How to Remove Oil Stains on Driveways
Oil stains on driveways look awful, and tarnish your home exterior, even if the stains are still relatively new. Avoid oil stains on your driveway and in your garage if possible, and try to get rid of those stains right away, before they set in.
If the stain has been there for a long time, like from before purchasing the house, you may need the help of a local driveway cleaning service in Ontario that can get rid of the most set-in stains on concrete surfaces.
Where Do Concrete Oil Stains Come From?
Mainly, oil from automobiles is the cause for oil-stained concrete driveways. This could be oil, gasoline or transmission fluid – or a combination. Some of the most common ways concrete gets stained are from:
- Servicing your own car
- Filling up the lawn mower
- A leak that should be checked out by a auto mechanic
But, of course, there are a lot of other things that can leave an unsightly 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 fresh oil stains where there is excess oil that needs to be dried up.
Sprinkle cat litter over the oil stain, getting it down into the stain by crushing it with your feet. It’s a good idea to leave the litter on the stain for 24 hours so it will absorb as much as possible. Scoop it up or sweep it off of the driveway the following day and repeat if necessary.
Throw away used litter so pets and nearby wildlife don’t eat it and get sick.
Then you can follow up 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 Coca-Cola to clean up the roads, but, be assured, that is not true. However, Coca-Cola does have strong 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 top of 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 throughout.
Rinse and repeat if needed.
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 coat the stain with baking soda and let it sit for a while, anywhere from 30 minutes to two or three hours. This should absorb a lot of the oil and allow the baking soda to penetrate the porous concrete.
Next, add that famous blue dishwashing liquid and some water and scrub until there is a thick paste. Again, let this sit for optimal penetration, or continue to scrub in a circular pattern, then rinse.
Just like the Coca-Cola method, you might have to repeat the process.
LAUNDRY DETERGENT FOR OIL STAINS
Most homeowners already use this to clean off bad stains on clothing. It’s also a great product for removing bad oil stains from concrete as well!
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 more, then add some water to create a paste, scrub and then rinse.
This is a gentle cleaning method, so it may be necessary to repeat the process two or three times. But there is a possibility it will work!
DRIVEWAY CLEANING IN Ontario
Some oil stains on a driveway are just 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 concrete surfaces.
We don’t recommend pressure washing your driveway on your own 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 on a driveway that look almost as bad as the oil stains.
Hiring Ontario Pressure Washing is definitely the best choice. Our technicians know the best ways to clean concrete without destroying it, including:
- The right PSI and GPM levels to use to remove stains
- Which nozzle tip will penetrate concrete without chipping it
- The optimal distance to spray the concrete from
- Products that can help lighten stains
Ontario 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 enough patience to do it correctly. 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.