Biocide Cleaners for Stone Monuments
I use two main biocide cleaners for stone monuments: D/2 Biological Solution and Endurance Gravestone and Monument Cleaner.
Endurance Gravestone and Monument Cleaner
In most projects I prefer to use Endurance Gravestone and Monument Cleaner. It is usually more affordable and comes in sturdy containers that seem to be less likely to leak than D/2. I recommend it to anyone cleaning personal monuments or family grave plots.
D/2 Biological Solution
D/2 Biological Solution is expressly approved by the VA and national conservation programs for historic public memorials and monuments. I've found it to be generally more expensive and in my experience its containers often leak. For those reasons I reserve D/2 only for historic and public projects where it is required.
How Do These Cleaners Work?
Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QUAT) are the main component of these cleaners. These are widely used in commercial sanitation and dishwashing, disinfecting wipes and other home applications such as fabric softeners, hand soaps and shampoos. They work by breaking open the cell structure of biological contaminants such as the algae, lichen, and moss found on stone monuments.
They are safe for general use, not known to cause cancer, and you regularly encounter them in your daily life. That pint glass of beer you got at the bar and the ceramic coffee mug at the cafe were likely sanitized in a three bay sink utilizing quat cleaning. These types of cleaners are offered by Sysco food services in products such as Apex™ Solid Quat Broad Range Sanitizer (Keystone) and are very common throughout food service.
If you want more detailed information on how they work, check out these links:
Where to Buy
- Endurance: atlaspreservation.com (highly recommend, excellent customer service, good packaging, and usually free shipping) as well as Amazon.com
- D/2 Solution: Walmart, Tractor Supply, or d2bioshop.com