When buying tombstones, people often ask these questions ” How long can the headstone last? ” “Can the headstone last for a long time? ” “will the memorial monument stone be broken or corroded easily” or “Will the color of the gravestone fade quickly? ” All these issues can be boiled down to discussing the usage life of the tombstone.

If the tombstone can be kept for a long time, its advantages are obvious. So how to judge whether a tombstone can last a long time? From the materials that a tombstone is made of, we can know whether the headstone is durable or not.

In early times, men most use wood and marble to make tombstones. Until the end of the twentieth century, as processing technology improved significantly, granite replaced other materials to be the main one for producing headstones.

The distinctive advantages of granite are sturdy and durable. It is harder and can be preserved longer than any other natural stone materials. So why does granite have these characteristics?

Let's take a look at its ingredients first!

Nearly 90% of mineral particles in granite are feldspar and quartz, of which feldspar is the most. Feldspar is often white, gray, and flesh-red, and quartz is mostly colorless or off-white, which constitutes the basic hue of granite. Both feldspar and quartz are hard minerals, and it is difficult to draw them with a steel knife.

The next one is its density.

The mineral particles in granite are tightly interlocked with each other, and the pores often take up less than 1% of the total volume of the rock. Because of the high density, the granite can resist strong pressure and is not easy to be penetrated by water.

Although the granite is very strong, under the long-term effects of sunlight, air, water, and living things, it also will be broken one day. Thus, if you want your loved one’s gravestone to still look new after a long time, maintenance is important, as well.

Maintaining a grave monument is an easy job - just cleaning the memorial stone when you find it looks dirty. There are some things to keep in mind during the cleaning process.

1. Using water only

It is better not to use soap or other chemicals to wash headstones for they could cause damage to the monument easily, like fading the colored letters, patterns or even hurt the natural color of the tombstone. If you found large stubborn stains on the tombstone, you can find local tombstone supplier for help. Because the kind of stains on the stone should be cleaned by special cleaning fluid that should be operated by professional persons. Anyway, water is the safest.

2. Using soft materials for washing

You can use washing tools like a rag, sponge, and soft brush to clean gravestone, but do not use a wire brush and wire brush because they may leave scratches.

3. Don’t use a high-pressure washer

It is dangerous to wash the tombstone with a high-pressure washer. Because the thickness of some headstone slabs are thin and some monuments used for many years are not so strong as before. So high-pressure shocks can easily break them.

4. Don’t Forget to wash the bottom of the tombstone

It is easy to find the stains on the top of a tombstone, but the stains on the bottom are often overlooked. In fact, the maintenance of the headstone bottom is just as important.

If you want to learn more knowledge about headstone prices, types, and selecting methods, you can check out our headstone column. Many practical skills here would be helpful when you need to buy a memorial monument.