How to Remove Oil Stains on Driveways
Oil stains on driveways look terrible, and age your home exterior, even if the stains are still fairly new. Avoid oil stains on your home’s driveway and in your garage whenever possible, and try to eliminate those stains right away, before they really set in.
If the stain has been there for a while, like from before purchasing the house, you might need the help of a local driveway cleaning service in Nashville that can eliminate the most set-in stains on concrete surfaces.
Where Do Concrete Oil Stains Come From?
Mainly, oil from automobiles is the cause for stains on concrete. This might be oil, gas or transmission fluids – or a combination of fluids. Some of the most common ways concrete gets stained are from:
- Servicing your own car
- Filling up the gas in a lawn mower
- A leak that should be checked out by a auto mechanic
But, there are a lot of other things that can cause an unsightly oil spot on concrete. So let’s review a few of the best DIY ways to remove those stains!
DIY Oil Stain Removal Tips
CAT LITTER FOR OIL STAINS
Cat litter is a simple first step for fresh oil stains where there is a lot of oil that has to be dried up.
Sprinkle cat litter over the oil, really getting it down into the stain by stomping on it with your feet. It’s recommended to leave the litter on the stain for 24 hours so it absorbs as much as possible. Scoop it up or sweep it off the following day and repeat if necessary.
Get rid of used litter so pets and nearby wildlife don’t eat it and get sick from it.
Next you can follow up with one of the following do-it-yourself concrete cleaning techniques.
COCA-COLA FOR OIL STAINS
You’ve probably heard urban legends about accident clean-up crews using Coca-Cola to clean up the roads, but, rest assured, that is a myth. But, Coca-Cola does have powerful cleaning properties when it comes to oily stains, in part due to its carbonated bubbles, but mostly because of the phosphoric acid in the soda.
Pour a generous amount of Coca-Cola on the oil stain, then cover it with dishwashing detergent (Blue Dawn is widely accepted as the most effective). Scrub with a stiff brush, using circular motions.
Rinse and repeat if necessary.
BAKING SODA FOR OIL STAINS
Baking soda is a common home cleaning remedy ingredient.
To eliminate an oil stain on a driveway, you’ll first want to coat the stain with baking soda and let it sit for a little bit, anywhere from 20 minutes to two or three hours. This should absorb some of the oil and allow the baking soda to penetrate the porous concrete.
Then, add that famous blue dishwashing liquid and water and scrub until there is a thick paste. Again, you can let this sit for maximum penetration, or you can continue to scrub in a circular motion, then rinse.
Just like with the Coca-Cola method, you might need to repeat the process.
LAUNDRY DETERGENT FOR OIL STAINS
Many homeowners already use this to remove dirty stains on clothing. It’s also a great option for removing bad oil stains on concrete too!
Mix powdered laundry detergent and borax in equal parts according to the size of the stain. You want to cover it entirely. Let this dry mixture stay on the oil stain for an hour or longer, then add water to make a paste, scrub and rinse.
This is a gentle cleaning process, so it may be necessary to repeat the process two or three times. But there is a possibility it will work!
DRIVEWAY CLEANING IN Nashville
Some concrete oil stains on a driveway are just too tough for home remedies to remove. That’s when it is time to call a professional pressure washing company to thoroughly clean your home’s concrete surfaces.
We don’t recommend pressure washing your driveway yourself to save a few dollars. You can cause major harm that is extremely complicated to fix if you don’t know what you’re doing. The high pressure water can break and loosen concrete, and it can leave streaks on a driveway that look almost as bad as the oil stains.
Hiring Nashville Pressure Wash Plus is definitely the best choice. We know the best methods to clean concrete without destroying it, such as:
- The right PSI and GPM settings to use
- Which nozzle will penetrate concrete without damaging it
- The correct distance to spray the concrete from
- Products that can help lighten stains
Nashville Pressure Wash Plus also follows all of the steps to clean the concrete– the most effective process. Most homeowners and other companies don’t have the patience to do it right. They want immediate results.
A professional pressure washing company can also offer protective sealing services for driveway so oil stains are less likely to occur.