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Help with removing oil stain from driveway

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
Hey, I'm hoping to get an idea on how to remove this old oil stain from my concrete driveway.

A month or so ago, one of our cars had an oil leak which we since fixed. The stain in this pic is dried up and nothing i've tried has gotten rid of it. The leak itself wasn't big but since our driveway is inclined, it ran all the way down as it dripped.

I have a powerwasher and tried to just blast it away and it isn't working. I did what i saw online and cover the stain with Dawn dish detergent and then scrub the hell out of it with a brush, let it sit for 20 minutes and then powerwash it again and it literally did nothing.

Is there anything i can put on this to get it to go away?

gfkXtaZ.jpg
 

Kacho

Gold Member
I use bleach to clean various stains in the garage and on the driveway. Try that as well. Spray, let sit for a few, blast with pressure washer
 
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AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
Simple green or a degreaser. You need a hard bristle scrub as well.


Common household products used to remove oil stains
  • Cat litter. Clay-based kitty litter could help soak up a fresh spill on concrete or asphalt, according to Bob Vila. ...
  • Soda. ...
  • Baking soda. ...
  • Powdered powder. ...
  • Oven cleaner. ...
  • WD-40. ...
  • Concrete cleaner or degreaser.
 
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Liljagare

Member
Kitty litter and dish washing soap.

If that doesn't work, you have left it for too long, just cover the rest in oil. :p
 

Billbofet

Member
I have put down turpentine to soak it a bit and put kitty litter on top. The turpentine pulls the oil and the litter absorbs it - leave this for a few hours.
I then use a hard, plastic brush with dish soap to wash it all up. Has worked for me ever time.
 

SiahWester

Member
I have your answer, OP. I worked in an HVAC shop and constantly had oil spills.

Someone said kitty litter and they were right. You can also use stuff called oil dri (which will be much more effective). No matter if you use kitty litter or oil dri there's a step you cannot miss....

***You need to GRIND the kitty litter or oil dri into the cement with either your foot or something hard.***

You'll have a bright spot instead of an oil spot but it fades away with water and cleaning. You don't need to wait and you don't need any special products. This is your solution. It will work because I've done it countless times on long term stains with success. I learned about it from a mechanic and it changed my life.
 
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Alebrije

Member
Oil dri is great My concern is that OPs stain is dry and exposed to sunlight. concrete is porous so oil penetrated it an it hardens due sunlight.

Maybe OP needs a more abrassive solution than Oil dri.

The other solution is just spill oil to the rest of concrete and all Will have the same color..
 

Mohonky

Member
Errrr.........have you tried oil degreaser?

Pour on. Let it soak. Scrub with a hard bristle broom. Power wash. Repeat.

Though looking at it, you've likely left it too long.
 

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
I have your answer, OP. I worked in an HVAC shop and constantly had oil spills.

Someone said kitty litter and they were right. You can also use stuff called oil dri (which will be much more effective). No matter if you use kitty litter or oil dri there's a step you cannot miss....

***You need to GRIND the kitty litter or oil dri into the cement with either your foot or something hard.***

You'll have a bright spot instead of an oil spot but it fades away with water and cleaning. You don't need to wait and you don't need any special products. This is your solution. It will work because I've done it countless times on long term stains with success. I learned about it from a mechanic and it changed my life.

Will this work even though the oil stain isnt fresh or wet? Its dried up
 
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