The most important thing to remember when cleaning a tombstone is to be GENTLE. The first priority should be to make sure that nothing you do to a stone will cause harm. 1) Be sure that the tombstone is sturdy and stable, and not wobbly, flaking, chipping, or crumbling. 2) Clean the tombstone with plain water and a soft bristle (natural or nylon) brush. 3) Scrub the stone from the bottom up to avoid streaking and staining. Flush well with water as you go. 4) If lichen is stubborn then soak it well with water and gently scrape with a wooden craft stick/tongue depressor or a plastic putty scraper. 5) Stay away from chemicals and bleach on older stones. While these may provide immediate results, the chemicals may cause deterioration of the stone over time. 6) Don't aim for perfection! There are a lot of great tips for cleaning gravestones safely on the Net. You can find a list of some of the better ones here: http://genealogy.about.com/cs/cemeterytips/ More sites sites for information on cleaning or not cleaning gravestones. http://www.gravestonestudies.org/preservation.htm http://nysparks.state.ny.us/field/fsb/graveyard.htm Loads of Information at Cyndi's http://www.cyndislist.com/cemetery.htm Other sites to check: Saving Graves http://www.savinggraves.org/education/bookshelf/shavingcream.htm Cemetery Protection http://www.preserveala.org/cemetery.html Sally Rolls Pavia Sun City, AZ [email protected] All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus 2002 .