Biscayne Bay Salt Load
North Miami feels the Bay breeze. It is heavy with salt. This mist lands on granite markers. It soaks into the pores. The water dries, but the salt crystals stay deep inside.
Over time, these crystals expand. They push against the stone from the inside out. The face of the stone pops off. We call this spalling. Searching for headstone cleaning services near me often points to pressure washing. That is dangerous. It drives salt deeper. We use specialized grave site cleaning services. We use a desalination poultice. It draws the salt out. This stops the internal pressure.
Oolite Bedrock Shifting
The ground here is thin soil over hard Oolite limestone. The rock is jagged and full of holes. Heavy rain washes the topsoil down into these voids.
The monument loses support. It tilts against the hard rock. Adding dirt fails; it washes right through. For lasting tombstone repair and restoration, we build a new base. We use angular gravel. It bridges the gaps in the limestone. It creates a flat, stable pad.
Urban Traffic Soot
Major roads like Biscayne Blvd kick up exhaust soot. It settles on the monuments. It mixes with the algae. It creates a greasy, black stain.
Standard biological cleaners cannot penetrate this grease. We use an industrial stone degreaser first. We lift the soot out of the pores. Then we apply the biocide to kill the mold roots.
Bronze Chloride Corrosion
The salt air destroys bronze markers. It eats the factory lacquer. The copper reacts with the salt. It turns green and chalky.
This pits the metal lettering. We use strict cleaning bronze cemetery markers protocols. We strip the dead coating. We neutralize the corrosion. We heat the metal and reseal it with marine-grade clear coat. This blocks the salt air.
