Cleaning Asphalt driveway

[nate379]

What works best to degrease/clean an asphault driveway?

I spilled some diesel a week or two a go. 30ft of drips, nothing major. I sprayed some Krud Kutter on it and it ended up making white dots out of the diesel dots .

 

[cowboy73]

You could try using some hand cleaner like GoJo on the spots. Work it in with a scrub brush and hose it off. Might take a couple of times to clean it up.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

time heals everything.

 

[nate379]

Uh diesel on asphalt and time means a driveway that isn't asphalt anymore....

Gasoline isn't that much better for it either.

 

[mmhouse]

Uh diesel on asphalt and time means a driveway that isn't asphalt anymore....

Gasoline isn't that much better for it either.

I agree. The diesel dissolves the tar in the asphalt. Once it's gone, it's gone and now all you have left is the aggregate. Hopefully the spots are not too large or you'll need to patch/replace the asphalt in those areas.

 

[nate379]

They are just small drips. I have a fuel tank on the side of my garage. I pulled the pump out to use elsewhere and didn't realize it was dripping while I carried it across the driveway.

Last fall I changed the fuel filter in one of my trucks.. in the driveway.. (garage was full). I found out that if my in bed tank had fuel in it, it makes enough head pressure to push fuel to the filter without needing the pump.

I was able to clean it up with laundry soap ground into the spill (was maybe a gallon or so) and it seems to be fine. I don't know if that is the best thing to use, figured someone on here would have good info on it.

Had I known then when I do know about asphalt I would have strongly considering concrete instead.

 

[mmhouse]

Do you ever coat your asphalt driveway (or have it coated)? That would probably hide the spots and it may end up being just fine if not too much got eaten away.

 

[nate379]

I may do it next year if money allows.

 

[Kevin54]

Simple green and powerwash

 

[Kevin54]

Simple green and powerwash

 

[tcianci]

The diesel (or gasoline for that matter) won't do much harm to the asphalt as long as you just let it sit there and evaporate. When it seems to be all dried out, give it a good scrub with a low sudsing laundry detergent. Most laundry detergent is pretty good at cleaning driveways and you won't be there for 2 hours trying to hose away all of the suds.

Coating the driveway once you have it clean will certainly make the color uniform again and it often can help with a surface where some of the asphalt is worn away. Do let the spill evaporate before you try anything. A pressure washer on a fresh petroleum distillate spill is a sure fire way to disassemble that driveway in a hurry.

I know it sounds hack but I tell myself every year that I'm going to sealcoat the driveway, so, I pay no attention to the brakekleen, gasoline, oil or any number of solvents that get spilled, splashed, leaked or otherwise "applied" to the surface. Well, thats been going in for about 30 years now :0 and outside of the blotchiness, the driveway is no worse for the wear, no loose aggregate no holes, no problems. I will admit thart a nice seal coat would do wonders for the color but the stuff itself has held up remarkably well.

 

[Kevin54]

The diesel (or gasoline for that matter) won't do much harm to the asphalt as long as you just let it sit there and evaporate. When it seems to be all dried out, give it a good scrub with a low sudsing laundry detergent. Most laundry detergent is pretty good at cleaning driveways and you won't be there for 2 hours trying to hose away all of the suds.

Coating the driveway once you have it clean will certainly make the color uniform again and it often can help with a surface where some of the asphalt is worn away. Do let the spill evaporate before you try anything. A pressure washer on a fresh petroleum distillate spill is a sure fire way to disassemble that driveway in a hurry.

I know it sounds hack but I tell myself every year that I'm going to sealcoat the driveway, so, I pay no attention to the brakekleen, gasoline, oil or any number of solvents that get spilled, splashed, leaked or otherwise "applied" to the surface. Well, thats been going in for about 30 years now :0 and outside of the blotchiness, the driveway is no worse for the wear, no loose aggregate no holes, no problems. I will admit thart a nice seal coat would do wonders for the color but the stuff itself has held up remarkably well.

As long as I've had an asphalt drive, I have never had a problem blowing it apart with a power washer. I have spilled diesel fuel a few times on it, as that is where I have to fill my tractor. You can't see in the spout to see where it is full or not so I few times I have had it overflow. Then once the fuel line broke while it was in the drive idling. Probably 3 gallon leaked out. Simple Green broke it down and the power washer cleaned it up. Now if I had let the fuel alone soak for a few hours and hit it with a power washer, then it may have done some damage.