How to Remove Oil Stains on Driveways
Oil stains on driveways look awful, and age your home exterior, even if the oil spots are fairly new. Avoid oil spots on your home’s driveway, sidewalks and in your garage when possible, and try to remove those stains right away, before they really set in.
If the oil stain has been there for a while, like from before purchasing the home, you may need the help of a local driveway cleaning service in Daly City that is able to remove even the most set-in oil stains.
Where Do Concrete Oil Stains Come From?
Mostly, oil from automobiles is the cause for oil-stained concrete driveways. This could be oil, gas or transmission fluid – or a combination of fluids. Some of the typical ways concrete gets stained are from:
- Servicing your own car
- Filling up the lawn mower
- A leak that should be checked out by a mechanic
But, of course, there are countless other things that can cause an unsightly oil spot on concrete. So let’s review some of the best DIY tips to remove those oil stains!
DIY Oil Stain Removal Tips
CAT LITTER FOR OIL STAINS
Cat litter is a easy first step for fresh oil spots where there is a lot of oil that needs to be dried up.
Sprinkle cat litter over the oil stain, really getting it down into the stain by stomping on it with your feet. It’s recommended to leave the litter on the oil stain overnight so it can absorb as much as possible. Scoop it up or sweep it off the next day and repeat as necessary.
Throw away used litter so pets and nearby wildlife don’t eat it and get sick.
Next you can follow up with one of the following do-it-yourself concrete cleaning methods.
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, be assured, that is not true. That said, Coca-Cola does have strong cleaning properties when it comes to greasy stains, in part due to its carbonated bubbles, but mainly 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 you have to.
BAKING SODA FOR OIL STAINS
Baking soda is a common home cleaning remedy product.
To remove an oil stain on a driveway, you’ll first want to cover the stain with baking soda and let it sit for a while, somewhere from 15 minutes to two or three hours. This should absorb some of the oil and allow the baking soda to penetrate the porous surface.
Then, add blue dishwashing soap and water and scrub until you have created 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 have to repeat the process.
LAUNDRY DETERGENT FOR OIL STAINS
Most homeowners already use this to remove bad stains on clothes. It’s actually a great option for removing bad oil stains from concrete as well!
Stir powdered laundry detergent and borax in equal parts based on the size of the oil stain. You want to cover it entirely. Let this dry mixture sit on the oil stain for an hour or longer, 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 one or two times. But there is a good chance it will work!
DRIVEWAY CLEANING IN Daly City
Some concrete oil stains on a driveway are too tough for home remedies to remove. That’s when it may be time to call a professional pressure washing company to thoroughly clean your home’s concrete surfaces.
We don’t recommend pressure washing your driveway on your own to save a a little money. You can cause significant harm that is extremely complicated to fix if you don’t know what you’re doing. The high pressure water stream can break and loosen concrete, and it can leave streaks on a driveway that look just as bad as the oil stains.
Calling Daly City Pressure Washing is definitely the safe choice. Our technicians know the best ways to clean concrete without ruining it, such as:
- The right PSI and GPM settings to use
- Which nozzle tip will penetrate concrete without chipping it
- The best distance to spray the concrete from
- Solutions that can help lighten stains
Daly City 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 immediate results.
A professional pressure washing company can also provide protective sealing services for driveway so oil stains are less likely in the future.