Cleaning a cement garage floor - suggestions?

Question

I recently had some problems with my transmission and some fluid leaked from my car onto the cement garage floor - does nyone know a good suggestion for cleaning it? I am appalled to say I am such a novice that I am even afraid to approach with soap and water for fear of some strange chemical reaction. ANy advice would be helpful thanks.

Answer 1

The problem you face is that concrete is poreous, thus the transmission fluid is not only on the floor, but in the floor. The first step in cleaning it is to soak as much of the fluid up as possible. Oil dry or kitty litter would do the trick, applying it over the spill and allow it to sit for a couple of days, then sweep up and throw out. To remove any more of the fluid/stain, you will need to pressure wash the floor. Additional cleaning may be gained by the addition of a degreaser. But remember, you will probably not be able to get 100% of the fluid/stain up.

Answer 2

you will need a soap that contains a degreaser in it. you don't have to worry about any noxious fumes from the tranny fluid. check your local hardware or auto parts store for Castrol Super Clean. if they don't carry it, home depot has a purple cleaner by Zep that is a degreaser. these types of soap are strong, follow the directions on the bottle, you will need rubber gloves and goggles if there is any chance that you splash it. first, soak up any of the fluid with kitty litter, then sweep it up. next, pour some of the soap on the stain and scrub with a broom. allow the soap to soak for a bit, and then scrub it some more, then rinse. you can try this process again in a day or two if the floor still seems to be oily. you might not be able to totally remove the stain, but there won't be any problems with tracking oil around with your shoes. i used an old rope type of mop to wipe up the rinse water and wrung it out in an old sheetrock bucket, changing the rinse water a few times. both the mop head and bucket will be unfit for anything other than garage floor cleaning when you are done, so don't use the wife's good kitchen one! good luck, and hope this works for you. p.s., this soap works great on tires as it will clean whitewalls with just a sponge and very little elbow grease, just treat the tires when dry with a shine product.

Answer 3

Professional mechanics use "floor dry" a granulated clay product that litterally sucks up the oil by its attraction to the fine clay particles. Same stuff is in kitty litter but the litter has perfumes and baking powder and costs more. Simply cover the oil spill area, allow it to sit and sweep it up later. In severe cases reapply and walk over the stain in old shoes and twist your feet to grind the clay inot the pours of the concrete. Dry Portland cement sprinkled over the ares will have the same effect however the floor dry or cat litter will be easier to sweep up. Floor dry is sold at auto parts houses everywhere and the cat litter is at the grocery store and pet shops.

Answer 4

Cat litter for inital clean up then use Simple green or DAWN and hot water with a stiff bristle brush. The water needs to be really hot!

Answer 5

I know this will sound crazy but you can also use Coca Cola the acid in it will help loosen the grease/oil. let it stand for a bit then brush it a little with a broom and then just wash it away with a hose. i used this in my driveway and it worked.

Answer 6

There is a product called Simple Green that
will degreese the spill and is safe. You can
buy it at Home Depot.

Answer 7

We cleaned our with a pressure washer with some bleach added to it and it worked great.