Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Wichita

Cleaning Windblown Grit and Tree Sap in Wichita

The wind in Wichita acts like a sandblaster. It picks up grit from the open fields and blasts it against the headstones. In open parks like Lakeview or Resurrection, this dust strips the polish off the granite. It packs into the engravings so tightly that the names vanish.

In the historic grounds like Maple Grove, the problem is the trees. The maples and oaks drop sap, pollen, and leaves. This organic mess lands on the porous limestone and marble. It rots and turns black. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to remove that black crust and to clear out the lettering that the Kansas wind has packed full of dirt.

Impacted Dust in Engravings

The wind here drives dirt into the stone lettering. Rain mixes with it. Then the sun dries it out. It turns into a hard plug inside the numbers and letters. You can't brush it out.

We clean it by hand. Steam softens the hard packing. Then we go in with picks to scrape the debris out of the grooves. We flush it with water. The inscription becomes sharp and readable again.

Removing Sticky Tree Sap

Maple Grove has beautiful trees, but they make a mess. Sap drips onto the headstones. Dust sticks to the sap. It forms black, tar-like spots that harden in the heat.

Water just runs off it. We use a solvent that cuts through tree resin. We soak the spots until they dissolve. We wipe them away. This cleans the stone without scratching the surface.

Frost Heave and Sinking Markers

Kansas winters bring freezing and thawing. The ground heaves. This pushes stones up or lets them sink into the mud when the thaw comes. Flat markers often end up tilted or buried.

We level them. We dig the marker up. We remove the mud. We build a pad of compacted crushed rock. This drains the water so the frost doesn't push the stone around. We set the marker back, and it stays level.

Restoring Faded Bronze

The sun at Old Mission Cemetery is intense. It burns the protective lacquer off the bronze markers. The metal oxidizes and turns a chalky green.

We strip the failed coating. We scrub the corrosion down to the bare bronze. We heat the metal to get it bone dry. Then we apply a new industrial clear coat. This seals the bronze and keeps it looking dark and finished.

Hard Water Scale

Irrigation leaves a white calcium haze on the stones. It bonds to the granite polish. It looks like a cloudy film that won't wipe off.

We dissolve the minerals. We use a buffered acid cleaner. We apply it to the white crust. It fizzes as it works. We scrub the residue off and rinse it fast. The polish shines again once the calcium is gone.

Lichen on Historic Limestone

The older markers in Highland Cemetery are soft limestone. Lichen digs its roots into them. If you scrub them, the stone crumbles.

We use a biocide. We spray the lichen. It kills the organism. The lichen releases its grip and washes off. This saves the stone face and the inscription.

Repairing Mower Chips

Mowers hit the stones. We see fresh chips on the granite bases. The edges are sharp and white.

We use diamond pads to smooth the damage. We grind the sharp edge down. We blend it into the rest of the stone. It stops the mower from catching that spot again.

Service Costs in Wichita

Cleaning historic limestone takes special care. Refinishing bronze takes specific solvents. We need to see the stone to price it. Use our online pricing tool. Pick the cemetery, show us the stone, and we give you a quote.