Construction Dust Glaze
Rogers is booming. There is new construction everywhere. That kicks up tons of white limestone dust. It floats over the town and lands on the cemeteries.
When that dust gets wet, it hardens. It forms a cloudy white film on polished monuments. It looks like a fog that won't wipe off. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me often think the polish has worn off. It hasn't. It is just buried under mineral deposits. We use a mild acid wash to dissolve that crust. We strip the haze off, and the mirror finish comes back.
Acidic Cedar Needles
We have a lot of Red Cedar trees in our older cemeteries. They drop needles year-round. These needles pile up on the base of the stones and rot.
Cedar needles are acidic. They burn a yellow-brown stain right into the stone. It looks like rust, but it is actually a chemical burn. Sweeping them off does nothing; the acid has already soaked in. We use a special cleaner to draw that deep yellow stain back out of the stone.
Sliding on Chert Rock
The ground here is tough. It is full of sharp flint rocks called chert. You hit rock two inches down.
Because the subsoil is hard, water runs between the dirt and the rock layer. Headstones tend to slide downhill. They don't sink straight down; they tilt sideways. During cemetery plot maintenance, we have to pull the stone and dig out the loose gravel. We build a flat, locking foundation so the stone stops walking away.
Lake Fog and Hard Lichen
We are close to Beaver Lake. The morning fog rolls in and sits on the hills. That moisture feeds a specific type of hard, crusty lichen.
This isn't soft moss. It is hard, like a scab. It cements itself to the granite. If you scrape it dry, you will chip the stone. We have to soften it first. We use a soaking solution that forces the lichen to let go. Then we scrub it off gently. We save the surface of the marker.
Red Clay Splash
Between the rocks, we have that famous Arkansas red clay. Heavy thunderstorms splash this red mud onto the white bases of the markers.
It dries into a stubborn orange stain. Soap won't move it. Bleach locks it in forever. We use a chemical specifically for grave site cleaning services that eats rust. The iron dissolves, and the orange stain washes away.
Cedar Sap
Cedar trees also drop sap. It is different from pine sap; it is stickier and darker.
Dirt sticks to the sap instantly. It turns into black lumps on the headstone. It hides the lettering. We use a solvent to soften the lumps. Once the sap turns to liquid, we wipe the black mess away so you can read the name again.
Mower Scars
The grass grows fast here. Landscapers rush to get it cut. They hit the stones with their mowers and trimmers.
We see black rubber marks and green grass stains beaten into the stone. We can't fix a chip in the rock, but we can remove the marks. We use solvents for cleaning stone gravestones to dissolve the rubber and grass stains. The stone looks cared for again.