How to Clean Oil Spots From a Concrete Driveway or Garage
A big oil spot in the middle of your concrete driveway can make the most meticulously maintained home look dingy. Whether a leak from a car created that mark on your concrete driveway, garage floor or sidewalk, it can all be lightened enough as to be barely visible. Try the first suggestion, then work your way down the list as necessary. Whatever you do, don't procrastinate. Bare concrete floors are porous and permanently stain if oil, grease and dirt are not removed quickly. End each remedy by hosing down and air-drying the treated area.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Muriatic acid (available at a hardware or janitorial supply store)
- Stiff Brush Or Push Broom
- Garden Hose
- Plastic Bucket
- Commercial Concrete Cleaner Or Grease Solvent
- Cola
- Safety Goggles
- Automatic Dishwasher Detergent
- Rubber Or Latex Gloves
- Dishwashing Liquid
- Pressure washer (to rent one, look under Pressure Washing Equipment in the yellow pages)
- Baking soda, cornmeal or sawdust
- TSP
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-
1
Pour cola on the oily or dry stained areas, and leave the cola on overnight. Squirt a generous amount of dishwashing liquid into a bucket until you have a good lather. Rinse with the soapy water, then with a garden hose.
-
2
Sprinkle baking soda or an absorbent powder such as cornmeal or sawdust on the oily spots. If the stain is dry, wet it first to make a scouring paste. Scrub with a stiff brush or push broom.
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3
Sprinkle automatic dishwasher detergent on the oily concrete. Leave it for several minutes, then pour boiling water on the stained area. Scrub with a stiff brush or push broom, then rinse.
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4
Try a commercial concrete cleaner such as Garage and Driveway Cleaner by Red Devil Co. or a grease solvent such as Benzine. Follow the manufacturer's instructions.
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5
Sprinkle trisodium phosphate (TSP) on the oily concrete. If the stain is dry, wet it first. Let it stand for 30 minutes. Scrub using a stiff broom. TSP is a dangerous product; if you must use it, wear rubber or latex gloves, safety goggles and protective clothing. Also, never wash a TSP product down storm drains.
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6
As a last resort, combat tough spills with muriatic acid and a pressure washer. Apply the acid following the manufacturer's directions, and let it soak for several seconds. Follow with a pressure washer set at 2,500 to 3,000 lbs. per square inch (psi), or 176 to 211 kg per square cm. Like TSP, muriatic acid is a dangerous product; likewise, if you must use it, wear rubber or latex gloves, safety goggles and protective clothing, and never wash such a product down storm drains.
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7
After trying any of the strategies above, sprinkle baking soda over the cleaned area to neutralize the solution you've used.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Place cardboard under an oil drop or lawn mower to catch stains before they happen.
Seal concrete to prevent staining. See How to Seal a Garage Floor.
Get that leaky car fixed!
Grease solvents are flammable, so make sure you have excellent ventilation and avoid spark and flame.
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Comments
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cleaning oil off concrete is not so hard per say, making the shadows disappear is another problem. concrete is absorbent and will have the same stain underneath.
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where can i find OIL GONE EASY HOME & DRIVEWAY S-200?
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ileanadu
Jan 23, 2011
Before using any harsh chemicals, try cat litter. The old cheaper clay kind works well if you can find it. Don't know about the new stuff, but it should work. Crush the litter into the stained area then brush off. If you've got a deep stain it may take a couple of applications. Far as I know, (clean) cat litter is not an environmental hazard & not dangerous so long as you don't inhale too much dust. -
tcantu
May 16, 2010
I used the saw dust method and scrubbed it real good and then a little bit of water. It picked up some of the stain and then I used some distilled vinegar and left it for few minutes and that definitely helped to clean up the spill. I decided I'm going to leave the vinegar over night and see what happens. I'll keep you all posted.
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roselin
Aug 09, 2009
My truck had slow oil leak and it left my garage concrete floor with oil stains all over it. That is when I found this product called OIL GONE EASY HOME & DRIVEWAY S-200. All I had to do was to pour the solution on the stain and leave it for as long as possible. When I washed the floor after that, all the stains had vanished.
