Wrinkles Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 What is the best way to get motor oil out of concrete. My lawn mower leaked enough to put a 15 inch circle of oil on my back porch. I did not see it for a few days. Is there some tried and true miracle solution to removing it? I tried soaking it and scrubbing it with Simple Green. Thanks, Wrinkles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Try putting clean sand on the oil spot, leave there a couple of days .... or you can buy speedie dry at auto parts store, trick is to let it sit on stains for a couple of days before you pick it up. You may never remove it fully ............ Oil, bites in main ways !!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askbob1 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 after you let the oil absorb material soak up for a few days, get it as free from the absorb material as you can. starting fluid(ether) is the best for removing stubborn stains from concrete. it goes fast since it evaporates quickly, but it is very cheap. depending on how long the oil has set in, you will most likely always have somewhat of a stain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Cover stained area with cat litter, about 1/2" deep. Dribble mineral spirits on cat litter, soaking well but not washing away litter or using so much that it runs off down thru your back yard. Leave it there a day or so and dribble more mineral spirits on the cat litter. You can sweep the litter into a dust scoop and if the stain is still there just reuse the litter and try again. The first try or two will tell you if it will remove all the stain. Works for me. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 If you want to avoid using chemicals, you could rent a pressure washer. They work very well for this sort of thing, BUT there will likely be a visible clean area or patch showing where you waved the pressure wand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 What is the best way to get motor oil out of concrete. My lawn mower leaked enough to put a 15 inch circle of oil on my back porch. I did not see it for a few days. Is there some tried and true miracle solution to removing it? I tried soaking it and scrubbing it with Simple Green. Thanks, Wrinkles OK, this is what has worked for me removing oil stains from concrete. Buy a bag of redimix concrete. Just a few bucks for a 60 lb bag. Put the mix dry on the stain. Let it set a few days and sweep it off. Should leave very white concrete with no trace of the oil. Don't get any water on the dry mix or it will set up and be hard to remove. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrinkles Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 Thanks everyone for sharing your methods. Wrinkles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Robin Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Back in the day of full service gas stations: they would put oil dry on the spots and use a block of wood to grind out the surface spots. Later Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 The best cleaner is muriatic acid. It will bleach the concrete brilliant white so you will have to do all of it. Learned this in 1959 in the US Navy Base Great Lakes, ILL. Use gloves, don't drink it, don't breathe the fumes. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 don't drink it ... better.... Much better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Muriatic acid is what the tile guys use to finish off the work. It sits for a while then you clean it up. Sounds like a good solution if a bit toxic. I still like bec's way of redimix the best so far, as long as you have dry weather for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 hmm muriatic acid is aka sulfuric acid, careful now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Make certain that the concrete is absolutely dry. Get a can of waterless hand cleaner such as Goop or GoJo. Apply liberally to the spot by hand (the cream will become liquidy -- that's good) and rub it in with a brush. Let it soak for fifteen minutes or so. Hose off. It might be necessary to repeat the process one or more times, just make certain that the concrete is dry before reapplying. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I know when I have gotten motor oil stains on rugs, I usually just soak them in blood and the oil stain is no longer a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman92 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Hi Wrinkles, I had a similar problem with my daughter's boyfriend's truck on my driveway in front of my house! The kids truck dumped a pile of oil that was about 1' x 2' by the time it had settled! First I tried pressure washing, but I couldn't even get up half of the stain before I could see I was damaging my concrete (washing away the cement!!). Anyway, at that point I went to the web, and found a really cool product that surprisingly got rid of the whole stain. It was called Eximo concrete cleaner, and is designed to get oil stains (and I guess other petroleum stains) from concrete. The website says it uses a natural process to breakdown the oil, but all I can say is the stuff worked! All you do is sweep on the product (really fine powder) and leave it there, and it just does its thing over a week or so. I definately recommend it! I wasn't able to find it at a store near me, but I contacted the manufacture CAF (www.mycaf.com) and they were really good about getting some shipped to me. Good luck to anyone else who has this problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 The obvious solution would be to use a degreasing liquid. Trichloethylene and perchloethylene are carcinogenic and are rarely used nowadays, but the citrus-based degreasers work well and smell nice and orangey. You could also try some TSP, or trisodium phosphate. It's easy to find and works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 engine cleaner....comes in a can...sprays on as a foam...let is soak...then hose it off... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Muriatic acid is not sulfuric acid. Muriatic acid is nitric acid cut 8 to 1. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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