What has discoloured this granite?

[Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit]

Wasn’t sure where to post this! I went to my sister’s memorial yesterday and the granite base of the sanctum has staining (photo below). I have only ever placed flowers in the vase that sits in the middle. Every visit I wash with a watering can of water then wipe with kitchen roll. It has been there about 20 months.

Sorry to see this. Hard to know what it is, looks like something got left there that leaked maybe.

From a google it looks like there’s quite a few things you can try to get rid of it, like a poultice or the Pink Stuff.

Was the granite sealed? If not then you might want to seal it after cleaning, to prevent further marks. Hope you manage to sort it and I’m sorry for your loss.

My go to for things like this is French Savon Noir, black liquid soap. However cemeteries often have a memorial stone cleaning service, at least ours in York does. If not perhaps a memorial stone company could help.

Looks like rust, I would ask the stone mason that supplied it, they are likely to be familiar with the issue and a solution.