Is there any effective way to get an oil stain in cement out?
- posted
9 years ago
Is there any effective way to get an oil stain in cement out?
Detergent and wire brush is what I'd use. But concrete is porous and it still may be noticeable.
After you have absorbed and scrubbed you might try a propane or blow torch. I have no idea if it would work but oil, afterall, is quite burnable. If the iil has pentrated deeply, I doubt this would work but the topmost part might burn off.
I've done it using cat litter to absorb the initial oil. Then sweep up the litter and dispose it. Then apply more cat5 litter, and work it into the cement with your shoe or a shovel, etc. Sweep it up again, then buy a strong degreaser detergent, and wash that spot with the water and degreaser. Work it in with a scrub brush, and rinse. Repeat if necessary.
I've sometimes used some gasoline on a rag in between the cat litter and degreaser, but that depends on the location of the oil spot. (I'd only use the gas on an outdoor location, such as a driveway.)
I've always used Oil-Dri. It's cheap enough. I sweep it back and forth with a push broom until the oil is gone. Then I throw some more down and it gets walked on. Pretty sure after a while the stains are gone. But I never looked close.
Oil absorber works somewhat if you grind it in and let it sit, rinse repeat but you will usually still have some left
TSP was the other remedy but a lot of places banned it
I tried cat5 litter and it didn't do shit
LOL
I was going to recommend cat6, buit it didn't seem funny enough.
Did you go out and take this picture just now?
If TSP works, it is still sold at Home Depot in the paint department; and probably at Lowes, ACE Hardware, etc.
Have you tried it? I'd be afraid of leaving a black carbon residue.
Could be. Never had cats.
Isn't that the same thing as the clay type cat litter?????
Cat litter usually has artificial color and deodorant. I suppose it works but you can get 40 pounds of oil absorber for what a small bag of litter costs.
I've had good luck using a bunch of Tide Laundry detergent and stiff push broom on some of the oily messes my tenants have made on the driveways.
replying to DaveT, Wayne B wrote: Poor (sprinkle) gasoline on dried spill. Will dissolve and evaporate. May have to do 2-3 times to clean it up. Only do it on a concrete driveway, NOT asphalt since will dissolve that too. No smoking.
One step farther - sprinkle portland cement powder over the gasoline soaked stain to "draw out" the oil. Otherwise all you are doing is diluting it.
Here's what I do with oil on my concrete shop floor: I sprinkle mineral spirits from the parts washer on the spill and let it soak for a bit. Then I dump some oil dry on the spill and take my 'special tool', a short chunk of 4x4 with rounded off corners and a stick handle and rub the oil dry into the mess. The oil dry gets crushed by the wood block and the finer the powder the better it picks up the oil. It even pulls it up out of cracks! When I'm done there is no trace of a spill left. ;>) phil k.
"kitty litter" and use it as a dance floor - "do the twist" and the "shuffle".
heh heh ... BTDT! That's why I made this 'special tool' ... I can't dance worth a damn. ;>)
snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca posted for all of us...
Used to use the wooden back (where the bristles attach) and rub the litter in; presto.
Seeing as the are so many litters available now what is the the best? Clumping or non clumping, fragrance, lightweight?
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