Memorial Day’s Coming! Wet & Forget Cleans Headstones Safely & Easily

Memorial Day will be here before you know it, along with barbecues, family time, and maybe even that first chilly dip in the pool. Memorial Day is also a time for us to remember our loved ones who are no longer with us, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Unfortunately, the headstones and monuments we use to honor and remember our loved ones can fall victim to moss, black or green algae, and lichen, which can deface their surfaces, make carvings impossible to read, and even cause damage in some cases.

Wet & Forget Outdoor is a safe, effective and easy way to remove these ugly growths and keep them away for a year or more in most cases. Read on to see how Wet & Forget Outdoor will keep your memorials beautiful!

When a headstone or monument develops ugly staining, one of a small group of growths is usually to blame. Here are the usual culprits, and how to recognize them.

• Moss

Moss is a velvety green growth that is especially common in shaded areas. It can coat headstones, making them illegible.

Moss can also cause permanent etching on some surfaces, and help any cracks in the gravestone grow larger.

 

• Lichen

Lichen can come in nearly any color of the rainbow, but it’s often green, white or gold. You can recognize lichen by its scaly texture.

Lichen can grow in sun and shade, and will grow on any type of monument material. It can make carvings impossible to read, and can even harm some surfaces.

• Black or Green Algae

Green algae is green or bluish and can have a “slimy” texture. It grows in moist, shaded areas, and can turn headstones an unsightly green.

Black algae has a protective capsule that makes it able to thrive in sunny areas, as well as in the shade. The protective capsule is also what gives black algae its dark color.

Black algae causes black, brown or gray streaks or splotches that can seriously mar the appearance of headstones and monuments (see photo above).

Wet & Forget is fast and easy to apply. Use these simple steps to rid headstones or monuments of moss, lichen or algae, and keep them from coming back for a year or more in most cases!

To apply, simply:

1. Mix 1 part Wet & Forget Outdoor with 5 parts water in a pump-up garden sprayer.
2. Spray the gravestone or monument with the diluted Wet & Forget, allowing at least 4 to 5 hours’ drying time before the chance of rain.
3. Walk away, and let Wet & Forget Outdoor do the work for you!

*For moss, be sure to completely saturate the growth to allow the liquid to reach the moss’s root-like structures. For lichen, follow these special instructions.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!