Oil on Driveway

[James-W]

I screwed up this afternoon. It happened when I was changing the oil in my car. I got the floor jack under it, I lifted it up a ways, I put the jack stands under it, got my large oil drain pan positioned, then removed the oil plug. Problem is, I didn't have the oil drain pan positioned quite right and consequently I got a whole bunch of used oil on my driveway.

I cleaned it up with paper towels and then put oil dry on it, but it really irritates me that I was that careless. This is the first time I have gotten oil on the concrete, well, I have gotten a couple drops on the concrete before, but nothing like this. Usually I put down a tarp to catch any oil I might spill. But normally I change oil inside the garage and that is where I use a tarp. I should have used a tarp on the concrete as well, but I didn't.

Anyway, I was wondering, have any of you guys done a stupid stunt like?

 

[themiller]

Yup. In a rental house. Now I use a piece of cardboard no matter where/when/how I am changing any fluids.

 

[The Cobbler]

Yup
sea doo in brand new garage, oil tank leaking , oil mixed with bilge water. dumped it out on the floor

 

[94yj]

yes i once did an oil change and someone came in a distracted my train of procedure and yep you guessed it i forgot to put the drain plug back in and i noticed it all over the floor after the 2nd qt in but in my defense i had been up several hours working and needed to get it done before i went down for the count of 24 hrs off sad to say i spent 2 hrs cleaning the mess up

 

[BillK]

If you work on your own vehicles, sooner or later you will make a mess. we all do it. Clean it up and move on That's why neither of my garage floors are "pretty"

 

[L.Cheapo]

Many years ago I had just changed the oil in my truck. New Fram filter. Started it up, got out to check for leaks. It must have pumped out 2 quarts before I got it shut down and it stopped flowing. What could I have possibly screwed up?

Nothing.

Inspection revealed the threads were cut at an angle on the Fram filter. There was no way it was going to seal. I took pics and sent them along with a letter to Fram. I would have been happy with a coupon for a replacement filter and maybe a check for two quarts of oil. (About $1.50/qt at the time)

Instead, they essentially told me to get bent, the matter was closed, and it was non-negotiable.

F*ck Fram. Don't ever buy their garbage.

 

[rsanter]

Orange cleaner
Rub in and then let sit a bit
Work in with a brush after about 10 min

Then wash off or better hit with pressure washer


Also, when very fresh, wipe,up,excess and then use spray carb cleaner

 

[mbshop]

Spilled oil is a reality of life. It will come from somewhere sometime. Clean as fast as you can and then follow suggested ways to clean up further. I mean no insult but who the he'll still uses fram ?

 

[slip knot]

I oil the floor down regularly working on tractors. Just get the water hose and laundry detergent or dish soap and wash it down. Put the soap down, a small bit of water and scrub it a bit with the broom. Rinse it all off. cleans up my floor nicely.

 

[James-W]

The driveway has a sealer on it, that was done shortly after the driveway was poured. I will try scrubbing it with dish washing soap first, then use a degreaser like Gunk engine cleaner followed by a pressure washer. I don't have a pressure washer, but I have some friends that do. I am quite certain I can borrow one, but even if I can't borrow one there are places here in town that rent them so getting a pressure washer isn't a big deal. I have already cleaned up most of it and there is oil dry on it so tomorrow I will get to work on making it better. I just feel stupid for being that careless and letting it happen in the first place.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, much appreciated.

 

[rayra]

I oil the floor down regularly working on tractors. Just get the water hose and laundry detergent or dish soap and wash it down. Put the soap down, a small bit of water and scrub it a bit with the broom. Rinse it all off. cleans up my floor nicely.

This. Get some Tide powder detergent and sprinkle it on fairly heavy and work it into a paste over the stain and let is sit for a while

 

[zoomzoomjeff]

Brake cleaner does the trick of mixing in with the oil, and actually evaporating away. Keep trying until it's gone. Or if you want to start off gentler, grab a bag of speedy-dry Georgia clay and grind it into the oil with your foot and let it sit for as many days as possible. The longer the better. Then go back and do brake cleaner trick.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[hardalada]

Kitty litter on concrete; crush it into the concrete using your boots to grind it down finely, let it sit for an hour or so, brush off with a yard broom; collect and bin oily litter, repeat if necessary; wash down concrete with copious amounts of water or let the rain wash off the very fine remaining litter.....

 

[Jinks]

I used to have problems with the new thinner oils, 10W30, 0W20, etc. Even with good catch pans they splash & inevitably some hits pavement. I changed all my drain plugs to Fumoto valves. Slip a hose on the valve, put the other end in the catch can, & open the valve. No drip, no splash, no stains!

On clean-up, I agree with zoomzoomjeff. Brakekleen will remove almost anything from concrete.

 

[RaceDeck1]

In the past I spilled some oil in a driveway and used Oxyclean to get it our.. What we did was mix up the Oxyclean with water to make a slurry and then gobbed it on the stained area... we did this 2-3 times aver a few days and it was 99% gone.