How to Remove Oil Stains on Driveways
Oil stains on driveways look bad, and tarnish your home exterior, even if the oil stains are relatively new. Try to avoid oil stains on your home’s driveway, sidewalks and in your garage if possible, and try to remove those stains fast, before they set in.
If the oil stain has been there for a long time, like from before you purchased the home, you might need the help of a local driveway cleaning service in Murfreesboro that can remove the most set-in oil stains.
Where Do Concrete Oil Stains Come From?
Mainly, oil from cars is the reason for stains on concrete. This might be oil, gas or transmission fluids – or a combination of fluids. Some of the most typical ways your 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, of course, there are several other things that can leave an ugly oil spot on your concrete. So let’s explore a few of the best DIY tips 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 a lot of oil that has to be dried up.
Sprinkle the cat litter over the oil, getting it down into the stain by crushing it with your feet. It’s recommended to leave the litter on the oil stain for 24 hours so it absorbs as much as possible. Scoop it up or sweep it off the next day and repeat as necessary.
Throw away used litter so your pets and nearby wildlife don’t eat it and get sick from it.
Next you can proceed with one of the following do-it-yourself cleaning techniques.
COCA-COLA FOR OIL STAINS
You might have heard urban legends about accident clean-up crews using Coca-Cola to clean up the roads, but, rest assured, that is not true. That said, Coca-Cola does have strong cleaning properties for oily stains, in part due to its carbonated bubbles, but mostly because of the phosphoric acid in the soda.
Pour a good amount of Coca-Cola on top of the oil stain, then cover it with dishwashing soap (Blue Dawn is widely considered 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 another common home cleaning remedy ingredient.
To remove an oil stain on a driveway, you’ll first need to cover the stain with the baking soda and let it sit for a while, somewhere from 30 minutes to two or three hours. This should absorb most of the oil and allow the baking soda to penetrate the porous concrete.
Next, add that famous blue dishwashing detergent and water and scrub until you have created a thick paste. Again, you can let this sit for the best 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
Most homeowners already use this to eliminate dirty stains on clothes. It’s also a great option for getting rid of tough oil stains from concrete too!
Combine powdered laundry detergent and borax in equal parts according to the size of the oil stain. You will want to cover it entirely. Let this dry 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 process, so it might be necessary to repeat the process two or three times. But there is a possibility it will work!
DRIVEWAY CLEANING IN Murfreesboro
Some oil stains on a driveway are just too tough for home remedies. That’s when it may be time to call a professional pressure washing company to clean your home’s concrete surfaces.
We don’t recommend pressure washing your driveway yourself to save a little money. You can cause significant damage that is complicated to fix if you don’t know how to properly pressure wash concrete. The high pressure water stream can break and loosen concrete, and it can create streaks on a driveway that look just as bad as the oil stains.
Calling Murfreesboro Pressure Washing is definitely the best choice. We know the best methods to clean concrete without damaging it, such as:
- The right PSI and GPM levels to use to remove stains
- Which nozzle will penetrate concrete without chipping it
- The best distance to spray the concrete from
- Products that can help lighten stains
Murfreesboro Pressure Washing also follows all of the steps it takes to clean the concrete little by little – the most effective process. Most homeowners don’t have enough patience to do it correctly. They want immediate results.
A professional pressure washing company can also offer protective sealing services for your driveway so oil stains are less likely to occur.