Old Country Road Diesel Particulates
Westbury is bisected by Old Country Road and the Wantagh Parkway. Traffic volume is massive. Diesel exhaust particulates are constant. This oily soot settles on monuments in the Cemetery of the Holy Rood.
On marble, sulfur dioxide from the exhaust mixes with rain. It reacts with the calcium stone. It forms a black gypsum crust. This is not dirt. It is chemically altered stone. Scrubbing it destroys the inscription. We use ammonium carbonate poultices. These pastes dissolve the chemical bond. We rinse the carbon black away without abrasion.
Magothy Aquifer Mineral Scale
Holy Rood draws irrigation water from the Magothy Aquifer. The water is mineral-dense. It contains high levels of calcium and iron.
Sprinklers hit the hot stone. The water flashes to vapor. The minerals precipitate instantly. They bond to the surface. This creates a hard white scale. It acts like cement. Mechanical scrubbing scratches the polish. We use chelating agents. These chemicals break the ionic bond. They dissolve the scale safely. We use professional cleaning stone gravestones chemistry.
Hempstead Plains Sand Shift
Westbury sits on the Hempstead Plains. The soil is glacial outwash. It is sandy and loose. It drains instantly. It possesses zero cohesive strength.
Heavy rain creates a hydraulic flow underground. The sand grains lubricate and slide. The friction holding the monument foundation fails. The stone sinks or tilts. Adding topsoil is useless; the sub-grade acts like a fluid. For permanent tombstone repair and restoration, we stabilize the foundation. We excavate. We install a friction pile of angular gravel. This locks into the loose sand.
Open Plain Wind Scour
The geography is flat and open. There are few windbreaks. Winter winds strip heat from stone surfaces instantly.
Moisture inside granite flash-freezes. The thermal shock is violent. Ice expands 9%. This generates immediate tensile stress. The stone face shears off. This is "Spalling." Searching for headstone cleaning services near me often leads to pressure washing ads. This forces more water into the stone. It accelerates the damage. We use hydrophobic sealers. They stop liquid entry.
Bio-Film Acid Etching
Mature shade trees in the older sections of Westbury Friends Cemetery trap humidity. Stone surfaces stay damp. This feeds Gloeocapsa magma (black algae) and lichen.
Lichen roots penetrate the mineral structure. They excrete oxalic acid. This digests the stone surface. It eats the polish off granite. We use professional grave site cleaning services chemistry. Quaternary ammonium biocides kill the root system. The growth detaches naturally.