Airport Fallout and Jet Exhaust
Ontario lives under the flight path. Planes coming into ONT drop unburnt fuel mist. It lands on the cemeteries. It creates a gummy residue on the headstones that holds onto every speck of dust.
Rain does nothing here. You can't wash aviation fuel off with water. It just smears. If you rub it, you grind the grit into the polish. We use industrial grave site cleaning services with heavy-duty degreasers. We cut through that fuel layer chemically to get down to the clean stone.
This fallout is unburnt kerosene and hydrocarbons. When it hits a hot monument, it cures immediately. It forms a tacky, waterproof varnish. This layer traps fungal spores and heavy metals. Over time, it turns into a black, hard shell that suffocates the stone.
Standard soap is too weak for this bond. We use a solvent specifically designed for petroleum resins. We apply it as a foam. It clings to the vertical surface, eating into the fuel layer. Once the bond breaks, we rinse it away. We strip the runway grime without using abrasives that would ruin the inscription.
The "Sandpaper" Wind
When the Santa Anas blow, they hit Ontario first. The wind carries sharp desert grit at highway speeds. It hits upright monuments broadside.
This isn't just a breeze; it acts like a sandblaster. It strips the mirror polish off granite, leaving it dull and matte. If you are searching for headstone cleaning services near me because a marker has lost its reflection, that is windburn. You cannot wash it back; the surface is physically gone.
Once the factory polish is scoured off, the stone becomes porous. It absorbs water, smog, and dirt instantly. The color fades. The lettering loses its crisp edge. The stone looks decades older than it is.
We stop the bleeding. We clean the open pores deep down. Then, we apply a heavy stone enhancer. This fluid fills the microscopic pits left by the sand. It brings the deep color back to the surface. Finally, we apply a sacrificial coating. The next windstorm eats the coating, not the granite.
Diesel Carbon Stains
The truck traffic on the I-10 never stops. This is the logistics hub of the region. Diesel exhaust settles into the pores of marble and concrete bases. It turns them dark gray.
This is embedded carbon, not dirt. It is microscopic and sticky. Power washing is dangerous here; it drives the soot deeper into the stone or chips the fragile edges. We use professional cleaning stone gravestones techniques to pull this deep-set soot out of the material.
We apply a specialized latex or clay poultice. This paste dries slowly over the stain. As it dries, it creates a vacuum effect. It sucks the carbon particles out of the stone pores and into the paste. We peel or wash the paste away, taking the gray stain with it. This brightens the stone safely, restoring dignity to the memorial without mechanical damage.
