An article in Natural Stone Specialist, To clean or not to clean (NSS August issue) covered the purely technical aspects of cleaning sandstone buildings.

It would be assumed that your magazine had fulfilled its remit by addressing the technical side of this complex business but just as there are many sides to a building, so there are many sides to this subject.

Mention was made of the potential "catastrophic failure of a stone" after cleaning but concentrated on aesthetic damage, ignoring the more serious concerns of structural failure.

Despite the expected response that your publication exists merely to present the technical side of the stone industry, there is also another side to your responsibility. The very people who read your magazine have read that "induced stone decay takes sevral years to become apparent and the separation in time between cause and effect makes it difficult to perceive stone cleaning several years earlier as the cause of subsequent deterioration".

This could be perceived as an open invitation to unscrupulous tradesmen to carry out less than adequate work, with the safety net as demonstrated by your magazine, that no-one could be held responsible after an elapse of time.

When it comes to charges of (corporate) manslaughter, there is no statute of limitations, but this was never pointed out.

We all have a level of responsibility to lead by example when it comes to the everyday execution of our various duties, no matter what our field may be. As a leader in the industry, I feel that your magazine has poorly handled a subject which deserved a more thorough coverage.

As much as I enjoy reading Stone Specialist, I will certainly view its contents with a sceptical eye in future.

Barnstaple Potter,

Parkhill Road,

London NW3.

Ed: The article in question was written by Dr Maureen Young from the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. The Scott Sutherland School of the University was commissioned by Historic Scotland to carry out research into the effects of cleaning sandstone buildings. A Historic Scotland Technical Advice Note on maintaining cleaned building facades has been written based on the results of the research. Dr Young\'s paper in NSS aimed to present the main points to emerge from the research in a serious fashion, pointing out both the benefits of appropriate cleaning and the damage that can be caused by inappropriate cleaning.