Steel Mill Fallout
Middletown was built around the steel mill. For a century, the stacks at Armco and AK Steel pumped smoke into the valley. That fallout settled on everything, including the headstones.
It forms a greasy, black coat on the stone. It acts like oil; water just runs right off it. If you try to scrub it, you just spread the black mess everywhere. We use a solvent meant for industrial grease. It cuts the oil so we can wash the soot away.
Woodside Tree Sap
Woodside is an Arboretum. The trees are huge, but they drip sap all summer long. It covers the markers in sticky drops that get hard as rock.
"A year ago I traveled to Ohio and visited the cemetery where most of my family is buried. I was appalled at the condition of the gravestones for my loved ones. Because of this, I came back home and decided to look for someone who could clean and maintain those gravestones. I saw an ad in FaceBook of Tending and was thrilled to contact them. I am soooo glad I did. They were easy to work with; they did exactly what they said they would do; they charged exactly what they said they would; and, I have been so very impressed with their business and their work ethic. I am very pleased with this company and recommend them to anyone who could use their service."
— Beck, Ohio
Dirt sticks to that sap and turns it into black lumps. It looks like road tar. Scrapers will just scratch the polish. We use a remover that melts the sap on contact. It turns the sticky spots into liquid so we can wipe them off clean.
River Valley Moss
We sit right on the Great Miami River. The fog hangs in the valley until late morning. That damp air keeps the stones wet, especially in the shaded parts of the cemetery.
Green moss and black algae thrive here. They grow thick and cover the names. The roots dig into the stone. We don't scrape it off. We soak it with a solution that kills the roots. The moss dies and washes away with the next rain.
Sliding on Clay Hills
Middletown has plenty of hills. The soil is heavy clay. When it rains, that ground turns into grease. Heavy granite monuments start to slide downhill or lean forward.
We provide professional grave site cleaning services that include leveling. We don't just prop the stone back up. We dig a flat shelf into the hillside and fill it with angular gravel. It locks the stone in place so it stops creeping down the slope.
Winter Freeze Damage
Our winters are wet. Water seeps into the joint between the base and the tablet. When it freezes, it acts like a wedge.
It splits the granite right in half. We see broken bases all the time. We provide professional grave stone cleaning services that include repair. We fill the crack with a stone epoxy that bonds the pieces back together into one solid block.
Bird Droppings
With all the trees at Woodside, we have a lot of birds. Their droppings land on the stones. It's not just ugly; it burns.
On marble stones, the acid eats dark spots right into the rock. The sun bakes it on. We use a cleaner to break down the droppings so they wipe right off. Then we flush the stone with water to get the acid out of the pores.
Limestone Erosion
The older pioneer stones are made of local limestone. It is soft rock. Over time, the rain wears the surface down. The lettering gets shallow and hard to read.
We treat these stones with care. No pressure washers. We wash them gently by hand. Then we apply a consolidant. It soaks into the stone and hardens the surface. It slows down the wear so the name stays visible longer.
Hard Water Haze
The city water here is hard. The sprinklers hit the hot stone, and the sun bakes the water off immediately. It leaves a heavy layer of calcium behind.
It sticks to the stone like paint. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me often try to chip it off, but that scratches the finish. We use a wash that dissolves the minerals. The white haze disappears, and the polish shines again.
Mower Scuffs
The grass grows fast in the river valley. The mowing crews move quickly. They clip the corners of the stones with their tires.
It leaves a black rubber streak that water won't move. We use a solvent that melts the rubber instantly. It wipes away clean. We trim the grass back to give the mowers a buffer zone.
Service Costs in Middletown
Pricing depends on the work. Removing industrial grease takes more effort than a simple moss cleanup:
- Fallout Removal: Cleaning heavy mill soot.
- Sap Removal: Dissolving sticky tree resin.
- Leveling: Resetting stones on clay hills.
- Consolidation: Hardening crumbling limestone.
We look at the stone. We see what it needs. Then we give you a price.
