Remove Oil Stains in driveway

[southbayduramax]

I realize this has been covered but nothing seems to be working for me.

I've tried the following products individually and mixtures of a few of them using every method between soaking it, scrubbing it, scrubbing with a wire brush, wiping it off, hosing it off, etc.

Simple Green
Bleach
Dishwasher Soap
Normal Dish Soap
Tide powder laundry detergent
Brake Cleaner
Kerosene/Mineral Spirits
Coca Cola
Gojo hand cleaner
Comet
"pull it out" concrete stain remover
Gasoline
Gasoline then torching it
409

I've seen some people say use Muriatic acid, others say don't use it because it leaves a mark of its own so I have not tried that yet and am very hesitant to.

A couple of the methods I tried somewhat faded the stain, or cleaned the area around it but not the actual stain. Some of the stains are over 1 year old.

Anyone else have any tips, tricks, or an idea for a good product or method?

 

[j p smith]

Wow, looks like you have tested a lot of products. If this is from oil leaking over time you might not be able to remove all of the stain. On some stains I have been somewhat successuful with mineral spirits, scrubbing and then covering with oilzorb. Wait till completly dry then sweep up, scrub with Tide and rinse. Good luck

 

[grissom]

www.titanlabs.net and the product is called "oil flo"

I had a tenant whose truck sat and leaked for years on a concrete driveway and the guys I hired with a pressure washer used this product and it actually came off.

 

[AndrewV]

Holy **** man. Thats one hell of a oil stain then.
But why no clorine pressure washing?

 

[southbayduramax]

www.titanlabs.net and the product is called "oil flo"

I had a tenant whose truck sat and leaked for years on a concrete driveway and the guys I hired with a pressure washer used this product and it actually came off.

Thanks for the tip. I checked out there website. Going to look into that

Holy **** man. Thats one hell of a oil stain then.
But why no clorine pressure washing?

I was looking for any pressure washing companies in my area and couldn't find one. Didn't even think of chlorine though, thats a good idea

Wow, looks like you have tested a lot of products. If this is from oil leaking over time you might not be able to remove all of the stain. On some stains I have been somewhat successuful with mineral spirits, scrubbing and then covering with oilzorb. Wait till completly dry then sweep up, scrub with Tide and rinse. Good luck

It's a bunch of small stains unfortunately, probably 20-25 different spots. I've lived here for two years and am moving out at the end of the month. Landlord came and did a walk through and said we need to get the oil stains out to get our security deposit back. I'll give your method a try now because I have all of that. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for all the input thus far!

 

[roofster]

Just put some cat litter on it, sort of grind it in a little with your feet and come back in a week. Stain gone.

 

[jal395]

Keep us posted, I have the same issue and would like to know what solution you come up with. (No pun intended). I have been putting this down with a spray bottle and it definitely is fading but it is still noticeable.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac..._/N-2602?id=884488&itemIdentifier=884488_0_0_

 

[RandyL]

Just put some cat litter on it, sort of grind it in a little with your feet and come back in a week. Stain gone.

We have used cheap oil dri ( kitty liter ) for years. Dump some on the area, get down your hands and knees and scrub that oil dri in with a 2 x 4 block. Scrub it till it turns to dust. That is how we cleaned our bays every friday night..I still clean my garage this way. Works great.

 

[DrBaker]

Just put some cat litter on it, sort of grind it in a little with your feet and come back in a week. Stain gone.

This is what I do.

 

[hedgehogdog]

gasoline and sawdust is what i use....gas to loosen the oil and sawdust to act as a sponge to soak it up...

 

[LEVE]

Wood ash and water made into a paste and spread on the stain. When the ash dries, the stain is gone.

 

[Durka]

Since you've used various chemicals without following up with a pressure washer, -that might be all you need to do.

Zorbal (Hazmat), Oil dry and Kitty liter; - the rub in method will lighten it up at least. It's been suggested already, -really grind it with your feet or a block.

Even if its deep, you should be able to lighten it up on top fairly well.

Acid would be a last choice. If it turns out too clean and white, -feather it back in with a oil topsoil mix.

 

[ncaddy87]

I've had good success with kitty litter, oil dry, and Tide powder laundry detergent. I've used all those on new and old stains of all sizes on a concrete driveway. Just pour them out and grind them in. I don't know how they would do on blacktop. I've also used a power washer with some good luck.
Good luck!

 

[Bobf]

I've had the best luck with gasoline swished around with an old straw broom(no sparks) then oil absorb on top for a day or so.

 

[BJ42LX]

Concrete or asphalt?

I have an asphalt driveway. As soon as I see an oil drop [old truck weeps a little] I put a few drops of Dawn dish washing liquid on it and scrub with a toothbrush. I leave it that way and let the rain wash it off.

 

[Tejaas]

Concrete or asphalt?



I have an asphalt driveway. As soon as I see an oil drop [old truck weeps a little] I put a few drops of Dawn dish washing liquid on it and scrub with a toothbrush. I leave it that way and let the rain wash it off.

Dawn is one of my favorite garage-cabinet degreasers.

I used to just pressure wash my driveway, nowadays I just squirt half a bottle of dawn in a 5 gallon bucket of water and scrub it down with a stiff bristled shop broom. Takes 30 minutes and a 6 pack of beer.

My driveway is the brightest & cleanest in the area I'd bet... And smells like green apples for a day or two afterwards, haha.


~Tejaas~

WTB: Snap-On Orange Hard Handle SDD6 & SSDP63 in Very Good Condition!

 

[Algoma56]

I used Super Clean straight on oil stains. Spray on liberally, and let sit for a while. Rinse with water spray. Repeat if needed. If I have a bad stain, I'll wire bgrush after soaking, then spray again with the super Clean.
For the spots that come up time to time, I spray the spots and let it sit, until it rains. Most of the time it comes good.
The fellow I know who installs paving stone driveways was impressed with the results.

 

[yhprum]

I have used Pour and Restore on concrete that worked well. Ace Hardware had it.

 

[gungatim]

Wood ash and water made into a paste and spread on the stain. When the ash dries, the stain is gone.

That makes lye. You can buy lye as drain cleaner or make it as above.

According to wikipedia: "Lye is also valued for its cleaning effects. It is commonly the major constituent in commercial and industrial oven cleaners and clogged drain openers, due to its grease-dissolving abilities. Lye decomposes greases via alkaline ester hydrolysis, yielding water soluble, easily removed (e.g., rinsed away) residual substances."

I assume it would work as well on petroleum oil as well as vegetable oil but never tried it, if you do, post and let us know...

 

[Jay Sco]

A coworker said he used dolomitic lime. Mix in water to make a paste, scrub in on, hose off. Haven't tried it myself.

 

[Koken]

After a hurricane, damage to our roof left a stain on our keystone fireplace that nothing would remove. A friend recommended wood bleach. It worked. It was the first and last time I have ever had to use it, so I don't know how it will work on oil stained concrete.

 

[DenisG]

I used a propane torch and it worked for me.

 

[dmeadow]

Do NOT use Muriatic acid. It will eat the cement and pockmark the driveway. You'll really have trouble getting your deposit back then.

 

[Zeke]

gasoline and sawdust is what i use....gas to loosen the oil and sawdust to act as a sponge to soak it up...

If the weather is cool I use lac thinner or acetone then hit it with a hard stream of water. Blows the oil right out but it does float off to somewhere so you have to plan ahead and not kill the lawn or whatever. Not good to wash into a stormwater collection system.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I've had good luck with Oil eater on both concrete & asphalt. It's also my "go to" for cleaning/degreasing under the hood...

http://www.oileater.com/CleanerDegreaser.html

Tommy

 

[Malibu Mac]

Just put some cat litter on it, sort of grind it in a little with your feet and come back in a week. Stain gone.

This works for me too.
I also add a little mineral spirits. But like mentioned above, just grind it in a little by walking on it and twisting your shoes, let sit for a day and sweep it up.

 

[ebamba]

If you aren't in a big rush to get rid of the stain, this product works very well http://www.toreroindustries.com/EXIMO.html I had an oil and transmission fluid stain on my paver driveway and this product got rid of it totally. It took a while for it to get rid of the stain, but it was because the stain was really set in due to my procrastination. I had to send the link to my HOA so they would stay off my **** since the product worked so slowly on the stain.

Whenever I see an oil spot on my driveway, or on the patio paver from barbeque grill grease, I just dust some of the product on it and they are gone in a matter of days.

 

[southbayduramax]

Thanks for all the advice guys. To clarify, it is concrete.

I tried a few different methods you guys posted, and combinations of them with no luck.

I just put kitty litter down and ground it in with my feet, and on a few different stains used kerosene, and or dawn soap combined with the kitty litter. I'm gonna let it sit for. Few days this time. I'll post back with the results.

Thank you


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