How to Clean Silicone Oil

Whether it's a spot on your shirt or a stain on your garage floor, attack silicone oil with formulas to dissolve it, then rinse it away.

1. Absorb as much of the silicone oil as possible. For clothing, sprinkle talcum powder on the stain and let it sit for an hour or two. For floors, sawdust or cat litter will soak up most of the surface oil. Rinse out talcum powder and sweep up sawdust or cat litter after it absorbs the oil.

2. Buy a degreaser. At home improvement centers you'll find many degreasers and even dishwashing liquid that contains a degreaser. Read labels carefully. If you're concerned about the environment, buy an organic degreaser that has active bacteria to eat or degrade silicone oil.

3. Apply degreaser to the silicone oil stain, according to label instructions. For clothing, rub degreaser into the cloth until it foams. Allow to sit for an hour, then wash in hot water. Repeat until stain is gone. For floors, apply degreaser, scrub with a sponge and rinse thoroughly with hot water.

4. Follow up to see if you need to repeat cleaning by brushing the spot with your fingers when dry. If your fingers are slippery when you rub them together, repeat Step 3.