Best Brush for Cleaning Veteran Headstones

Best brush for cleaning veteran headstones is Magnolia Brush Company’s Model 179-T constructed with Tampico natural fiber bristles based on research conducted by Trae Zipperer, founder of By Memorial Day. Seeking the best brush for cleaning veteran headstones matching the criteria set forth in the protocol issued by the National Cemetery Administration, Trae Zipperer completed a thorough search for any brush with soft natural or nylon bristles, excluding any brush with plastic bristles or metal bristles from consideration.

Places searched for any brushes matching the criteria included Google organic search results, Amazon.com, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Target, ACE Hardware, Tractor Supply, gravestonecleaner.com, interview with Jason Church at National Center for Preservation Technology and Training “NCPTT”, interviews with brush manufacturers, online pet stores, and several independently owned farm and ranch supply stores.

Candidate brushes included bristles suspected to be made out of nylon, along with natural bristles made from Tampico, Palmyra, boar’s hair, horse hair, and goat hair. Size of brush was a consideration as well as the length of the bristles.

The majority of brushes found during Trae Zipperer’s research were made with synthetic bristles determined to not be made of nylon. The only scrub brush labeled as having nylon bristles turned out to have been discontinued by the manufacturer. This left only brushes made with natural fiber bristles for consideration as the best brush for cleaning a veteran headstone.

Brushes were tested on actual government-furnished marble veteran headstones and grave markers set at veteran graves located in two Arcadia, FL locations including Joshua Creek Cemetery and Oak Ridge Cemetery. Veteran headstones were wetted with clean water prior to applying D/2 Biological Solution. The D/2 was allowed to work on the surface of the natural stone for at least ten minutes. Biologic growth affixed to the marble headstones and grave markers included black algae and lichens.

The best natural bristle for cleaning veteran headstones was determined to be Tampico sourced from the agave plant. Palmyra bristles were too stiff and hard. Boar’s hair was determined to be soft, but stiff enough to maintain straightness when cut in relatively short lengths. Horse hair was determined to be too soft, most likely because the bristle length of horse hair was not found to exist short enough in any brush. Goat hair was absolutely too soft and matted down while cleaning the first veteran grave marker.

Tampico natural bristles were soft, but not too soft, with sufficient stiffness to maintain straightness of bristles. Length of Tampico bristles ranged from about an inch to about 2.5 inches. While the longer Tampico bristles did perform satisfactorily, the shorter Tampico bristles significantly outperformed the longer bristles, because the tips of the shorter bristles maintained direct contact with the flat surface of the veteran headstone. The longer Tampico bristles bent to the side as the brush moved across the surface of the stone.

The best performing brushes for cleaning veteran headstones, in order, were:
Magnolia Brush Company Model 179-T with Tampico natural fiber bristles
Magnolia Brush Company Model 161 with Tampico natural fiber bristles
Tail Tamer by Professional’s Choice Model 310 Large with boar’s hair natural bristles.

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