Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Oshkosh

Cleaning Lake Fly Stains and Algae in Oshkosh

Life in Oshkosh revolves around Lake Winnebago, and so does the damage to our cemeteries. Riverside Cemetery is right on the water. That creates a constant dampness that covers the stones in green algae.

But the real local headache is the lake flies. Every spring, the swarms hit. They cover the headstones completely. When they die, they leave a black, oily mess that bakes into the stone. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me usually call us for one of two things: scrubbing off that green lake slime or cleaning up the greasy stains the bugs left behind.

Lake Fly Stains

If you live here, you know the deal with lake flies. They coat everything. On a headstone, they are a disaster. It isn't just dust. It creates a greasy smear. Rain won't touch it. The sun bakes that grease onto the granite, and it refuses to budge.

Regular soap is a waste of time here. We use a chemical that cuts through grease. Then we scrub it. We work the stone hard until that black layer breaks up. It is the only way to get the granite looking like it should.

Green Lake Algae

The wind coming off the lake is wet. That damp air settles on the stones at Riverside and Calvary. It creates the perfect spot for algae. You see entire rows of headstones turning green, especially on the shaded sides.

We kill this growth before we remove it. We spray a cleaner that soaks into the stone and kills the roots. The green turns brown, dries up, and brushes off. If you try to scrape it while it's alive, you just smear it deeper into the rock.

Sinking in River Silt

The ground near the Fox River and the lake is soft. It is full of silt and sand. Heavy monuments tend to sink here. We see flat markers that have disappeared completely under the grass because the mud just swallowed them up.

To fix this, we have to lift the stone and build a new foundation. We dig out the soft mud and replace it with crushed stone. The stone locks together and creates a solid platform so the marker doesn't sink again.

Hard Water Haze

The water in the Valley is full of minerals. Summer heat makes it worse. The sprinklers hit the stone, the water disappears, but the white minerals stay stuck to the face. It builds up a rough white patch that ruins the mirror finish.

We use a cleaner that melts the calcium. It works fast. We brush it on and rinse it off the second the haze is gone. It restores the shine and makes the lettering easy to read again.

Service Costs in Oshkosh

Cleaning up a mess of lake flies takes a lot of scrubbing. Lifting a heavy granite block out of river mud is hard work. I can't give you a fair price without seeing the stone. We have an online tool for that. You choose the cemetery, tell us the problem, and you get the cost instantly.