How to Remove Oil Stains on Driveways

Oil stains on driveways look awful, and tarnish your home exterior, even if the oil stains are fairly new. Try to avoid oil stains on your home’s driveway and in your garage if possible, and attempt to eliminate those stains right away, before they set in.

If the oil stain has been there for a long time, like from before you purchased the house, you might need the help of a local driveway cleaning service in Huntington Beach that is able to eliminate the most set-in oil stains on concrete.

Where Do Concrete Oil Stains Come From?

Mostly, oil from automobiles is the reason for stains on concrete. This might be oil, gas or transmission fluid – or a combination of fluids. Some of the typical ways concrete gets stained are from:

• Fixing 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 cause an unsightly oil stain on concrete. So let’s look at 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 easy first step for fresh oil stains where there is a lot of oil that has to be cleaned up.

Sprinkle cat litter all 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 can absorb as much as possible. Scoop it up or sweep it off of the driveway the following day and repeat as necessary.

Throw away used litter so pets and wildlife don’t eat it and get sick from it.

Then you can follow up with one of the following do-it-yourself cleaning processes.

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 not true. That said, Coke does have strong cleaning properties when it comes to oily stains, in part due to its carbonated bubbles, but mainly because of the phosphoric acid in the soda.

Pour a good amount of Coke on top of the oil stain, then cover it with dishwashing detergent (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 product.

To eliminate 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 some of the oil and allow the baking soda to penetrate the porous surface.

Next, add that famous blue dishwashing liquid and water and scrub until there is a thick paste. Again, you can let this sit for optimal 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 one or two times.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT FOR OIL STAINS

Many homeowners already use this to get rid of tough stains on clothes. It’s actually a great option for removing tough oil stains on concrete as well!

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 longer, then add water to create a paste, scrub and then rinse.

This is 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 Huntington Beach

Some oil stains on a driveway are too difficult for home remedies. That’s when it is 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 few dollars. You can cause significant damage that is difficult to fix if you don’t know what you’re doing. 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 Huntington Beach Pressure Washing is definitely the safe choice. Our technicians know the best methods to clean concrete without harming it, such as:

• The right PSI and GPM settings to use
• Which nozzle will penetrate concrete without damaging it
• The best distance to spray the concrete from
• Products that can help lighten stains

Huntington Beach Pressure Washing also follows all of the steps it takes to clean the concrete– the most effective method. Most homeowners don’t have the patience to do it correctly. They want immediate results.

A professional pressure washing company can also provide protective sealing services for driveway so oil stains are less likely in the future.