Jason Church demonstrates the proper technique for cleaning a marble headstone using a biocidal cleaner, water, and a soft bristle brush.
In 2004, the Department of Veteran Affairs National Cemetery Administration turned to NCPTT when it wanted advice on chemical cleaners for their marble headstones. This began and partnership and extensive research on the subject of commercially available cleaners for removing biological growth and general soiling from marble headstones.
This week, NCPTT’s Mary Striegel reported the results of the six-year VA-funded study to Steve Muro, the VA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, and a variety of National Cemetery Administration officials. Based on NCPTT research, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will implement new policies that ban bleach-containing cleaners and encourage the use of gentle biocidal cleaners for regular maintenance of more than three million headstones nationwide. The results of the study led NCPTT to develop a document on the best practice for cleaning government-issued marble headstones, which can be downloaded here.
The main recommendations include the following:
- Cleaning should be undertaken with the mildest, least-abrasive method.
- A biocidal cleaner performed the best in this study. Recommended biocidal cleaners include D/2 Biological Solution (which was tested in this study) manufactured by Sunshine Makers, Enviro Klean® BioWash®, or other cleaners that contain quaternary ammonium compounds.
- Soak the stone liberally with water before applying the cleaner with a hand or backpack sprayer or garden hose.
- Always keep the stone wet during cleaning and thoroughly rinse afterwards.
- Agitate the surface gently in a circular motion using a soft bristle brush. Clean small areas from the bottom up.
- Remember to rinse after cleaning each area and to thoroughly rinse the stone at the end to make sure that no cleaner is left behind.
The research which led to these recommendations included field and laboratory studies that cut across disciplines from chemistry and biology to materials science and conservation treatment development. There were two main goals of the study. The first goal was to find effective commercial cleaners that removed soiling and microorganisms which alter the appearance and degrade headstones. The second goal was to look at factors that led to the re-growth of microorganisms on the stone.
NCPTT researchers studied five different cleaners which can be easily applied in the field. The cleaners needed to be effective in improving the appearance of the headstone and do no harm to the marble. In the field, NCPTT evaluated cleaners on stones located at five different climates and in both sunny and shady environments. Microbiologists at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences evaluated the microorganisms originally on the stone including bacteria, fungi, and algae. They helped to follow the re-growth on the headstones after cleaning over an eighteen-month time period. Additionally, they conducted accelerated laboratory tests using fungi to distinguish between the best field performing cleaners.
A technical report of the research findings is forthcoming.
Thank you for this excellent information.
Thanks, Rosa. NCPTT strives to make research relevent to preservation field practices. It’s always good to hear from professional like you that the results will be useful!
Thank you very much for this info. Can you provide a list of places that may sell D/2?
Richard,
Glad that you are finding this information useful. D/2 can be purchased from Cathedral Stone Products at http://www.cathedralstone.com/
Outstanding job Mary and Jason, I think we are heading in the right direction in cleaning headstones in the National Park now.
Thanks Julius. I’m glad the information is widely available and that the National Parks continue to address their national cemeteries.
Thank you for this updated information.
This is common sense. Tax money spent for 6 years that could have gone direct to veterans that really need it.
Thank you for your comment.
It’s not common sense to know which chemicals work best, and which will damage the stones, but we might think the cemetary and stone memorial industries would have studied these questions
years ago, and could provide the answers to government at no cost.
I’m with you 100% on getting the money to Vets who need care.
Is the family of the deceased responsible to keep the headstone clean?
Local and state laws vary significantly, so that we are unable to answer your question. Perhaps you could direct your question to the state historic preservation office. Sorry.
Government issued headstones are the property of the government, regardless of where they are placed.
And Wanda, some of us believe even deceased veterans deserve dignity.
Some people may not have any living relatives, and those they have may be far away, or emotionally detached. Dignity applies to how the living act, and respect for the dead is a valuable lesson to learn. Regardless of who’s
responsible for cleaning memorials, it would be a great exercise for anyone to do it. If we lose our attachment to
those who died so we could live free, we risk becoming a
great tree with shallow roots.
We all need to eat, but Memorial Day is a lot bigger than a
picnic.
My great uncle’s headstone is in need of a good cleaning. I read the article. My question is, “What can I buy at Wal-Mart or Lowes to clean it?
Nothing at Walmart is suitable for cleaning headstones.
Thank you for this information. I learned within the last year that a certain Civil War military stone belonged to a very distant relative. It is in need of a very good cleaning. I did learn quite by accident when brushing the very wet stone(after a rain storm) with a small whisk broom a lot of the excess growth will come off. It wasn’t easy to remove so I am glad that someone has finally developed a cleaner and a method for cleaning this stone. I am assuming that this method is not ‘only’ for veterans marble markers. It will probably work for any marble marker or for any granite marker.
I just called Sunshine Makers of D/2 and was told that it is no longer produced. I was most interested because in their data sheet there was a “no scrub/no rinse” application that worked over 30 days. Is there another alternative product with similar application?
D/2 will be available again in the next 2-4 weeks. D/2 Biological Solutions, Inc. has bought D/2,its formula and Trademark from our friends at Sunshine Makers who we have worked closely with for over 15 years. We also took this opportunity to change distributors. The new architectural distributor is Andy deGruchy of deGruchy’s Limeworks.US “LimeWorks.us” Product should be available by the middle to end of August.
Similar question to @Bo- can the D/2 product be left on the stone per the no scrub/no rinse label instructions? ALso, do you have any recommendations good or bad on a similar product called “Wet&Forget”?
D/2 can be used as a no scrub cleaner, I have used it on very fragile surfaces where I pre-wet, sprayed, dwell, rinse and it worked well.
D/2 label recommendation is no rinsing, however I strongly recommend rinsing any cleaner from your historic stone. I know this will lessen the long term cleaning ability of the product but it will also help protect the stones fragile fabric which I am most interested in.
On the Wet and Forget I am uncertain but would like to look further. It has a high (9%) of n-dodecyl/tetradecyl-n n-dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride. Which is a great cleaning agent but, I worry that such a high % could leave salts behind so I would recommend a final rinse to guard from this. However, the product says it does not work if rinsed and can take a month or more for the mildew staining to go away. If you do use it make sure to wet the stone first this will help minimize any salt intrusion.
Jason,
Thanks for the feedback. We have a large number of abandoned cemeteries, very remote, so any rinse water has to be carried in, or come from clouds. Someone needs to develop a biocide that weighs nothing, kills everything, leaves nothing and is inexpensive.
A side note- I just saw a report that D/2 will no longer be available due to an EPA labeling change? Better stock up.
D/2 will not be discontinued, there has been some confusion going around but the same D/2 we’ve all come to love is still available at LimeWorks.us
Read More Here…
http://eepurl.com/ozV7f
In the lettering of my Mom/Dad’s headstone has faded…I’ve tried to fix it with a permanent black sharpie. Is there something else I can use or who do I contact to have this task done…
Thank you,
Greg
The original black is a paint commonly called by its’ brand name “Lithochrome”. When the stone is new, a stencil is placed on the stone to sandblast the engraving. While the stencil is still covering all but the lettering, the lith is sprayed on. Since the stencil is now removed, you will have to hand-paint the lith into the lettering. It is a tedious process and hard to be steady enough for it not to look like a hand-painted job. I would recommend letting the black naturally fade out or contacting a monument company to repaint for you.
1) Put crushed marble or limestone around stone base periodically. Reduces the acid wicked up by the stone.
2) New graves should be on a thin layer of limestone gravel or marble chips. Wick up less water and reduces the salt content.
3) Traditional stone protectent and biocide was a very very thin coat of limewash (the very breatheable lime stucco on hundred plus year old buildings is lime stucco.) Limewash is very useful as a stone protectant. (Mason’s lime not garden lime.) (It’s still holding up on Mount Vernon.)
4) Stone should be treated with a architectural stone salt remover (Chlor-Rid tm, et al) periodically.
Thanks