How to remove oil stains from cement

Have you ever gone through that distressing day when you wake up to find that your motor oil has leaked on your cement/concrete driveway? Now, you not only have to have your vehicle fixed, rather you also have to take care of these hideous oil stains blighting your cement driveway.

               

Removing these Hydro-carbon based stains can be easy if you know what to do. And we take on the responsibility of telling you what to do. Our simple home remedies will enable you to clean these oil stains off your cement driveway. Just act swiftly so that the stain doesn’t get much time to set in. Eventually, the best remedy for the situation is obviously to have your car leak fixed.

Yet for those unfortunate little incidents, when the oil does get spilled, the following tips will help you immensely.

             Method One (For small oil spots on cement/concrete)

The following method is pretty simple and might seem very obvious, yet for the removal of those small oil spots which your concrete pathway might frequently incur; this relatively simple method can also work effectively.

Things that you will require:

· Dish Washing Detergent

· Water

· Scrub

· sponge

Steps that you need to take:

1.   First of all, you ought to make a cleaning solution by mixing some dish soap and water. The cleaning solution should be of the consistency of a tooth paste. Dish soap is recommended because of its strong oil/grease cutting quality.

2.   Next, take a scrub and use it to work vigorously on the oil stain. Scrub hard, moving from outside the stain towards its center.

3.   Scrubbing the stain will help loosen the oil particles and help them come off.

4.   If you feel that a tinge of oil stain is still left, then apply some more detergent paste and scrub it further.

5.   Lastly, rinse it off with clean water.

Method two (For Larger Oil Stains on cement/concrete)

The following method is somewhat harsher and consequently stronger than the former one. It makes use of a concrete cleaner or degreaser for the removal of oil stains from cement/concrete.

Things that you will require:

· Concrete cleaner/degreaser

· sponge

· A strong alkaline soap

· Stiff scrub brush

· Water

· Clean cloth

Steps that you need to take:

1.   If you have a large oil stain that refuses to budge off, then primarily take a commercial concrete cleaner or degreaser and apply it on the stain using a sponge.

2.   Leave it lying onto the stain for some time approximately 10 minutes so that it can work effectively. (This is a general instruction. Each commercial product comes with its individual instructions. Make sure that you go through them prior to its application and then act likewise.)

3.   After the application of this degreaser, blot it up with a clean cloth.

4.   Next, you have to make sure that all the stain particles have been effectively removed from the concrete. In order to ensure this, take a strong alkaline soap and pour it onto the stain.

5.   Work this soap into the stain by using a stiff brush.

6.   Once the stain has been satisfactorily removed, rinse it off with clean water.

Method Three (Using a Poultice)

Using a poultice is a traditional and conventional stain removal method. Moreover it is not only conventional but pretty effective also. Poultices can be made in various ways. In this particular stain removal method, we shall be making a poultice by using any absorptive material combined with a strong solvent.  We can use sawdust, kitty litter as absorptive material and acetone, MEK, Xylene as strong solvent.

Things that you will require:

· Sawdust

· Acetone

· Plastic Wrap

· Spatula

· Water

Steps that you need to take:

1.   You can make the poultice by using saw dust and acetone. Sawdust acts as the absorptive material while acetone plays the part of a strong solvent.

2.   Saturate the sawdust with acetone and then smear this material onto the stain.

3.   Place a plastic wrap on this material, forming a poultice.

4.   Allow the poultice to sit on the oil stain overnight so that the process of osmosis can have ample time to take place.

5.   Acetone will decompose the oil particles and consequently sawdust will absorb it, eventually removing it from the concrete.

6.   Next morning remove the poultice using a spatula.

7.   Lastly, rinse the stain with clean water.

Tips and Warnings:

1.   Commercial degreasers are effective for cement/concrete that is porous as compared to cement/concrete with a hard and dense finish.

2.   Poultice is effective for small and stubborn oil stains. However for larger stains, it might not be practical or cost effective.

3.   One of the latest technologies for getting rid of oil stains is making use of specialized unicellular microorganisms which live on untreated oil or any of its derivatives.

4.   A piece of plywood can be placed where the car is usually parked. This would obviously not stop the leakage, yet it can prevent staining.