Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in North Charleston

Cleaning Industrial Soot and Lifting Sinking Markers in North Charleston

North Charleston is different from downtown. It is an industrial city. We have the paper mill, the port, and the airport all pushing dust into the air. That fallout settles on the headstones in Riverview and Carolina Memorial. It isn't just plain dirt. It is a greasy, black layer that covers the granite. You can't just hose it off. It smears like engine oil. It stains white marble grey and hides the bronze lettering.

The ground is another problem. The water table here is right at the surface. When it rains, the dirt turns to soup. Heavy flat markers don't stay on top of that. They sink. We see family plots where the grass has completely swallowed the stone. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to cut through that heavy industrial grime and to lift their loved ones' markers back up to the surface.

Removing Industrial Grime

The black coating on markers in North Charleston is a mix of mold and industrial exhaust. It is oily. Rain won't rinse it away. It just mats the soot down until it looks like part of the rock.

We use a degreaser to handle the soot. We soak the stone and let the cleaner eat into the grime. Then we scrub. You can see black sludge running off the stone. We rinse it until the natural color shows through and the grey film is gone.

Lifting Stones in Wet Soil

The soil here is too soft to hold up heavy granite. The stones settle into the mud. The grass grows over the top, and you lose the marker entirely.

We fix this by building a better base. We pull the marker up and set it aside. We dig out the muck and fill the hole with crushed gravel. Gravel locks together. It lets the water run out, so the foundation stays firm. We reset the marker on that rock pad, so it stays level.

Restoring Oxidized Bronze

Carolina Memorial Gardens has thousands of bronze markers. The humidity and the salt air eat the protective coating. The bronze turns a chalky green color that makes the lettering hard to read.

We restore them right on the plot. We strip off the old coating and the green corrosion. We sand the letters to bring back the gold color. We dry the metal with heat, then spray a marine-grade clear coat to seal it against the damp air.

Killing Heavy Mold and Algae

The humidity in the Lowcountry never quits. It feeds thick black algae on the older stone monuments. It roots into the pores and turns the stone slippery and dark.

We kill it with a biocide. We soak the stone so the cleaner reaches deep into the rock. The algae dies and releases its grip. We wash it away, and the stone returns to its natural color because the infestation is gone.

Repairing Mower Scuffs

Maintenance crews have a lot of ground to cover. Mowers hit the edges of the flat markers and the corners of the uprights. We see black tire marks and chipped stone everywhere.

We clean the tire marks with a solvent. For the chips, we use diamond files to smooth out the jagged edges. It prevents the mower from catching that same spot next time and makes the stone look cared for.

Service Costs in North Charleston

We have flat-rate pricing for North Charleston, Hanahan, and Ladson. We don't need to visit the cemetery to give you a price. Check our subscription builder to see the exact cost for your plot.