The Lake Effect Freeze
The Great Lakes dictate the weather here. In winter, "lake effect" snow piles up wet and heavy. It insulates the ground for a while, but when the thaw comes, the cemeteries turn into swamps.
The stones soak up that meltwater. Then the temperature drops overnight. The water turns to ice and snaps the face of the stone right off. We can't glue those flakes back. Instead, we seal the rough stone to lock the moisture out. For tombstone repair and restoration, we also check the foundations. That wet ground heaves in the spring. We dig deep, gravel-packed footers to keep the monuments form tipping over when the mud thaws.
Industrial Soot in the Cities
In older cemeteries around Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids, the stones are black. Decades of factory smoke and car exhaust have settled on them.
It forms a hard, black crust on the limestone. It acts like tar. If you chip it, the stone comes with it. We use a slow-acting chemical poultice. It softens that carbon crust chemically. We rinse it away gently, revealing the white stone that has been hidden under the soot since the factory days.
Lichen from High Humidity
Michigan is humid. The air is always damp. That is exactly what lichen needs. We see thick green and orange mats growing on granite, especially under the shade trees.
Lichen roots eat right into the polish. You can't scrape it off dry; you'll scratch the finish. We use a biological cleaner. We spray it on and leave it alone. A week later, the dead lichen washes off in the rain. We get the stone clean without grinding away the surface.
Pine Pitch and Sap
Up north, White Pines are everywhere. They drop sticky pitch. When the summer sun hits it, that sap bakes into a hard amber bead on the headstone.
You can't scrape it off. We use a solvent spot treatment. It melts the resin so we can wipe it up. We also rake the pine needles out. Wet needles are acidic. Leave them piled against the base, and they will rot the stone.
Hard Water Irrigation Stains
Many Michigan cemeteries use well water for their sprinklers. Our groundwater is full of iron and calcium. When the sprinklers hit the headstones day after day, they leave a mark.
We see heavy orange rust stains or thick white calcium scales covering the names. Regular soap won't touch this. We use specialized acidic cleaners for our headstone cleaning services. We dissolve the mineral deposits carefully. Then we rinse the stone thoroughly. You cannot leave any acid residue behind, or it will burn the stone.
Moss on the North Side
Moss loves our humidity. It usually starts growing on the shady north side of the marker.
That moss holds water against the granite face. That constant wet spot freezes in winter and cracks the stone. We scrape the moss off and treat the stone to kill the spores. As part of our grave site cleaning services, we often trim back nearby bushes. The stone needs airflow to stay dry.
Road Salt Damage
We salt our roads heavily in winter. The spray from the plows often hits the stones near the street. That salt brine soaks into the granite and concrete bases.
When the water dries out, the salt stays inside and blows the stone apart. We flush these markers with fresh water and a salt neutralizer in the spring. We have to get that salt out before the stone turns to powder.
Bronze Oxidation
Michigan dampness wrecks bronze veteran plaques. The copper oxidizes and turns chalky green, making the names impossible to read.
We don't sandblast them. We strip the old, failed coating and clean the oxidation off by hand. Then we heat the metal and apply a new clear coat. It seals the bronze against the rain and snow, bringing back that rich, dark gold color.