Coastal Salt Corrosion
The ocean air in Wilmington destroys stone. Salt spray travels miles inland. It coats the monuments and eats into the polished surface.
If you run your hand over an older granite marker here, it feels rough. That is salt pitting. The salt crystals grow inside the stone pores and pop the finish off. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me often think it's just dirt. It is physical damage. We wash the stone thoroughly to flush the salt out. Then we apply a consolidation treatment. It doesn't seal the stone, but it strengthens the surface against the salt air.
Spanish Moss Staining
Live Oaks draped in Spanish Moss are everywhere in Oakdale and Bellevue. It looks good on a postcard, but it ruins headstones.
Clumps of moss fall onto the flat markers and rot. They hold moisture against the stone for weeks. This leaves dark, organic shadows that standard washing won't touch. The dye is deep in the grain. We apply a poultice paste over the spot. As the paste dries, it wicks the dark stain out of the granite. We peel the crust off, and the stone is clean.
Washout in Sandy Soil
The ground here is sand. When a tropical storm hits, the water moves fast. It washes the sand right out from under the monument bases.
We see heavy stones tipping over because the foundation is suddenly gone. You can't just shovel sand back under it; the next storm will take it again. We provide professional grave stone cleaning services that include stabilization. We lift the stone. We pack the void with angular gravel. Gravel locks together and holds the weight, even when the sand around it washes away.
Black Mold in High Humidity
Wilmington stays humid. The air is heavy and wet. This feeds black mildew on every porous surface.
Dark streaks cover the inscriptions. This isn't soot; it is a fungus feeding on the stone. Scrubbing it leaves the roots alive, and it comes right back. We soak the stone with a deep-penetrating biocide. It kills the colony completely. The sun burns off the dead organic matter, leaving the stone bright.
Rust from Iron Anchors
In the older cemeteries, builders used iron pins to hold tall monuments together. The salt air rusts these pins from the inside out.
The rusting iron expands and cracks the stone. It also bleeds orange rust down the sides. We clean the rust stains with a chemical neutralizer. For cracked stones, we seal the breaks with epoxy to keep water away from the iron core. This slows down the decay.
Pine Pitch and Pollen
The Longleaf Pines drop heavy pitch (sap) year-round. It hits the hot stone and bakes into a hard amber resin.
Dirt sticks to the resin, forming black lumps. If you scrape them, you scratch the polish. We use a solvent that dissolves the pine pitch chemically. The sticky mess wipes away without abrasive tools. We get the stone smooth again.
Service Costs in Wilmington
We price based on the material and the location (historic vs. modern park):
- Salt Removal: Deep cleaning and consolidation for pitted stones.
- Moss Stain Removal: Poultice cleaning for organic dyes.
- Stabilization: Resetting stones after washout/hurricane damage.
- Biocide Treatment: Killing mildew in high humidity.
We assess the site. We check the stability. Then we give you a price.
