Help with oil spill stain clean up

[woody367]

So over the winter my Jeep Wrangler blew a transmission line in a friends driveway right in the 2 year old pave bricks. Cleaned up best I could in the snow but left a nasty stain. I told them I would replace the pavers but they do not want me pulling it up. It is a 4;x5' area. Is there a good way to clean the stain. I was told a hot water steam power washer but that is a lot of money to rent. Any thoughts? Tried super clean and simple green but no good.

 

[PoorUB]

Soak it down withe mineral spirits, (paint thinner) and work it in with a stiff brush or broom, the soak it up with floor dry, and work in the floor dry well. With the mineral spirits a couple times going over it my help, let it soak for a few minutes. After that some Dawn dish soap and scrub with a broom again and rinse. You will get 90% of it and it time the other 10% will fade away.

 

[kd3pc]

pressure washer/steam will only serve to push the stain deeper.

for regular xmission fluid, synthetic is different to remove or clean up

CLean up any oil you can see or feel with absorbent rags/paper towels
Dawn dish detergent, regular, (Dawn not a knock off or WM equate stuff)
stiff brush it in with a handful of water and scrub diligently, pat dry and apply an inch or two of Oil-Dri absorbent material (not kitty litter, it has too much clay in it
air dry, then remove any soiled Oil-dri and top off with another inch or two
layer some used newspaper/paper towels
cover that with a piece of ply board and then some weight to keep it all compacted.
let it sit for a few days

synthetic
needs a solvent to get decent results and solvents usually affect colors, so try a hidden paver with a clear solvent, acetone or alcohol similar stuff, apply liberally but not flood or puddle, wipe roughly with clean brush or packing paper

best of luck

 

[rayra]

A paste of powdered laundry detergent and a nice stiff pushbroom. Keep it damp and scrub it in / around. You'll get most of it out that way but it will never totally remove the stain.

Maybe seal the rest of the driveway / pavers before things are made worse.

 

[cannuck]

We work with insulating oils, and most utilities have a genuine hissy fit if we leave an oil stain behind (and you can rest assured: handling thousands or tens of thousands of gallons we are GOING to drip some from hoses, spilled sample jars, fittings, valves, etc. We use a Walter product called "Slap Shot" (usually get it from Grainger nearest branch) and it saves our bacon 9x out of 10. Worth a try on the trans fluid spill - get it soaked and cover the surface with oil-dri (diatomacious earth).

 

[Renegade1LI]

You can also try brake cleaner, i removed lots of oil stains from concrete, use a brass brush to work it in.

 

[yhprum]

I have had really good experiences with pour n restore

Oil Stain Remover | Waterless Hand Cleaner

Pour-N-Restore oil stain removers and waterless hand cleaner have been crafted using the highest quality ingredients to remove oil stains, grease and other grime. Award winning performance is here.

www.pour-n-restore.com

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Check out this Youtube video comparison of three substances. A fairly impressive job ordinary liquid laundry soap & push broom did. Will cost you very little to try it as a first step.

 

[Metal-Marc]

Acid and a stiff brush will wake the bricks look like new.

 

[jack stand]

If they are your friends and you don't want any hard feelings by not making it "really" right. I wouldn't spend much time or money on cleaning attempts.
A bricks surface is not the same as concrete, I'd just bite the bullet and find the same brick and replace the area. At that point you've done all you can.

 

[Bucko]

Once you breakdown the base materials, sunlight, rain and time is what you need.

 

[woody367]

Thank you, I have a few pol stain brick from him thgat are used for block. I will try these tip on them first and see what works best.

 

[Walkers]

Is it possible to flip them over?

 

[nadogail]

When my old Fiat dripped on the drive way of the apartment house I lived in; I used Janitor in Drum. Made the oil stains disappear.

 

[billspit]

Isn’t there a cleaner called Oil Eater?

 

[jack stand]

I've used a "biological" cleaners with good results. I'm not sure what an outdoor (rain) environment would have on the results.

 

[Bucko]

Is it possible to flip them over?

Most pavers have a rounded edge on the topside and a flat bottom.