
the bristles just get softer.
So it really limits any abrasion
to the surface of the marker.
Some of the smaller ones that I use,
the bristles will wear away
instead of the stone itself.
So I'll wear them down to almost nothing
and throw them away.
Generally speaking,
if you wouldn't use the brush to wash your car,
you don't want to use it on a gravestone.
Anything harder than that
is going to possibly risk
harming the integrity of the stone
or the inscription itself.
I do not press hard. It's pretty gentle.
If it's a newer, polished-granite marker,
you can be a little bit more aggressive with those,
because it's a stronger stone
and, typically, they're modern
and able to withstand a little bit more
than the older ones.
Once I feel like I've gotten the bulk of it off,
then I give it a good rinse and let it dry.
It's very important to keep water
on the stone while you work,
because keeping the stone wet as you scrub
limits any abrasion to the surface,
and it also helps whatever is on there
to come off a little bit more easy.
I carry a lot of gallons of water with me,
a low-pressure sprayer --
that's important because on historic stones,
they're a softer stone, marble, sandstone,
and they're very easily damaged by high pressure.
So it's important to use a low-pressure sprayer,
like what you would use to spray fertilizer
on your garden plants.
The most important tip I have
for someone who wants to get started
in cleaning gravestones is to remember
the main principle is to do no harm
and to ask permission
before you work in any cemetery.
The excitement of watching
that first stone come clean
was the first time I felt a real, genuine smile
come up on my face in a really long time.
It just made me feel really good inside,
like I had found a purpose.