How to Remove Oil Stains on Driveways
Oil stains on driveways look bad, and ruin your home exterior, even if the oil stains are still fairly new. Try to avoid oil stains on your home’s driveway and in your garage if possible, and attempt to get rid of those stains fast, before they really set in.
If the oil stain has been there for a long time, like from before purchasing the house, you might need the help of a local driveway cleaning service in El Cajon that has the ability to get rid of the most set-in oil stains.
Where Do Concrete Oil Stains Come From?
Mostly, oil from automobiles is the reason for oil-stained concrete driveways. This might be oil, gas or transmission fluids – or a combination of fluids. Some of the typical ways your concrete gets stained are from:
- Servicing your own car
- Filling up the lawn mower
- A leak that needs to be checked out by a auto mechanic
But, there are a lot of other things that can leave an ugly oil stain on your concrete. So let’s look at a few of the best DIY ways to remove those oil stains!
DIY Oil Stain Removal Tips
CAT LITTER FOR OIL STAINS
Cat litter is a simple first step for new oil stains where there is excess oil that has to be cleaned up.
Sprinkle the cat litter over the oil, really getting it down into the stain by crushing it with your feet. It’s recommended to leave the litter on the oil stain overnight so it absorbs as much as possible. Scrape it up or sweep it off the next day and repeat if necessary.
Get rid of used litter so your pets and wildlife don’t eat it and get sick from it.
Then you can proceed with one of the following do-it-yourself concrete cleaning techniques.
COCA-COLA FOR OIL STAINS
You might have heard urban legends about accident clean-up crews using Coke to clean the roads, but, rest assured, that is not true. That said, Coke does have powerful cleaning properties when it comes to oily stains, in part due to its carbonated bubbles, but mainly because of the phosphoric acid in the soda.
Pour a good amount of Coke on the oil stain, then cover it with dishwashing liquid (Blue Dawn is widely considered the most effective). Scrub with a stiff brush, using circular motions throughout.
Rinse and repeat if necessary.
BAKING SODA FOR OIL STAINS
Baking soda is a popular home cleaning remedy ingredient.
To get rid of an oil stain on a driveway, you’ll first need to coat the stain with the baking soda and let it sit for a little bit, anywhere from 15 minutes to two or three hours. This should absorb a lot of the oil and allow the baking soda to penetrate the porous surface.
Next, add blue dishwashing soap 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 pattern, then rinse.
Just like the Coke method, you might have to repeat the process.
LAUNDRY DETERGENT FOR OIL STAINS
Most homeowners already use this to eliminate tough stains on clothing. It’s also a great product for removing bad oil stains on concrete as well!
Combine powdered laundry detergent and borax in equal parts according to the size of the oil stain. You will want to cover it completely. Let this mixture stay on the oil stain for an hour or more, then add water to make a paste, scrub and then rinse.
This is more of a gentle cleaning method, so it might be necessary to repeat the process two or three times. But there is a possibility it will work!
DRIVEWAY CLEANING IN El Cajon
Some concrete oil stains on a driveway are too difficult 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 significant harm that is extremely difficult to repair if you don’t know how to properly pressure wash concrete. The high pressure water stream can break and loosen concrete, and it can leave streaks that look almost as bad as the oil stains.
Calling El Cajon Pressure Washing is definitely the smart choice. We know the best methods to clean concrete without harming it, including:
- The right PSI and GPM levels to use to remove stains
- Which nozzle will penetrate concrete without damaging it
- The correct distance to spray the concrete from
- Solutions that can help lighten stains
El Cajon Pressure Washing also follows all of the steps it takes to clean the concrete little by little – the most effective method. Most homeowners don’t have the patience to do it correctly. They want fast results.
A professional pressure washing company can also offer protective sealing services for your driveway so oil stains are less likely to happen again.