This is an article I sent to Rootsweb Review and it was in this recent issue.
There is a URL at the end that takes you to the mailing list that at the end
archives are listed. At one time there was a discussion on in expensive
replacement stones.
There are also some professional pereservationist on the list that can also
give help with cemetery problems. I have had to unsub from the list for
vacation reasons but will resub unon return. Beej
Preserving Gravestones/Tombstones/Markers
By Billie Jean Reese JumpinBeej(a)aol.com
RootsWeb has a great Mailing List -- TOMBSTONE-L (see link below) --
that has been around for a long time. It has some wonderful people on
the list who are very helpful in all phases of preservation of a
cemetery. Several on the list are professional preservationists. There
is so much to learn about cleaners and how some chemicals will destroy
the older stones quickly and the newer ones will also get into the stone
and harm them.
When in doubt use only water and a soft-bristle brush, as this does not
harm; it will take a little longer, but the stone will last. Rubbings
on old stones will cause the stone to slough off. A good website for
information on this subject is "Saving Graves" at:
http://www.savinggraves.com/
Before you start cleaning stones, please get some professional help.
Stone carvers and mortuary stone businesses are not always where to
obtain the best information about saving and preserving gravestones.
That has been mentioned on the TOMBSTONE list also. Its archives have
good info that can be researched and printed out. As a member of that
list I've learned much in respect to what is needed to do and not to do
in the way of reading, preserving, maintaining grave sites and stones.
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Miscellaneous/TOMBSTONES.html
Previously published in RootsWeb Review: Vol. 6, No. 30, 23 July 2003.