How can you remove car oil stains on cement driveways?

Question

I have an old car and it had an oil leak and some went outside of the protector pan underneath.

Answer 1

Brake Cleaner will do the trick... better than kitty litter or simple green or laundry detergent, all the other answers you will have here I think this question is asked once a day... Go to a parts store and buy two cans of brake cleaner... the oil will disappear.

Answer 2

1. Pour cola on the oily or dry stained areas, and leave the cola on overnight. Squirt a generous amount of dishwashing liquid into a bucket until you have a good lather. Rinse with the soapy water, then with a garden hose.

2. Sprinkle baking soda or an absorbent powder such as cornmeal or sawdust on the oily spots. If the stain is dry, wet it first to make a scouring paste. Scrub with a stiff brush or push broom.

3. Sprinkle automatic dishwasher detergent on the oily concrete. Leave it for several minutes, then pour boiling water on the stained area. Scrub with a stiff brush or push broom, then rinse.

4. Try a commercial concrete cleaner such as Garage and Driveway Cleaner by Red Devil Co. or a grease solvent such as Benzine. Follow the manufacturer's instructions.

5. Sprinkle trisodium phosphate (TSP) on the oily concrete. If the stain is dry, wet it first. Let it stand for 30 minutes. Scrub using a stiff broom. TSP is a dangerous product; if you must use it, wear rubber or latex gloves, safety goggles and protective clothing. Also, never wash a TSP product down storm drains.

6. As a last resort, combat tough spills with muriatic acid and a pressure washer. Apply the acid following the manufacturer's directions, and let it soak for several seconds. Follow with a pressure washer set at 2,500 to 3,000 lbs. per square inch (psi), or 176 to 211 kg per square cm. Like TSP, muriatic acid is a dangerous product; likewise, if you must use it, wear rubber or latex gloves, safety goggles and protective clothing, and never wash such a product down storm drains.

7. After trying any of the strategies above, sprinkle baking soda over the cleaned area to neutralize the solution you've used.

Overall Tips:
Place cardboard under an oil drop or lawn mower to catch stains before they happen.

Seal concrete to prevent staining. See How to Seal a Garage Floor.

Get that leaky car fixed!


Overall Warnings:
Grease solvents are flammable, so make sure you have excellent ventilation and avoid spark and flame.


Who Can Help You With This:
Find Prescreened Closets Contractors at ServiceMagic.com


Tips from eHow Users:
Tide by Kim in Iowa
Just use liquid Tide and a stiff brush or push broom and hose it off. It usually takes the oil stain right off.


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WD-40 by eHow Friend
An excellent solvent. Spray it on, let it sit and then hose the driveway (or garage) down.


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View 6 More Tip(s) from Users Please Share Your Tips with Us

Answer 3

Its best to remove the ground first because this will prevent shorting the red or positive cable out with Ametal wrench. Shorting out a battery is a bad idea it can cause the battery occasionally to blow up in your face. the battery gives off fumes and a spark can set them off easily. Clean the inside of your black cable. Inspect it if you see a lot of black that is not good. The inside of the black cable needs to be shiny clean as does the red cable. For some reason the black one is always a lot worse than red. You can use a short wire brush and baking soda and water to clean the inside and outside of the battery cables. Always brush away from clothing and eyes. wearing eye protection is a good idea. And wash hands for several minutes after working around batteries. Any white crystal like residue or white powder is acid and with moisture it will eat holes in you and your clothes so always be careful under the hood.

Answer 4

Spray Power is the best for any type of cleaning. Has many uses. You can get this at WalMart, if not check the website. It will give you store names where Spray Power is sold.
At the bottom of the page send e-mail to find out what stores it's sold at in your area. A gallon jug costs about $6.00.

Answer 5

Saw dust or kitty litter to get it absorbed and go to any local hardware store to get concrete scrub or concrete cleaner, be careful though it may leave a bright spot on the aged concrete that will be more noticeable than the original stain!

Answer 6

Tide, .. cat litter will help soak it up but you'll still have the stain.. use some tide laundry soap and scrub with an outside push broom or anything abrasive .

Answer 7

There is a commercial concrete cleaner that contains an acid specifically for cleaning concrete. BUT you will have to do the whole section because you will have a clean spot and the rest will look dirty...

Answer 8

Washing up liquad and vinger with warm water that shoud remove it.

Answer 9

amazingly but true, WD40 works well. or castrol super clean also works well

Answer 10

gasoline works