The first step in cleaning a cemetery stone is to identify what type of stone you are about to clean. Granite is a stone that is almost indestructible, and only really needs a scrub brush and water, as biological's do not readily like to live on it. Do research and never never use dishsoap, bleach, or phosphate cleaners, on any stone even if a monument company tells you to.
When cleaning both Limestone and Marble stone we again recommend just water. Most grave yards do not have a water source, so you will need to bring plenty of water with you. We like to use a brand new never used weed sprayer to apply our water. We usually start from the bottom of the base and work up. We use nylon bristle scrub brushes. We never use metal!!! We prefer white bristles, which are getting harder and harder to find. Wet the area to be scrubbed with water, scrub the area and rinse, rinse and scrub. Do Not walk away in the middle of a scrubbing without rinsing, the lichen can leave a green residue if not rinsed straight away. Clean a small area, then more on to the next area. We recommend using a plastic butter knife to remove any large or heavy lichen areas. Because in the pressure that is used in scrubbing you don't want to damage the stone. For stubborn stains we recommend Ammonia in a one to four mixture. One part Ammonia four part water. If you can smell strong ammonia in your spray bottle, it is too strong. Wet stone with plan water, spray ammonia mixture, scrub and rinse, rinse and rinse, with plain water. We also have had luck will Orvus paste in a five gallon bucket on the final cleaning. With Orvus you only need a little on a bucket, a little Orvus goes along way. Rinse and Rinse and Rinse some more. Do you see a trend, water is the stone cleaners friend.
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