Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Reading

Removing Railroad Rust and Coal Soot in Reading

Reading was built on the railroad and coal transport. That history is hard on the cemeteries. In places like Charles Evans and Aulenbach, we deal with two main enemies: iron and soot. For a hundred years, trains kicked up iron dust and coal ash that settled on the headstones.

That metal dust didn't just sit there. It got wet and rusted. It turned beautiful white marble and gray granite into orange, stained blocks. We also fight the dampness from the Schuylkill River that covers the stones in thick green moss. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to bleach out those deep orange rust stains and to scrape off the black coal crust that covers the names.

Railroad Iron Stains

This is the biggest problem in Reading. Brake dust from the trains settles on the stone. Rain turns that metal dust into bright orange spots immediately. They bleed deep into the pores.

Regular cleaners won't touch this. It isn't dirt; it is a chemical stain inside the rock. We use a specific chemical designed to hunt down iron particles. We apply it, and it turns purple as it finds the rust. It pulls the iron out of the stone so we can rinse it away. It takes multiple rounds to get it all, but the orange disappears.

Anthracite Coal Soot

Reading moved a lot of coal. The dust from the anthracite is greasy and black. It formed a hard crust on the older monuments that sheds water like a roof shingle.

You can't scrub this off with soap. It’s too hard. We use a heavy-duty poultice paste. We smear it on the black spots and cover it. It sits there for a day or two, breaking down the oily bond holding the soot to the stone. When we take the paste off, the black sludge comes with it, leaving clean stone behind.

Sandstone Spalling

Many older markers in Berks County are made of brown sandstone. It is soft. Over time, water gets in, freezes, and pops the face of the stone off. We see layers peeling away like wet cardboard.

We can't glue the pieces back. But we can stop the bleeding. We gently brush off the loose flakes. Then we soak the stone in a consolidator fluid. It penetrates the sand grains and locks them together. This stops the stone from shedding more layers next winter.

River Moss and Algae

The fog from the Schuylkill River keeps the cemeteries damp. Green algae grows fast here, especially on the north side of the monuments. It looks bad, but it also holds moisture against the stone, which causes cracks.

We kill it. We don't just scrape it off, because the roots stay behind and it grows right back. We spray a biocide that kills the plant completely. It turns brown and falls off with a simple rinse. The stone stays clean because nothing is left alive to grow back.

Sinking in Soft Ground

The soil in the valley is soft and wet. Heavy monuments sink over time. We see headstones that have tilted dangerously or flat markers that are buried under inches of mud.

We dig them out. We remove the wet mud from underneath and replace it with angular gravel. We pack it down tight. This creates a base that drains water away so the stone doesn't sink again when the next big rain comes.

Tree Sap and Bird Droppings

Charles Evans Cemetery is practically an arboretum. The big trees drop sap, and the birds leave a mess. This acidic mix burns into the polish of granite markers.

If you leave it, it etches the stone. We use a solvent to soften the hardened sap and bird lime. We wipe it off carefully. Once the acid burns the gloss, the shine is gone forever. We strip the sticky residue off to stop the damage from going deeper.

Service Costs in Reading

Pulling rust out of granite takes expensive chemicals and repeat visits. Stabilizing a peeling sandstone marker is delicate work. We need to look at the stone to see how deep the damage goes before we give you a price.