Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in South Burlington

Cleaning Exhaust Soot and Road Salt in South Burlington

South Burlington has unique problems because of the airport and the heavy traffic on Shelburne Road. The exhaust creates a mess. In cemeteries like Eldridge and Resurrection Park, we find headstones coated in a heavy, black grease. This is soot from diesel and jet fuel. It is sticky, and it holds onto dust. Rain won't wash it off.

We also deal with road salt. Plows spray salt onto the markers near the street. The salt gets into the stone's pores. When it dries and expands, it forces the surface of the stone to flake off. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to strip that oily traffic film and to flush the damaging salt out of their family monuments.

Removing Airport Soot and Traffic Film

Standard biological cleaners don't work on the oily grime we see near the airport. That black coating is carbon and grease. It creates a dull, flat finish on the stone.

We use a stone-safe degreaser. We let it soak in to break the bond of the oil. Then we scrub it with soft brushes. The chemical cuts through the grease so we can scrub it off. We rinse it away, and you can see the grain of the stone again.

Neutralizing Road Salt Damage

Road salt eats stone. Markers near the street soak up the spray all winter. By spring, you see white salt lines on the surface, and the stone begins to pit and crumble.

We fix this by flushing the stone. We use fresh water to wash the surface. If the salt is deep, we apply a poultice to pull it out. We have to remove the salt before it causes the face of the stone to delaminate.

Correcting Frost Heaves

The clay soil in South Burlington holds a lot of water. When it freezes, it expands. We see monuments lifted inches out of the ground every winter. They rarely settle back down level.

We relevel them by digging out that wet clay. We replace it with deep, angular gravel. Gravel drains quickly. It prevents water from pooling under the marker and freezing. This creates a base that doesn't move when the frost hits.

Cleaning Hard Water Stains

Some of the older cemeteries have irrigation systems or sit near runoff areas. We see orange rust stains or white calcium deposits on the bases.

We use specific cleaners for mineral stains. We treat the rust or calcium directly without hurting the rest of the stone. It removes that orange discoloration that makes the stone look neglected.

Repairing Mower Scuffs

In large parks like Resurrection Park, the mowing crews move fast. They hit the corners of the granite bases. We see black tire marks and chipped edges on almost every plot.

We clean the rubber marks 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 South Burlington

We have flat-rate pricing for South Burlington, Shelburne, and Williston. 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.