Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Chattanooga

Cleaning Kudzu and Railroad Soot in Chattanooga

Chattanooga sits in a bowl. The ridges trap everything—humidity, fog, and pollution. In the morning, you can see the mist rising off the Tennessee River and settling into the cemeteries like Forest Hills and Greenwood. That constant dampness feeds heavy black algae. It covers the stone completely. We see markers that look like they are made of charcoal, but underneath, they are white marble.

The other fight here is the vines. Kudzu and English Ivy love this climate. In the older hillside plots, the vines take over. They form a thick green mat that completely hides the headstones. The weight of the vines pulls the monuments over. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to hack through the overgrowth and to strip off the black river mold that the valley fog leaves behind.

Clearing Kudzu and Ivy

In Chattanooga, if you turn your back for a month, the vines take over. We see headstones wrapped so tight you can't see the stone. The roots dig into the mortar joints and pry the base apart.

We don't just rip the vines off. That pulls the stone face off with it. We cut the vines at the ground and kill the root system. We let the vines die and dry out. Once they are brittle, we carefully peel them away. This protects the stone while clearing the plot.

Removing Railroad Soot

Chattanooga has a long history with trains. For decades, coal smoke settled on the cemeteries near the tracks. That soot is greasy. It packs onto the granite and stays there. Rain won't move it; it just smears the black mess down the face of the stone.

We use a degreaser to cut through the grease. We spray the stone and let the chemistry work on the oily carbon. Then we scrub. You can see the water turn black as the coal dust lifts out. We rinse it until the water runs clear and the inscription is sharp again.

Killing River Mold

The fog here keeps the stone wet. Black algae grows right into the pores of the limestone and marble. It turns the stone soft and dark.

We kill it with a biocide. We soak the stone to get the cleaner deep into the rock. It kills the microscopic roots of the algae. The black stain loosens up and washes away. The stone gets harder and cleaner because the infestation is gone.

Leveling Stones on Ridges

Many local cemeteries, like those on Missionary Ridge, are steep. Rainwater runs down the slope and cuts a channel under the headstones. The dirt washes out, and the stone tips forward.

We fix the foundation. We dig out the mud on the low side. We build a level shelf using crushed, angular gravel. We pack it solid. Gravel lets the water run through without washing out. We reset the monument on this flat pad so it stands straight, and the next rainstorm won't move it.

Extracting Red Clay Stains

The ground here is sticky red clay. When it rains, it splashes up on the base of the marker. The clay dries into a hard orange crust. It looks like rust, and it won't scrub off.

We use a poultice to draw it out. We cover the stain with a chemical paste. It sits on the stone and sucks the iron pigment out of the pores. We wash the dried paste away, and the orange ring disappears.

Repairing Mower Scuffs

Maintenance crews have to mow quickly. They hit the corners of the stones. We see black tire marks and chipped granite edges on almost every plot.

We wipe the rubber marks off with a solvent. For chips, we use diamond files. We grind the sharp, broken edge into a smooth bevel. It looks finished and prevents the mower from catching that same jagged spot again.

Service Costs in Chattanooga

We have flat-rate pricing for the Chattanooga area, from Hixson to Lookout Mountain. 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.