Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Tulsa

Cleaning Tree Sap and River Mold in Tulsa

Tulsa is Green Country. That means trees, humidity, and shade. In cemeteries like Rose Hill or Memorial Park, the old oaks cover the grounds. It looks peaceful, but it is hard on the headstones. The trees drop sap and pollen that turn into sticky black tar on the markers.

The Arkansas River makes the air heavy and wet. That moisture feeds the green algae and black mildew. It grows fast here. We see grey granite turned completely green in the shade. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to scrub off that biological growth and to remove the tree sap that soap cannot touch.

Removing Sticky Tree Sap

The big oak and pecan trees drop sap all summer. It lands on the stone and bakes in the heat. Dust sticks to it. It dries into hard black buttons. It looks exactly like road tar.

A garden hose won't touch it. Soap just slides right off the surface. We use a solvent made to dissolve organic resins. We dab it onto the sticky spots. It melts the hardened sap back into a liquid. We wipe it away. This cleans the stone without scratching the polish.

Killing River Valley Algae

Humidity gets trapped in the valley. Mold and algae thrive on the porous stone surfaces. We see slick green slime on flat markers and black mold growing inside the lettering of uprights.

We kill the infestation. We soak the stone in a biocide. The fluid soaks deep into the rock. It kills the growth from the inside. The green slime turns brown and washes away. We rinse it off. We get calls for cleaning granite gravestones that look like mossy rocks. After we treat them, the granite sparkles again.

Sinking in Wet Clay

The soil here is clay, but it stays wetter than out west. Heavy markers sink into the soft ground. Grass grows over the edges. We find flat markers buried under inches of sod.

We dig the marker out. Putting it back on mud is a mistake. We remove the wet soil. We pack the hole with crushed gravel. Gravel drains the water away and locks together. It creates a solid platform. We set the stone on the gravel, and it stays flush with the ground.

Hard Water Calcium Crust

Tulsa summers are hot. The sprinklers run constantly. The water leaves mineral deposits on the stones. Over time, this builds up into a thick white scale that hides the dates and names. It bonds to the stone like cement.

We dissolve the calcium. We use a buffered acid cleaner. We apply it to the white haze. The cleaner reacts immediately with the calcium. It breaks the bond. We work the surface until the white crust releases and the stone is clear. It takes work, but we get down to the clean surface without burning the stone.

Restoring Bronze in Memorial Park

Memorial Park has thousands of bronze markers. The sun and humidity destroy the protective coating. The bronze oxidizes. It turns green and chalky. It looks neglected.

We strip the failed coating and the corrosion. We clean the metal down to the raw bronze. We heat it up to drive out moisture. Then we spray a new industrial clear coat. This seals the metal. The plaque stays brown and legible instead of turning green again.

Cleaning Sandstone and Limestone

The older sections of Oaklawn have porous sandstone markers. They are soft. Lichen roots dig deep into them and cause the face to crumble.

We are gentle with these. We kill the lichen with chemistry, not force. We apply a cleaner that kills the plant. It releases its grip on the stone. We rinse it gently. We never use pressure washers here; they would blow the carving right off the stone.

Fixing Mower Damage

Landscapers work fast. They hit the stones. We see black tire marks on the flat markers and chips on the granite bases.

We wipe the tire marks off with a solvent. For the chips, we use diamond pads. We grind the sharp edges down. The missing piece is gone, but smoothing the edge makes it look finished. It stops the mower blade from catching on that spot next time.

Ant Removal

Fire ants and black ants love to build nests under the flat markers. They push dirt up around the edges and cover the stone. The acid from the ants can actually stain some stones.

We clear the mound. We lift the stone if necessary to get the nest out from underneath. We put down a gravel base that ants don't like to build in. This keeps the marker clean and visible.

Service Costs in Tulsa

Dissolving tree sap takes specific solvents. Lifting a sunken ledger takes labor. We need to see the stone to give you a price. Use our online pricing tool. Pick the cemetery, show us the stone, and we give you a quote.