Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Tupelo

The "Gum Tree" Mess

This town is named after the Tupelo Gum tree for a reason. They are everywhere. If you have a plot near one, you know the mess. The leaves turn black when they rot, and those sticky sap drops coat the headstones like varnish.

The worst part is the "gumballs"—those spiky fruit balls. They hold moisture against the base of the stone and trap dirt. We clear the debris and use a solvent to melt the hardened sap. We get the stone clean without scratching it, so the name shines again.

Tornado Debris Scars

This town knows what a tornado can do. The big one in 2014 threw debris everywhere. We still find scars on the monuments at Glenwood where flying limbs smacked the stone.

That impact leaves a white "bruise" on the granite. We can't erase the chip, but we can seal it up tight. That keeps the water out so the freeze doesn't split the rock later. We check every inch for those hairline cracks before we touch it with water.

Black Prairie Soil Shifting

We sit on the Black Prairie. That dark clay is stubborn. In August, the ground cracks open like an earthquake. In the rainy season, it turns into heavy mud that pushes against the foundations.

We see markers that lean dangerously or sink on one side. We provide professional grave site cleaning services that include leveling. We dig out the shifting clay and pack in angular gravel. It gives the stone a stable bed that doesn't expand and contract with the weather.

Red Clay Splash

You get out in the hills of Lee County, and that dirt is pure red clay. One hard rain kicks that mud right up onto the base of the stone. If you let it dry, it stains the granite orange.

Regular soap won't touch that red stain. It's iron oxide, basically rust. We use a poultice that draws the iron out of the stone pores. We let it sit and work. When we wash it off, the orange stain goes with it.

Elvis Country Traffic

We get a lot of visitors heading to the Birthplace. The traffic around East Main puts a lot of exhaust in the air. That diesel soot settles on the stones at Priceville and creates a greasy gray film.

Water just beads up on it. We use a degreaser to cut through the traffic film. It dissolves the oil so we can rinse the stone clean. It makes a big difference in how the granite catches the light.

Lichen on the Rough Edges

The rough-cut sides of the older monuments are magnets for lichen. It grows in crusty patches that dig deep into the rock.

If you try to scrape it off dry, you'll leave scratches. We spray it with a biological cleaner that softens the lichen. It turns to mush, and we can brush it away gently. The stone looks natural again, not scraped up.

Hard Water Scale

To keep the grass alive in August, the sprinklers run constantly. Our water leaves a hard white calcium deposit on the stones. It builds up over the years until it covers the dates.

Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me often try to chip it off, but that ruins the finish. We use a specialized wash that eats the calcium but is safe for the granite. The white haze disappears, and you can read the inscription clearly.

Ant Mounds

Fire ants are a constant battle here. They love building mounds against the warm stones. They tunnel underneath and leave the marker sitting on hollow ground.

We treat the area to move the ants out. Then we fill the tunnels and repack the ground to keep the stone from tipping over. It keeps the plot safe for family visits.

Crepe Myrtle Sap

We love our Crepe Myrtles, but they drop a fine mist of sap that turns black with mold. It creates a speckled black layer on the headstones that is very stubborn.

It looks like mildew, but it's sticky. We use a cleaner that breaks down the organic glue. We wash it away, and the stone looks bright again.

Service Costs in Tupelo

Pricing depends on the work. Leveling a stone in Black Prairie clay takes more effort than washing off road dust:

We go to the cemetery. We look at the stone. Then we give you a price.