how to get oil stains out of concrete?

[williamb82]

i tried muratic acid and it helped but they are still there. im guessing i left them alone too long. im sure there is a way to get the stains out. but how?
william

[dannymk2]

power washer. i used an 11 horse. enough power to rip the siding of a house. my 5.5 horse did the same with the oil stains. if you add some soap it might work better.

[williamb82]

ill try that tommarow. ill pour some purple stuff engine degreaser and let it sit then use the pressure washer.

[MkIISuperSupra]

William I have had very good luck with a couple of different ways.

Mix up a bucket of hot water and Tide laundry detergent. Mix it up well to get the tide dissolved. Use a scrub brush or natural bristle broom and scrub the tide into the stain. Pouring a little more tide straight on the wet stain doesn't hurt either. Once you have scrubbed it in rinse it off with a high pressure washer. I use a 2400 psi washer with a fine stream of water. This will usually wash it right off.

The other way is to pour simple green straight onto the stain, use a scrub brush and really scrub it in. Rinse wtih high pressure washer.

Both methods work best on cool concrete rather than concrete that has been heated by the sun.

I've had really good luck getting oil stains out using either of these methods

Good luck, hth

Leslie

[RaptorRacing]

And when you get it out; throw an epoxy coating on the floor and you'll never have to worry about it again. I've spilled all kinds of crap on my epoxy floor...comes off sooooooooooo easily...ciao.

[williamb82]

well, its a driveway outside my gf's parents place so i doubt they will epoxy it. thanks for the hints.

[batmobile]

`1

[KesekiSupra]

i saw this stuff at autozone once that claimed to get it oil stains out of concrete, but i only saw it at ONE of the 4 autozones near me. its supposedly very VERY strong, if u poured it on a coated floor, u can say bye bye coat. next time im at that autozone ill tell ya the name (but i rarely go there )

[Chrisfrom1986]

if its a semi fresh oil stain you can use cat litter! just drop some on and grind it real good into the stain (if its still wet) and it will come right out, and leave a natural concrete color on whatever doesnt come out, so you never know the difference.

[DannyG]

That white sand stuff.....HRM I forget what they call it. Its white, you pour it over the oil stain, and then you step on it to crush it up....leave it there for a week or so, and then pick it up. It turns the stain into pavement/concrete/tar color. They might have it at a car place, just describe it like I did, they will probably know what you are talking about, if not then you will look like a complete idiot.

Oh yeah, I tried that stuff out, i'll go & check the label, picked up at Checker this stuff called SelectSorb Oil Absorbent & Multi-Purpose Spill Aid. Also can do kitty liter. Looks like the same stuff. Says %100 natural, 150% more absorbency per pound than regular clay absorbent products. Huh, they even have a website www.moltan.com

"Also every effective on household spills like cooking oil, soda, juice, milk, bleach, liquid detergents, cleaners, syrup, chemicals, pet accidents, and many more!"

Not any better than when I tried using the Tide method, hmm or that Simple Green method on cold pavement I'll have to try next. Just more of a convenience thing for me, recently having an old V8 with a leaking valve cover gasket in the driveway.

[BuddyJ]

I use that orange hand cleaner. Just glob some of it down and work it in. Leave it for a day or two and then wash it off with a hose. Seems to work pretty well.

[Marblehead]

Muratic acid really isn't meant for deep cleaning concrete. Sure, it works in pools and is great for etching concrete but if you want to pull old oil from the concrete you need a heavy duty cleaner. Similar to what Leslie mentioned will work best. Before using epoxy on my garage floor I had to clean 20 years of oil drips from the concrete. It required a few applications and a few hours but it eventually pulled the oil out. I used Greased Lightning and a rough scrub brush normally used for scrubbing decks. I wet the floor with a hose, poured the cleaner directly onto the concrete and began scrubbing. I could see the oil being pulled from the concrete. Pressure washer, I’m sure, would have been faster but I don’t have one of those things.

To keep future oil from staining the concrete lay something on the driveway. To protect my driveway I went to Big Lots and bought a truck bed liner for $20. It’s basically a thick, heavy duty rubber mat. Works great for outdoor use since it’s too heavy to blow away.

Good Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
Scott

[rabidchimp.com]

William. You can tell George Bush that the oil is in a foreign desert. He'll have someone out there asap to take care of it.
-Aaron, waiting for this post to get nuked.

[OlSupraguy]

Leslie's method is the one I use with good results.

[SupraDrifter21]

use cat litter that works wonders for oil stains and spots

[MWebber]

William. You can tell George Bush that the oil is in a foreign desert. He'll have someone out there asap to take care of it.
-Aaron, waiting for this post to get nuked.

only if it's being attacked by an evil neighboring country... oh wait... which Bush?