Cleaning oil off driveway.

[lennyg]

I have two pretty big oil stains in my driveway.They were there when we bought the house and are several yrs old..I have tried driveway cleaning solution from Home depot,Pressure washer(3kpsi) with same solutions,Scrubbing with brush and solutions..I cannot for the love of god seem to get the stains up.Someone had mentioned to me to use Muratic Acid but I cant find that at Home Depot....Any Ideas????

 

[69lkmno]

You can get muriatic acid at Home Depot in the pool supplies area. I've used Pour N Restore and by far the best oil stain remover that I've ever used. Here's a link to their site:

http://www.pour-n-restore.com/

 

[Uncle Buck]

I would hold off on the muratic acid, that move sounds a bit rash!

 

[SteveB]

Is your driveway asphalt or concrete?

 

[lennyg]

its concrete

 

[MetalMangler]

Lenny -

During my youth I spent a period of time working for the local gas station... If you call sitting inside a booth for 8 hours "working". However every now and then that mean old boss would make me go out to clean our pads (concrete). This consisted of basically taking kitty litter out, spreading it on the oil stain, and scrubbing with a stiff broom. I was surprised how much it was able to remove, even if I did have to sweat.

I don't know how much that'll be able to remove with your stain being so old, but it's pretty easy to try, and not a lot of investment or hazard.

MM

 

[joecaver]

not to hi jack but, 69lkmno I love the avatar

 

[jerry j]

way back I had a Caddy that was diesel..... Had -BLACK- oil leaking..Over time the area under car got fairly big....
Used Muratic acid, just slightly dilluted -SLIGHTLY-. Then hosed off with garden hose & lots of water.... STAINS GONE & Concrete O.K.

This was about 25 years ago....

Good luck . Jerry

 

[sjsfire]

Muratic acid will work the best. It's probably best to dilute it. Read the directions and be carefull. Always add acid to water, never water to acid that could cause a violent reaction, been there done that, lucky to still have my eyes......

 

[KCHOTBOAT]

Is muriatic acid safe to use on a garage floor? What concerns are the fumes? I need to strip mine and would like to epoxy it.

 

[jstbecauz]

Ez-off oven cleaner, let it set for about 3-5 minutes then pressure wash off.

 

[lennyg]

Ez-off oven cleaner, let it set for about 3-5 minutes then pressure wash off.

I've heard that somewhere else too..MAy have to give that a try as well..
I've tried kitty litter but it just cleans off the surface..I think tomorrow I'll be head to home depot and getting some acid to try out..I guess I just pour some water into a bucket then add the acid to dilute it a little right???

 

[jerry j]

Lenny;
When I did mine, way back then, I 1st tried it straight (not dilluted). It worked but etched the concrete.. So I added just a small amount of water and did the rest.. Naturally the more water you use, the weaker the solution...

The Fumes will KNOCK YOU ON YOUR A$$.. **DO NOT SMELL THE UN-DILLUTED ACID, IT WILL BURN YOUR EYES & NOSE**..

gIVE IT A TRY, BUT BE CAREFUL...
JERRY.

 

[swazzie]

I have had alot of luck with "simple green" in removing oil stains .Even old ones. But, that's just me .It's biodegradable and doesn't really smell at all.swaZZie

 

[RaceDeck1]

I have had success with using OxyClean. I take small bucket and mix OXy with water to make a paste then I caked it on the stains and let it stay there for a day or two, that pretty much got most of it out. ( this was for a moderately fresh oil drip)

 

[malibu101]

Is muriatic acid safe to use on a garage floor? What concerns are the fumes? I need to strip mine and would like to epoxy it.

The fumes are a problem to humans as is said in this thread.

BUT, if there is any clean exposed steel that the fumes get "on" the steel will rust alot in a day or 2.