best way to get oil stains off your concrete driveway?

[purbeast0]

i was just changing my oil, and since it was still a little hot, when it was draining it was splashing a bit into my oil pan and splattered quite a bit outside of it. it's nothing huge but just quite a few of these little spots.

then when i was dragging the oil pan out of the garage so i can carry it to the side of my house to pour it into the empty oil bottle, it spilled a bit out of the side onto my driveway right at the edge of my garage and there is a decent sized oil slick section there. like 6x6 inches probably. it's one of those cement mixes with little rocks in it too so it's kinda rough.

i was just googling and saw one guy had good luck with carborator cleaner.

i was just wondering if anyone has any specific chemical and/or process they use to get rid of oil spots. i also have a few other ones in my garage that are minor that would be nice to just get rid of. inside the garage is concrete as well.

 

[Drako]

Easiest thing to do is just coat the whole driveway with oil.

 

[NutBucket]

I use simple green and a rag. Seems to work well enough.

 

[HeXen]

oil dry worked for me.

 

[MrPickins]

Kitty litter (non-clumping) first to soak up what you can, then Simple Green after is my standard method.

 

[purbeast0]

I use simple green and a rag. Seems to work well enough.

the problem with the part of the outside driveway is that it's jagged. it was ripping up paper towels like a mofo. i'm sure a cloth rag will last, but it will probably get ripped to pieces to.

 

[franksta]

I had one of my milk jugs full of used oil burst on my back patio. I bought a product called purple power from autozone and it cleaned it up no problem.

 

[WilliamM2]

the problem with the part of the outside driveway is that it's jagged. it was ripping up paper towels like a mofo. i'm sure a cloth rag will last, but it will probably get ripped to pieces to.

Use a scrub brush, then hose it off.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Trying to keep your driveway looking "clean or perfect" is no different than polishing up your engine bay.

It's suppose to be that way, HELLO.

You care WAY too much for your concrete driveway (it seems).

There will be more stains in the near future. So your driveway will keep you pretty busy there buddy.

 

[jlee]

Trying to keep your driveway looking "clean or perfect" is no different than polishing up your engine bay.

It's suppose to be that way, HELLO.

You care WAY too much for your concrete driveway (it seems).

There will be more stains in the near future. So your driveway will keep you pretty busy there buddy.

Not all of us drive leaky Volkswagens.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Not all of us drive leaky Volkswagens.

My VW never leaked oil, I know, hard to believe. I had 2, 15 years of ownership and over 250k miles between the 2.



I change oil, and when you do so, you WILL spill some. I have 0 issues with bunch of stains on my driveway. If it's not oil, it's rocks...or sand...or dirt, leafs.......or snow.

WHATEVER

 

[jlee]

My VW never leaked oil, I know, hard to believe. I had 2, 15 years of ownership and over 250k miles between the 2.



I change oil, and when you do so, you WILL spill some. I have 0 issues with bunch of stains on my driveway. If it's not oil, it's rocks...or sand...or dirt, leafs.......or snow.

WHATEVER

...are you lecturing me on oil changes?

I'm amused.

An oil stain on a driveway is different than snow. If you're going to equate the two, I don't think we'll be able to have a productive discussion. I personally don't have a super clean driveway, but I can understand why someone would want to.

 

[satyajitmenon]

A buddy of mine used carb cleaner on a really old oil stain on his driveway. Worked pretty well. Didn't remove it all, but ended up with a light patch. After he pressure washed it, could barely make out where the stain used to be.

If it's a recent stain, start with kitty litter. Then try stuff like simple green or even carb cleaner.

 

[FeuerFrei]

I've seen gasoline used for such purposes, though I cannot confirm it's "the best."

 

[Bartman39]

Either works quite well and evaporates super quick... Just be sure to be in open air and do not get crazy with it for for sure NO flames any where in the area...

Just an old trick that I have used for cleaning carpet to concrete floors...:thumbsup:

 

[Randy99CL]

I've used Dawn dishwashing detergent and a scrub brush. Worked great.

 

[MasterAndCommander]

This stuff: http://oileater.com/household/cleaner-degreaser/
was the only thing that worked for me - got it cheap from Costco a few years back.

I tried: detergents, citrus based degreasers, pressure washing, enzymes, bleach, acid.....to no avail until I found this.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Honestly, you will never get it completely clean unless you do it pretty much immediately, especially with old, used oil. I wouldn't sweat it much. You can get rid of a lot of it, though, but never all.

 

[tsiunltdus]

Use tide detergent with some water and a scrub brush. Rinse with a hose. It has always worked for me.

 

[yoda5]

I've used Dawn dishwashing detergent and a scrub brush. Worked great.

Kitty litter plus this works for me.

 

[Amol S.]

i was just changing my oil, and since it was still a little hot, when it was draining it was splashing a bit into my oil pan and splattered quite a bit outside of it. it's nothing huge but just quite a few of these little spots.

then when i was dragging the oil pan out of the garage so i can carry it to the side of my house to pour it into the empty oil bottle, it spilled a bit out of the side onto my driveway right at the edge of my garage and there is a decent sized oil slick section there. like 6x6 inches probably. it's one of those cement mixes with little rocks in it too so it's kinda rough.

i was just googling and saw one guy had good luck with carborator cleaner.

i was just wondering if anyone has any specific chemical and/or process they use to get rid of oil spots. i also have a few other ones in my garage that are minor that would be nice to just get rid of. inside the garage is concrete as well.

Repave the driveway

 

[Amol S.]

Not all of us drive leaky Volkswagens.

Hey the Volkswagen W12 never has a oil leak.