Here's How To Clean And Maintain A Grave EASILY.
Maintaining a grave is important to honor the memory of loved ones who have passed away.
But it is also essential to ensure that the burial remains in good condition.
Be careful, however, not all stones are maintained in the same way.
Some are more fragile than others!
here is how to clean and maintain a grave easily in 13 steps. Look :
1. Remove flower pots and flower arrangements
Before cleaning a grave, you must first get rid of the clumps of faded flowers and remove the flower pots.
With garden scissors, cut off any faded flowers. If the grave and its surroundings are overgrown with dead leaves, use this trick to pick them up without getting tired.
Put everything in a garbage bag.
Also take the opportunity to remove all the bad ones around the tombstone. To do this, tear them off by hand.
Or even better, use white vinegar to kill all the weeds. Find out how to do it here.
But be careful not to spray vinegar on the marble surfaces!
2. Eliminate the foam
With time and humidity, moss tends to take over everything.
Not only is it not very pretty, but it can end up damaging the gravestone or the death plaque.
Fortunately, there is a very simple trick for removing moss and cleaning the tombstone.
And no need for harsh chemicals for that!
Just dilute 3 tablespoons of baking soda in a liter of lukewarm water.
Moisten a brush with your mixture and scrub the areas covered with foam. Then rinse well.
And there you have it, the foam is gone! Simple and efficient, isn't it?
Note that you can also use black soap to remove the foam.
3. Clean up a bluestone tomb
The maintenance of blue stone is quite simple, because it is a hard stone and not porous.
Cleaning with clean water is often sufficient.
If the bluestone grave is really dirty, you can add a little black soap or washing up liquid.
You can finish by rinsing thoroughly with clean water.
For stains, use hydrogen peroxide or Sommière earth for greasy stains.
4. Clean a granite gravestone
During the year, due to humidity and pollution, the tombstone can get dirty and black.
To clean it, avoid using a stripping product which could damage the stone of the grave.
Better to use a mild natural product like black soap.
For that, it's simple. Pour the water into a bucket and dilute the black soap in the water.
Then dip your brush in it and scrub the stone. Rinse thoroughly and wipe dry with a soft cloth.
This solution is perfect for a gravestone made of terrazzo (a mixture of stone and cement) or raw granite.
It is also a solution that works for soft and porous stones, or marble whether it is light or dark marble, black or white, when it is not too dirty.
Another possibility: do a quick cleaning with a magic sponge moistened with water.
5. Clean dirty marble
Cleaning a marble funeral monument is tricky, especially if the dirt has been embedded for a long time.
It is especially important not to use an acid product, such as vinegar or lemon, on marble.
As marble is limestone, an acid product would attack it and make it lose its shine.
To clean dirty marble and make it shine, you can make a mixture of 70 ° alcohol and black soap, as explained here.
Then just apply this homemade cleaner to the marble surfaces to be washed. It only remains to wipe to find a clean marble, spotless and shiny.
You can also mix Meudon 2 white with two drops of turpentine. With a cloth, take a little of your mixture and pass it on the marble.
Marble tends to tarnish over time. To restore her shine, there is another very effective grandmother's trick.
The trick is to clean it with a paste made with soda crystals and Meudon white.
To prepare this paste, put on gloves to protect your hands. Then in a basin, put 2 parts of Meudon white and 1 part of soda crystals.
Add two parts water and mix. Spread the paste obtained on the marble and leave to act for 1 hour.
Then with a clean, dry cloth, wipe off the paste. You will see, the marble regains all its shine.
It is ideal for cleaning small areas, such as commemorative plaques.
6. Clean stains from marble
Marble is a porous stone: it tends to absorb stains and dirt.
Marble stains should be treated separately, being careful not to damage the marble coating.
You can use clay stone to emphasize stubborn stains. Dampen a sponge with the clay stone.
Rub the stains with it, rinse and dry! Simple, isn't it?
Clay stone can be found in all DIY stores, organic stores, supermarkets (Auchan, Leclerc, Carrefour ...) and here on the Internet.
You can also make your own clay stone by following this recipe.
Another solution for removing stains encrusted on marble: a paste of baking soda and pumice stone powder.
To do this, mix in a container 1/3 of baking soda and 2/3 of pumice powder.
Apply this paste to the stains and leave it on while it dries.
Then clean it with black soap diluted in water. Rinse with clean water and dry with a cloth.
To discover : La Terre de Sommières: The Magic Trick To Remove Grease Stains from Granite and Marble.
7. Protect the marble
Are the stains on the marble gone? Is the marble tombstone now clean and shiny? Well done !
To prevent it from getting dirty too quickly and scratching, you can protect the marble by rubbing polish or wax milk with a rag.
Finally, wipe the surface with a soft, thick cloth.
8. Remove rust stains
A rust stain may form on the ornaments, on a plaque or on a marble or granite slab.
Hydrogen peroxide is the miracle product you need to get it out.
Start by rubbing the stain with an abrasive pad. Then soak a cloth with hydrogen peroxide at 20 volumes.
Spread it over the rust spots. Finally, using a damp sponge, rinse thoroughly.
9. Clean funeral ceramics
Bad weather and the sun always end up weakening enameled porcelain urns.
For them to regain their shine, simply clean them with clear water and a soft cloth to maintain them.
10. Renovate the inscriptions on the graves
The inscriptions on the tombstone may fade over time.
Not easy to renovate these inscriptions on the marble plaques! Here's the thing a funeral director told me.
Start by cleaning the indented letters with a brush dipped in mineral spirits or acetone.
Remove excess with a damp cloth. Then carefully protect the marble.
To do this, use cardboard, heavy paper or painter's tape to hide the marble and leave only the letters visible.
Use a spray paint to repaint the letters. Don't use too much! Wait for the paint to dry a bit and remove the covers.
If there are any streaks, wipe off the spilled paint with a clean rag. It remains only to wait until the paint is completely dry.
To protect the writings when the paint is completely dry, then pass colorless varnish on it.
You can also use a felt tip pen or a grease pencil on the letters to tint them.
11. Repair a crack in the marble
A crack in the marble can weaken the tombstone. Better to fix it asap!
To fill it, take a candle and light it. Let the hot wax flow into the crack.
Let dry and remove excess wax with a spatula. The crack is now invisible!
12. Clean a resin commemorative plaque
A little washing-up liquid, water and a sponge are all you need to clean a resin souvenir plaque.
You can also use window cleaner.
Or if stains are well encrusted, rub a sponge on the clay stone and run it over the plate.
Rinse with clean water and dry with a soft cloth.
You can finish the cleaning by applying colorless wax to protect it.
13. Take care of the flowers
We all like to decorate the graves of our loved ones with flowers, especially on All Saints' Day.
The rest of the year, we often prefer to put artificial flowers.
This is handy when you live far from the cemetery and cannot come often to maintain the grave.
To clean them, use a damp sponge soaked in dish soap or black soap.
You can also soak them in soapy water to loosen the dirt.
If any mud has dried on the flowers, remove it with a sponge dipped in the clay stone.
What you need
- black soap
- baking soda
- Meudon white
- pumice stone powder
- land of Sommières
- turpentine
- white spirit or acetone
- 70% alcohol
- hydrogen peroxide 20 vol.
- magic eraser
- Dishwashing liquid
- sponge, soft brush, rags
- bucket, basin, garbage bag
- secateurs, gloves
Additional advice
- The more regularly a grave is maintained, the faster and more efficient it is.
- Do not use aggressive products to clean the graves of your loved ones. You risk causing irreparable damage.
- Never use bleach for grave maintenance. Of course, we get a quick result. But as it dries, the bleach leaves deposits of crystals, which quickly degrades the stone.
- On marble, absolutely avoid using acid products such as vinegar.
- Even if it is effective, it is better to avoid using a karcher to clean a natural stone grave: pressurized water can disintegrate the stone.
- Also note that metal brushes can scratch stone and commemorative plaques.
Did you know ?
In France, the law does not require you to maintain a grave.
But leaving a grave abandoned or in poor condition is not without consequences ...
Indeed, after 30 years, the municipality where the cemetery is located has the right to take back the granted land.
Your turn...
Have you tried these tips for cleaning a tombstone? Tell us in the comments if it was effective. We can't wait to hear from you!
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Tarnished marble? How To Restore It All Its Shine Easily.
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