Route 17 Soot Loading
Route 17 is a heavy diesel corridor. The trucks run all night. That exhaust settles right on the stones in the valley.
It creates a greasy black film. Rainwater mixes with it and turns it into a hard crust. This eats into the inscription. Scrubbing just pushes it deeper. We use specialized grave site cleaning services. We apply a paste that dissolves the grease chemically. We rinse it away without scrubbing.
Glacial Till Shift
The soil here is Glacial Till. It is a mix of heavy clay and random boulders. It holds water like a bucket.
In winter, that water freezes and pushes the ground up. The monument tips over. Topsoil is a temporary patch. It turns to mud and slides off. For permanent tombstone repair and restoration, we fix the drainage. We replace the clay with clean crushed stone. This keeps the foundation dry and level.
Valley Fog Freeze
Monroe sits in a humid valley. Fog keeps the stones damp. Granite is porous. It drinks up the fog.
Winter temps hit zero. The water inside the stone freezes solid. It expands and shears the face of the stone off. Searching for headstone cleaning services near me usually brings up pressure washing. That is dangerous. It forces more water into the stone. We apply a breathable barrier. It stops water from getting in.
Lichen Etching
Hudson Valley rain has high acidity. It etches the stone face. This creates a rough surface where lichen can grip.
The lichen roots drill into the stone. They secrete acid that dissolves the granite binder. If you scrape it, you peel the stone surface off. We use specific cleaners for cleaning stone gravestones. They kill the plant at the root. The lichen dries up and falls off.
Calcium Wicking
The ground is full of dissolved calcium. The stone sucks this water up like a wick.
The water dries out. The calcium stays. It leaves a white scaly line on the base. Acid cleaners attack the polish. We use chelating agents. These are chemicals that grab the calcium and lift it off the stone. We wash it away safely.