How to Remove Oil Stains on Driveways
Oil stains on driveways look terrible, and tarnish your home exterior, even if the stains are still relatively new. Try to avoid oil stains on your home’s driveway and in your garage whenever possible, and try to remove those stains quickly, before they set in.
If the stain has been there for a while, like from before you purchased the home, you may need the help of a local driveway cleaning service in Charleston that can remove even the most set-in stains.
Where Do Concrete Oil Stains Come From?
Mainly, oil from cars is the cause for oil-stained concrete driveways. This might be oil, gas or transmission fluids – or a combination of fluids. Some of the most common 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 mechanic
But, there are countless other things that can cause an ugly oil stain on your 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 a lot of oil that needs to be dried up.
Sprinkle the cat litter all over the oil stain, getting it down into the stain by stomping on it with your feet. It’s recommended to leave the litter on the stain overnight so it will absorb as much as possible. Scoop it up or sweep it off the next day and repeat as necessary.
Get rid of used litter so your pets and wildlife don’t eat it and get sick.
Then you can proceed with one of the following do-it-yourself concrete cleaning techniques.
COCA-COLA FOR OIL STAINS
You’ve probably heard urban legends about accident clean-up crews using Coke to clean up the roads, but, be assured, that is a myth. However, Coke does have strong cleaning properties for greasy stains, in part due to its carbonated bubbles, but mostly because of the phosphoric acid in the soda.
Pour a generous amount of Coke on top of the oil stain, then cover it with dishwashing liquid (Blue Dawn is widely accepted as the most effective). Scrub with a stiff brush, using circular motions.
Rinse and repeat if necessary.
BAKING SODA FOR OIL STAINS
Baking soda is a popular home cleaning remedy product.
To remove 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, somewhere from 15 minutes to a few hours. This should absorb a lot of the oil and allow the baking soda to penetrate the porous concrete.
Then, add blue dishwashing liquid 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 pattern, 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 wash off dirty stains on clothes. It’s actually a great product for removing bad oil stains on concrete too!
Combine powdered laundry detergent and borax in equal parts according to the size of the stain. You want to cover it completely. Let this dry mixture stay on the oil stain for an hour or longer, then add water to create a paste, scrub and then rinse.
This is a gentle cleaning process, so it may be necessary to repeat the process two or three times. But there is a good chance it will work!
DRIVEWAY CLEANING IN Charleston
Some concrete oil stains on a driveway are too difficult 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 on your own to save a little money. You can cause major harm 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 leave streaks that look just as bad as the oil stains.
Hiring CSC Charleston Pressure Wash is definitely the best choice. Our technicians know the best methods to clean concrete without damaging it, including:
- The right PSI and GPM settings to use to remove stains
- Which nozzle tip will penetrate concrete without damaging it
- The optimal distance to spray the concrete from
- Products that can help lighten stains
CSC Charleston Pressure Wash also follows all of the steps it takes to clean the concrete little by little – the most effective process. Most homeowners and other companies don’t have the patience to do it correctly. They want quick results.
A professional pressure washing company can also offer protective sealing services for your driveway so oil stains are less likely in the future.