Black Mushroom Soil Stains
The dirt in Hockessin is black and greasy. It is packed with organic compost. We call it mushroom soil. It stains everything it touches.
When the ground gets wet, that dark grease wicks up into the porous granite. It leaves a deep brown band at the bottom of the stone. It looks like coffee. You can't scrub this out because the stain is deep inside the rock. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me often think the stone is ruined. We use a biological poultice. We draw that organic grease out of the pores. It takes time, but we pull the brown out and leave the gray granite behind.
Piedmont Red Clay
We are in the hills now. The dirt under the grass is heavy red clay. It is full of iron. When it rains, red mud splashes onto the monuments.
The mud washes off, but the rust stays. It creates an orange band around the bottom of the marker. Do not use bleach. Bleach sets the rust permanently. We use specialized iron-removers for grave site cleaning services. We dissolve the rust chemically. The orange stain vanishes, and the stone returns to its natural color without damage.
Heavy Forest Shade
Hockessin is heavily wooded with old oaks. Many cemeteries, like the Friends Meeting House, are completely shaded. The sun never dries the dew.
This creates a perfect environment for moss. It grows thick on the tops and shoulders of the stones. It holds water against the rock, which leads to freezing and cracking in winter. We don't pressure wash this. It destroys the surface. We use a biocide. We kill the moss roots. It dries up and falls off naturally, saving the stone surface.
Lichen on Historic Markers
The older Quaker stones are porous. Crusty gray and green lichen digs in deep. It looks like scabs on the rock.
That lichen eats the minerals in the stone. If you scrape it dry, you pull chunks of the marker off with it. We use a soaking agent first. We make the lichen let go of the stone. Then we brush it off gently. We get the growth off without pitting the historic surface.
Sinking in Soft Compost
Because the soil is so rich in organic matter, it is soft. Heavy monuments settle over time.
We see headstones tipping forward or sinking straight down. Adding dirt on top just makes a mud pit. During cemetery plot maintenance, we lift the stone. We dig out the soft, dark soil and replace it with a pad of crushed gravel. The gravel doesn't compress. It keeps the marker level and allows water to drain away.
Sap and Pollen Glaze
In the spring, the pollen here covers everything in yellow dust. Then the trees drop sap.
The sap seals the pollen onto the stone. It turns into a hard, black varnish. Rain won't touch it. We use organic solvents for cleaning stone gravestones. We melt the resin. The sticky grime wipes away, and the inscription becomes sharp again.
Fox and Groundhog Burrows
We have a lot of wildlife in these hills. Foxes and groundhogs love digging under large monuments.
They undermine the foundation. The stone tips over. We evict the animals and fill the dens. We backfill with stone and gravel to stop them from digging in the same spot again.
