Removing oil stains from concrete

[Major Ramifications]

Guys,
Forgive me if this has been discussed before, I searched and couldn't find much.
What are some tried and proven methods for removing dirty oil stains from a bare concrete driveway? My truck has left a large stain on my concrete driveway that just laughs at my pressure washer when I try to remove it. Has anyone tried some type of absorber, acid, or ??

Thanks!

 

[SteveU]

Try some dish soap or fast orange waterless hand cleaner & scrub it into the area then pressure wash it.

 

[HOTFR8]

Try some dish soap or fast orange waterless hand cleaner & scrub it into the area then pressure wash it.

Kerosene with Detergent is good then plenty of elbow grease followed by the pressure washer or a good hose off. You may have to scrub pretty hard.

 

[ScottS]

Posting this site for reading purposes only. I do not have any first hand use of their product. A guy I used to work for got some of this type of stuff and used it for his driveway. It worked cleaning up the ****** fluid in his concrete drive pretty quick. I have no idea how much this costs.

FWIW I have used oven cleaner as well Don't track it in the house

http://www.micro-blaze.com/index.htm

Do a search on oil digesting microbes.

Scott

 

[mulepackin]

I have had good success with lacquer thinner. I first spread saw dust on the concrete, then pour thinner over that. Brush it around with a broom, sweep it up and repeat. It seems to work for me.

 

[69lkmno]

I've used a lot of oil stain remover and this one is the best:

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

 

[theblur98ss]

Have you tried taking oil dry and grinding it in to the concrete with your feet. I've done it in a couple shops on the floors and it worked pretty good.

 

[DARK AGE 53]

Brake Cleaner has worked well for me.

 

[oldgoat]

I've used saw dust and either used a stiff bristle broom or ground it in with my boots on fresh oil. On old oil stains the saw dust with thinner will work.

 

[CraigFL]

MEK is a great degreaser. You can use oil-dry to soak it up.

 

[mike944]

I used a commercial "concrete cleaner and degreaser" pressure washer concentrate, except i used it straight. worked it in with a brush, let it soak, and then rinsed with a pressure washer.

 

[jhn9840]

Clean it with floor dry the best that you can. Then scrub it with Tide detergent and a stiff bristle brush followed by a pressure wash

jhn9840
John

Guys,
Forgive me if this has been discussed before, I searched and couldn't find much.
What are some tried and proven methods for removing dirty oil stains from a bare concrete driveway? My truck has left a large stain on my concrete driveway that just laughs at my pressure washer when I try to remove it. Has anyone tried some type of absorber, acid, or ??

Thanks!

 

[cyclopsblown34]

I always use lacquer thinner and cat litter. Just pour the lacquer thinner on the marked territory and put cat litter over that. It should draw the marking out of the concrete.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

I always use lacquer thinner and cat litter. Just pour the lacquer thinner on the marked territory and put cat litter over that. It should draw the marking out of the concrete.

We have a car that marks its territory and I have to keep the driveway clean.

 

[Major Ramifications]

Damn, you guys are full of ideas. Thanks for the help. For most oil spills, oil dry picks it right up, but this is an old truck that leaks a little bit of everything and on rough concrete. I have tried degreasers with limited success. I never thought of using kitty litter along with solvent. This sounds promising. I have seen the ads for Pour-N-Restore, but I will have to check the website to find out where I can find some.
Thanks again.

 

[Major Ramifications]

Woah, that Pour-N-Restore is kind of expensive ($40 a gallon, good for 24 square feet). I will try a small bottle if I ever run across it in a store (none near me).
Of course, even if I clean the stain, I need to fix the truck before I will ever be rid of this problem.

 

[kbs2244]

Do we have two problems here?
One, an already stained drive way? The best thing I have used is powdered laundry soap, and the abilty to WAIT. Spread it around on the stains when rain is forcast. Then let it do it's thing. It will soak up the oil and the rain will flush it away. Forget brushing, pressure washing, whatever. Just have a beer and WAIT. DO NOT try and hurry it up. Just watch it work.
Second, a truck that still leaks. Put a throw away carpet sample under it. And chuck it every week.

 

[29bowtie]

I haven't tried it,but what about dishwasher powder,it's caustic enough to clean grease off pots & pans. Anybody tried it?

 

[Herb]

I haven't tried it,but what about dishwasher powder,it's caustic enough to clean grease off pots & pans. Anybody tried it?

DAWN!!!! Its readily available in stores and is a great degreaser. Some of the wrecker drivers in the area use it for spills. We also use it to strip oil out of cooling systems at work when there is cross contamination. We have found that Cascade works as good without all the extra foaming, but I haven't tried that on a concrete stain.

 

[Willy Victor]

MEK is a great degreaser. You can use oil-dry to soak it up.

MEK is great for sniffing too, but that's another story.


Willy

 

[thefairlaneman]

I heard just today the same question asked on a local home repair show. One idea is to use a dry laundry detergent like tide to clean the area and then use a small propane torch and heat it up and cause the deep down oil to rise to the surface where it can be wiped away.

 

[MyDomain]

pour n restore works great. I buy it at my local Ace hardware in a bottle...not sure of the size. It actually pulls the stain out of the concrete so it doesn't keep coming back. It usually leaves a spot that is cleaner than the surrounding area.

I'm trying to keep my concrete spot free so when I finally epoxy it I won't have as much prep to worry about.

 

[Dead Skunk]

A good bristle broom, kitty litter and a big bottle of Coke or Pepsi.

 

[Bear]

Not sure about driveway concrete but back in my younger days we cleaned the concrete in the auto shop by scrubbing with solvent and and stiff push broom and then sweeping up with rice hulls. (seems sawdust would work also or kitty litter)

Bear

 

[MXtras]

Castrol Super Clean - straight with no dilution is a good bet. Let it sit for a bit, add a little more then scrub and pressure wash. I think this works the best out of everything I have ever tried, and I have tried everything listed above except the $40/gallon stuff...

**** and Span works well also. I have never tried dishwashing powder but it does work well for clearing clogged drains - I bet it would work well on an oil stain.

Scott