How to Remove Oil Stains on Driveways
Oil stains on driveways look bad, and tarnish your home exterior, even if the stains are fairly new. Avoid oil stains on your home’s driveway, sidewalks and in your garage whenever possible, and attempt to get rid of those stains right away, before they set in.
If the stain has been there for a while, like from before you purchased the home, you might need the help of a local driveway cleaning service in Miramar that has the ability to get rid of the most set-in stains on concrete.
Where Do Concrete Oil Stains Come From?
Mostly, oil from vehicles is the reason for stains on concrete driveways. This might be oil, gasoline or transmission fluids – or a combination. Some of the common ways concrete gets stained are from:
- Servicing your own car
- Filling up the gas in a lawn mower
- A leak that needs to be checked out by a mechanic
But, there are many other things that can leave an ugly oil stain on concrete. So let’s look at some of the best DIY methods to remove those stains!
DIY Oil Stain Removal Tips
CAT LITTER FOR OIL STAINS
Cat litter is a easy first step for new oil stains where there is a lot of oil that has to be cleaned up.
Sprinkle cat litter over the oil stain, getting it down into the stain by crushing it with your feet. It’s best to leave the litter on the stain for 24 hours so it will absorb as much as possible. Scrape it up or sweep it off of the driveway the next day and repeat if necessary.
Throw away used litter so pets and wildlife don’t eat it and get sick from it.
Next you can proceed with one of the following do-it-yourself cleaning tips.
COCA-COLA FOR OIL STAINS
You might have heard urban legends about accident clean-up crews using Coke to clean up the roads, but, rest assured, that is not true. However, Coke does have powerful cleaning properties for greasy stains, in part due to its carbonated bubbles, but mainly because of the phosphoric acid in the soda.
Pour a generous amount of Coke on the oil stain, then cover it with dishwashing liquid (Blue Dawn is widely accepted as the most effective). Scrub hard 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 product.
To get rid of an oil stain on a driveway, you’ll first want to cover the stain with baking soda and let it sit for a little bit, somewhere from 30 minutes to a few hours. This should absorb most of the oil and allow the baking soda to penetrate the porous concrete.
Then, add that famous blue dishwashing liquid and water and scrub hard until you have created a thick paste. Again, let this sit for maximum penetration, or continue to scrub in a circular motion, then rinse.
Just like with the Coke method, you might have to repeat the process.
LAUNDRY DETERGENT FOR OIL STAINS
Most homeowners already use this to get rid of bad stains on clothes. It’s also a great product for removing tough oil stains from concrete as well!
Stir powdered laundry detergent and borax in equal parts according to the size of the stain. You want to cover it completely. Let this mixture sit on the oil stain for an hour or more, then add water to create a paste, scrub and then rinse.
This is more of a gentle cleaning method, so it could be necessary to repeat the process two or three times. But there is a possibility it will work!
DRIVEWAY CLEANING IN Miramar
Some oil stains on a driveway are just too difficult for DIY 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 little money. You can cause major 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.
Hiring Miramar Pressure Washing is definitely the smart choice. We know the best ways to clean concrete without ruining it, such as:
- The right PSI and GPM settings to use
- Which nozzle will penetrate concrete without chipping it
- The best distance to spray the concrete from
- Solutions that can help lighten stains
Miramar Pressure Washing also follows all of the steps it takes to clean the concrete– the most effective method. Most homeowners don’t have enough patience to do it correctly. They want quick results.
A professional pressure washing company in Miramar can also offer protective sealing services for driveway so oil stains are less likely in the future.