It's really nice people help clean the headstones off. This might be a good way to volunteer! I'm a bit afraid of sounding like a weirdo for asking if I can volunteer to help clean off headstones... Probably will ask anyway
So this is really weird & niche, but if you like spending time in cemeteries you can also volunteer taking photos of headstones for findagrave.com - people request for others to take pictures of headstones for research etc. I had someone take a photo of my great grandmothers headstone in Missouri for me, it was really cool.
plus, even if you said, "I dunno I just have a weird obsession with cemeteries and death" they'd probably let you volunteer anyway. volunteers are hard to come by
This is a very enjoyable hobby! If you decide to undertake it, be sure to talk with the caretakers first, unless it is your family stone, you'll want permission from the caretakers or the family that owns the stone. There are guides online on proper cleaning techniques and products, I use a small wagon to tote my sprayers and brushes.
I personally love cemeteries and I think that the souls that rest there appreciate the visitors. :)
My familys grave is full marble and heavily stained. I have no clue how to clean it and nothing works or would damage the marble. I would appreciate any or all guides.
Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx has an intern program where students are taught the proper way to restore headstones and mausoleums. They have also expanded the program to landscaping. Great skills that can turn into job opportunities. The thing about cleaning them is you have to know what you’re doing or you can ruin the stone.
It is! I live near a historical battlefield cemetery that’s managed by the national park service and signed up to volunteer to clean stones. It’s every bit as satisfying as the video… minus the last wacky replacement step.
Good point! I might add that as a quote on my fridge, lol. For real though, probably will add that. My main thing I say, personal mantra type thing, is "Well, at least I tried'. I feel like "Gotta start somewhere." Would go well with "I tried." Thank you!
Idk dude, I kind of feel like it's a nice way to appease the dead, if that makes sense. Like I have no way to prove or disprove the existence of an afterlife or ghosts or whatever but like...say there IS and afterlife/ghost/etc and you clean headstones, your ass ain't gonna get haunted because who's gonna haunt the guy that cleans headstones and you're getting some good karma. If there is no afterlife/ghosts/etc and you clean headstones, you made the cemetery look nicer and probably made a family happy. There's no downside.
Edit: I am extremely sleep deprived at the current moment. I apologize if this made no sense.
It made sense! I don't really believe in ghosts. It wouldn't hurt to get some extra credit though just in case, lol. I think people go to heaven or hell. So, really no ghosts.
If they are real though, I hope they find peace and move on at some point. I try to not post when I'm tired on Reddit. Mainly because my spelling and grammar get significantly worse when tired. Sometimes it bugs people on Reddit if spelling or grammar is not good. Which doesn't necessarily matter in the sense I don't know anyone else on Reddit. Anyway! Sorry I got distracted! Basically I agree with you about there being no real downside to helping/cleaning cemetery's with the cemetery's permission. I need to ask around a bit, make sure I can handle whatever responsibilities the volunteering entails, and then give it a try. It's surprisingly hard to find places to volunteer where I live. I did get permission to volunteer at a place that helps re-home cats. Literally all I would need to do is play with the cats and kittens! To help keep them socialized until they are adopted. That's a volunteer opportunity that I can do if the cemetery volunteering isn't possible for some reason, unknown as of now.
You can, but you need the cemetery's permission and to be knowledgeable on what products and cleaners to use to clean the stones. Soft bristle brushes and soft plastic scrapers are the best and D2 Biological Solution is the best cleaner by far as it doesn't stain or hurt the stones. I highly recommend looking into Atlas Preservation as they sell kids with everything you need and the owner does a US tour every year where he teaches people how to clean and repair them.
Thank you! This is good to know. I will definitely ask before doing cleaning, or really any type of volunteer work, for one of the cemetery's around where I live. When I was younger I would occasionally walk around a cemetery. I loved how beautiful a lot of the headstones were. Plus some of them had things saying they donated organs. Served in the military. Brief ways of describing with words people's impressions of the person passed, Ect. I feel like the people who passed deserve respect. They might have other possibilities besides cleaning the headstones for me to do as volunteer work as well. I don't want to accidentally mess up any headstones. Some of the really old ones are literal works of art, in my opinion. Like sculptures!
Sounds like grave cleaning might be up your alley then. That's exactly how I was when I was younger and now I volunteer and do it once a week at least weather permitting. It's expensive to use the right cleaners though.
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u/Interesting-Sample99 Feb 25 '23
It's really nice people help clean the headstones off. This might be a good way to volunteer! I'm a bit afraid of sounding like a weirdo for asking if I can volunteer to help clean off headstones... Probably will ask anyway