how to clean lichen off granite tombstones

Wet & Forget Cleans Headstones for Memorial Day.

Memorial Day weekend is quickly approaching! Many families get together to spend time with their loved ones and honor those who have fought for our freedom.

Sadly, many monuments and headstones we use to honor our loved ones will collect green and black growth over time. Luckily, many people have taken the time to rescue these stones with a quick application of Wet & Forget because it cleans headstones effortlessly.

We collected a few stories from our customers who have seen fantastic results using Wet & Forget on headstones and shared them below.

Janet Safely Cleans Revolutionary War Headstones

Headstones clean up easily with Wet & Forget.

Janet had been looking for a method to clean headstones safely for quite some time. She wasn't sure how to clean the headstones initially, due to how fragile the stones are.

"I didn't know what to do to clean them. You can't spray them with a pressure washer. You can't do much of anything" -Janet F. from Rodman, NY

One day, she discovered Wet & Forget at her local historical museum and decided to give it a try.

"I trusted it because the museum was using it. They used it on some of their stuff and had great success." -Janet F.

She started using Wet & Forget on headstones seven years ago, and still helps clean headstones today! Now, Janet primarily cleans marble headstones with tough lichen build-up on the surface since those tend to be harder to clean.

"The stones had lichen, all the lichen you can imagine. I sprayed them first and let it bubble up. Then over the winter, the snow helped remove the lichen."-Janet F.

Wet & Forget is perfect to use for cleaning moss, mold, mildew, algae, lichen growth, and stains off of headstones. When using Wet & Forget, you don't need to scrub the surface.

That's because the wind, rain, and even snow will gently remove the growth off of the headstones.

Discover how to clean headstones with a safe and easy method!

"It worked, and it's easy. I put it on in October, and by April the headstones looked amazing. I like to put it on in the fall because of the lake effect snow. The stones get buried, and people don't realize they are there." -Janet F.

Janet started cleaning her family's headstones and was quickly inspired to help clean other stones in the cemetery.

"A lot of the headstones are Revolutionary War graves. It really bothered me to see them in the condition they were in. I cleaned my family's graves and then cleaned the neighbors. You'd find stories on the back of the stones that have never seen in decades! They deserved to be as well taken care of."-Janet F.

After applying Wet & Forget, the rain and wind gently remove dead growth off of headstones.

Engraved writing became uncovered as Janet cleaned more and more gravestones.

All Janet had to do was spray Wet & Forget and let the rain and wind gently remove the growths. Over time, the stones revealed the engraved names and more.

Not only did Janet clean the headstones, but she also discovered the stories of those we've lost.

"I cleaned one Civil War gravestone, and we never realized there was anything written on the back of the stone until we cleaned it last year. All of a sudden the story is beginning to show." -Janet F.

However, since this side of the stone doesn't face the weather directly, Janet plans to reapply the product. That way, the surface will be bright and clean by spring! She loves how the product gently cleans the surface over time.

"Trust me, try it. Just try it. It really is amazing. Gotta be patient, and you won't regret it." -Janet F.

We are very excited to share Janet's story about using Wet & Forget to unearth historical gravestones and reveal the stories from the past. Read more about Janet's headstone cleaning here.

Toby Simplifies Headstone Cleaning

Black stains come off headstones without scrubbing.

Toby has been trying to find a simple and effective way to clean his wife's family headstones.

He originally thought of getting the stones sandblasted. However, sandblasting would be an incredibly expensive process.

He did some research online to try to find the best headstone cleaner and stumbled upon Wet & Forget.

Toby planned to clean the headstones that had never been cleaned before. Mold, mildew, and green growth coated the granite headstones!

Furthermore, in Toby's region, growth was bound to build up quickly on the stones. Therefore, it was important to find a product that would not only eliminate the growth by keep it clean for as long as possible too.

"The stones looked nasty before applying the Wet & Forget. In Georgia, we get a lot of humidity and moisture" -Toby M. from Rome, GA

Toby returned to the graveyard a few months after his application. The results were shocking.

"I couldn't find the stones because they were so clean the next time I visited." -Toby M.

Headstones get covered in black stains quickly. Wet & Forget cleans headstones safely

He loved how easy it was to apply Wet & Forget because he didn't have to spend extra time and money scrubbing the stones.

Don't worry! Wet & Forget will take off black growth and stains on headstones. The rain and wind will gently remove growth off of headstones

"All you had to do was wet it and forget it. It was easy to dilute, it takes just a few minutes. It's extremely cheap and extremely easy to use. And it works!" -Toby M.

Margaret Cleans Years of Growth on Headstones

Wet & Forget is easy to use, making it a great cleaner for headstone cleaning.

Margaret saw a Facebook ad for using Wet & Forget on headstones online and was intrigued. She clicked through a few different testimonials and pictures and decided to give Wet & Forget a try.

She had never cleaned them in the past. However, seeing the headstones covered in algae, mold, and mildew for the past 5-6 years made her take action.

Cleaning headstones became a simple task for Margaret, thanks to Wet & Forget! One application took off all of the green and black growth coating the granite headstone.

"The growth had been on the surface for 5-6 years, if not longer. I posted a picture of Wet & Forget in my church for others to see so that they can use it in the cemetery. It took less than a month for me to see results, I applied in June and saw results in August"- Margaret W. from Berlin, CT

Margaret's before and after photos speak for themselves! She loved how easy Wet & Forget is to apply, and that it comes in a concentrated form, making it go a long way.

"Amazing product! You have to see it to believe it"- Margaret W.

Wet & Forget Headstone Application Tips & Tricks

Wet & Forget will gently clean moss, mold, mildew, or algae off of headstones. It only has a pH of 8, where water is 7, making it safe to use on more fragile surfaces such as headstones.

Moreover, Wet & Forget is also bleach-free and ammonia-free. Therefore, there are no harsh smells.

Lichen: Lichen is one of the most challenging growths to remove off of headstones. For this type of growth, we recommend applying Wet & Forget once to the surface, waiting 15 minutes, then applying a second time to get into the internal layer of the growth.

The dead lichen growth should start to clear off the surface in a few months as the rain and wind gently clean the surface.

Results: Lighter green growth typically clears up 1-2 weeks after applying Wet & Forget. Stubborn black growth will start to clear up in 1-2 months after applying the product.

Lastly, headstones may take longer to clean up as they have many years of growth built up on top of them. However, Wet & Forget cleans headstones for you without any scrubbing or harsh chemicals.