How to remove oil stains from driveway

Finding black oil puddles in your driveway is a common experience, mutually shared by hundreds of people across the globe. At times you just cannot make your automobile behave and it leaks, spilling oil, and consequently resulting into nasty oil stains. These stains undeniably mar your drive way’s appearance. Therefore treating them as swiftly as possible is mandatory.

Yet, before you embark upon treating these oil stains and getting rid of them, there are certain factors which need to be taken into consideration. Motor oil can be dangerous, thus it is vital that you wear protective clothing including coveralls, impervious gloves and goggles.

Given below are some effective methods which can successfully yield satisfactory results and help in the removal of such oil stains from your driveway.

Method One (Using Detergent and hot water)

For the Removal of Small Stains

The following method works well on small oil stains which are fresh and can be easily removed.

Things that you will require:

· Gloves

· Hot water

· Garden hose

· Detergent

· Steel brush

Steps that you need to take:

1.   This method is relatively pretty simple. All you have to do is apply some detergent on the stained area.

2.   Next, take a steel brush and start working on the oil stain with this brush. Scrub hard so that oil particles may be loosened and come off easily.

3.   Lastly, just rinse it with clean water. You can use a garden hose for this purpose.

4.   If the stain still hasn’t come off, then repeat the above steps until you are sure that all oil stain traces have been satisfactorily removed.

Method two (Using a degreaser)

For the Removal of large stains

            The following method will enable you to get rid of relatively large stains on driveway, which might be old and consequently difficult to remove. This method deploys a degreaser. These degreasers have proven to be effective in the removal of such oil stains because of their concentrated and powerful cleaners. These fast acting cleaners are known to remove dirt and oil from scratch without causing any harm to the surface.

Things that you will require:

· Protective gloves

· Degreaser

· Water

· Steel brush

Steps that you need to take:

1.   First of all take some degreaser and apply it on the stained area. All commercial degreasers come with an instruction manual. Make sure that you go through these instructions too and follow them.

2.   Allow this de greaser to sit in the oil stain for some time, approximately 1 to 3 minutes.

3.   Afterwards, work on the stain with the help of a brush with stiff bristles, preferably a steel brush. Make sure that you scrub vigorously.

4.   After scrubbing the oil stain, again leave it for 5 to 10 minutes so that the degreaser and its cleaning agents can set in further.

5.   Lastly, rinse the stain with water.

6.   If some oil stain remnants are still left, then repeat the steps mentioned above, until necessary.

Method Three (Using kitty litter and detergent)

      

You might be familiar with the terrible stench of kitty litter or you might be acquainted with the nauseated bulge which rises in your throat after having a look at it. Yet it is very probable that you might be ignorant of its various merits, especially in regard to stain removal. Kitty litter has been known to pull out excess oil from cement; and this is precisely why this method makes use of cat waste.

Things that you will require:

· Cat litter

· Newspaper

· Powdered laundry detergent

· Water

· Wire brush/ steel brush

Steps that you need to take:

1.   Primarily, take some cat litter and apply it on the oil stain.

2.   Cover this kitty litter with a newspaper and leave it overnight so that this kitty waste and effectively exercises its stain-lifting magical powers.

3.   Next morning, remove this litter and sprinkle some powdered laundry detergent on the stained area.

4.   After sprinkling this detergent, take a little water and moisten the detergent with it. However you ought to be careful in figuring out the water proportion. The water should just be enough to form a detergent paste.

5.   Once this paste is formed, again cover it and leave it overnight.

6.   Next day, remove this detergent again, leaving behind just a little of the detergent paste.

7.   Add water to this paste and start scrubbing the stain with a wire or steel brush.

8.   You ought to work vigorously on the stain, ensuring that stain particles are loosened from the cement surface and come off easily.

9.   Move the brush in circles, moving from outside the stain towards its inner side. Meanwhile add more water and paste as required.

10.   While you are rubbing the stained area, you can also consider scrubbing some of the area outside the stain as well, so that both the stained and the un-stained area might acquire a similar shade.

11.   Once you are done with scrubbing the oil stain, rinse it off with clean water and let the surface dry.

12.   You might be able to see some stain traces for a little while, but this discoloration would fade away with time.

Tips and Warnings

1.   Maintain your car so that it doesn’t leak.

2.   The sooner you treat these stains, the more effective will the results be.

3.   Protective gloves need to be a mandatory ingredient, while treating these oil stains.

4.   Highly inflammable chemicals such as gasoline ought not to be used for cleaning any oil spills. This is because; merely one spark can yield terrifying and disastrous consequences.