Removing oil stains from concrete

Apart from getting a car that dosen't leak oil,does anyone have suggestions for getting oil stains off concrete?

I have tried various things,including bleach(liquid and powder),dishwashing liquid,even the gunk brand engine degreaser in the spray cans,but the concrete just soaks that shit up. I have even tried combinations of these but still nothing really works 100% , maybe 50% at best. There dosent seem to be anything available that is chemically strong enough to do the job.

Also,I don't expect to just put something on and it will magically disappear,i realise that a certain amount of scrubbing the floor on hands and knees is invloved !!

Any methods you have tried that work?

cheers

Reply to
me
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Reply to
antwine

Buy, borrow, or steal a pressure washer. Not only will it get the oil up but if you do the whole drive-way, it will look brand new.

Reply to
(Del¤+/Ctrl+¤/Alt¤+)

Kitty litter works well too.

Reply to
Kevin Scott

They make a pressure washer attachment that works really well, its ment for cleaning driveways.

Reply to
blur

Have you tried Sodium Hydroxide (caustic soda)? It works on most oil stains.

Reply to
ShazWozza

Just don't get Portland cement wet before it's swept up.

Reply to
James C. Reeves

You can get a hold of Super *Hen* K-Hen-Mammy aka K-Man. She'll peck the stains out of the cement with her Super Beak. Then she'll squat down and feather it up.

Reply to
K-Ken-Mammy

This is not a topic for this group.

One of the best solutions is to get a high pressure washer for concrete. This may do the job for you. Putting cement powder on to the stained area, working it in, and then letting it sit over night may help out. Don't get it wet.

From the 7 year old, another solution that sounds odd, is to oil down the complete driveway, and then all of it will match.

I found that with oil stains, after a number of months they tend to fade away. In the fall I get the cars sprayed with mineral oil to protect them from rusting. When I park them on the street, or in the driveway, they drip for a number of days. By the time spring comes around, the stains are not showing.

Where ever you park a car, there is the chance that there will be a few drops of oil. After an oil change, if there are a few drops that spilled, and was not spotted to be cleaned, there is a chance that they may end up on the surface below the car. Sometimes they can take a while to fall.

Reply to
JANA

I'm surprised no-one has suggested the old standby: TSP (trisodium phosphate). It should be available at any hardware store, sold where the driveway sealer would be sold.

Reply to
Hugo Schmeisser

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Enter the search terms: tsp concrete cleaner

Reply to
Hugo Schmeisser

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Reply to
Blinky the Shark

Use the correct material for the job. Just about any good hardware or auto parts store carries very effective concrete degreasers. Gunk GP is an oldie and goodie.

Ummm...why? Your driveway is not white laundry, so bleach is not the correct choice. Your garage floor is not dinnerware, so dishwashing liquid is wrong. And I'm pretty sure I've never seen an engine made out of concrete, so engine degreaser's the wrong gookum, too.

Sure there is -- it just apparently never occurred to you to ask for "driveway degreaser".

Or, y'know, if you're *really* smart, it might occur to use a pushbroom to do the scrubbing standing up.

Here, this is the stuff you're after:

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Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

I haven't tried it myself, but I have been told that oven cleaner such as Easy Off works very well.

Reply to
Grandpa Chuck

suggestions

powder),dishwashing

What ever you do to remove the stains you should remove any liquid oil first. The thing for that is cat litter. Put it on the oil puddle and rub it in with your shoe sole, then sweep it up. Depending on the amount of oil, you might have to do it several times. In any case the concrete will still be stained. Deluted muratic acid applied with a scrub brush will remove the stain, but it will leave a place that is much lighter than the rest of the concrete.

Reply to
Jerry Noble

Kevin's right--use kitty litter or genuine "Oil Dry" from a parts house. Pour some on top of the spot and scrub it in thoroughly with your foot-and-shoe. It kinda scratches the surface as it soaks up and dries the oil from the spot. HTH, s

Reply to
sdlomi2

As an aside, oil stains sink in 2 or more inches into concrete.

Reply to
Plato

" "Apart from getting a car that dosen't leak oil,does anyone have suggestions for getting oil stains off concrete? ,,Any methods you have tried that work? " "

I park in my neighbors driveway, no stains on mine!!

But when he parks on mine it comes up with detergent and a brush.

Reply to
ferretkona

What trick, what device, what starting-hole on Tue, 24 Jan 2006

16:05:17 -0800, canst thou now find out, to hide "me" from this open and apparent shame?:

suggestions

powder),dishwashing

dosent seem

Actually there is something you could simply pour on it & it would go away. Unfortunately some of the floor will "go away" too. Hydrofloric acid. Oh and BTW, it's REALLY, REALLY dangerous.

Reply to
Frosty

What trick, what device, what starting-hole on Tue, 24 Jan 2006

20:55:30 -0500, canst thou now find out, to hide "JANA" from this open and apparent shame?:

It's not?? How do you know?

concrete.

spilled,

Reply to
Frosty

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