Yesterday I spilled half a can of automobile oil on the unpainted concrete floor in my basement. After using rags to sop up most of the stuff, any ideas how to get up the rest? Will it eventually dry? It's in a place where I can't really walk around it all the time, but don't want to be tracking oil through the house. Thanks.
try kitty litter to pick up the excess
You will never get it all up, but at least you won't be tracking it around. I spilled a bottle of stain on a carpet today; oops.
Get thee to Costco and pick up a large bucket of Kirkland laundry detergent (about $11.50 when I bought one earlier today).
You'll even find specific instructions on the package for "oil spill cleanup".
Yup, and if you clean the locaton repeatedly you will draw the oil back up out of the concrete,,,you might not get all of it out but enough such that the surface & down about 1/4" or so will be pretty much oil free.
Repeated cleanings with spray SImple Green & clean rags will also work
cheers Bob
That's how we did a final floor cleaning of oil spills on bare concrete flors
Get a bag of good quality oil-absorbent (kitty litter might work, if it is the clay-based variety; there are other products specifically for shop cleanup that will work even better) and a quart of mineral spirts.
Cover the oil stain with the absorbent, wait an hour or so, sweep it up. Then pour about a cup or so of the mineral spirits over the remaining stain, and scrub it a few minutes with a stiff bristle brush, broom or a wire brush. Cover it again with fresh absorbent and let it sit several hours or overnight. When it is swept up the next time the stain will likely be gone.
le
l> Get a bag of good quality oil-absorbent (kitty litter might work, if
I'm usually not the wet blanket, you shouldn't do that guy, but if there are any open flames (like gas water heaters of heating equipment) in the OP's basement mineral spirits is pretty flammable off of the vapors. A basement is usually a pretty non ventilated area.
An old standby, if you have some available is Portland Cement, straight out of the bag, not the premixed cement with sand in it, but the pure Portland Cement that you have to formulate. I also think that Mortar Cement (again not the premixed type but the type you mix with sand) and probably even thinset powder would work similarly.
I second this method.
Forget kitty litter. It's for cats. Keep a bag of auto parts store style oil absorbant around for this kind of thing.
Pour on some oil absorbant. Grind it in with your shoe for a while. Sweep up. Repeat if necessary to pick up the oil.
Pour a little paint thinner on - just enough to cover the stain. Wait a minute or two. Pour on more fresh oil absorbant. Grind it in with your shoe for a while. Sweep up.
This has worked 100% for every concrete oil stain I've ever encountered.
As Eric says, this is a potential fire hazard. Don't do something stupid like try it next to a gas water heater or furnace. The vapors will ignite. They're also poisonous in concentration.
-rev
snipped-for-privacy@fellspt.charm.net wrote:
Get you a can of brake parts cleaner from the auto parts store. Spray it on liberally and wipe it up. repeat. Use some ventilation. It's not particularly flammable, but it stinks.
IMHO:
For my 'oil stains' I've found that wiping up first with a glass cleaner does well. It removes the loose stuff that can be tracked around. As for removing any stains, I've tried powered laundry soap, and let it sit. After awhile, swipe up the loose soap, and then use water to remove the rest.
This is what works for me, but I don't know if it should work for you.
later,
tom @
You've got all kinds of answers. Stay away from those that suggest flammable stuff and leave the kitty litter for cats. The way to get oil out of concrete is to spray it with Oven Off, wipe it with paper, and rinse with water. Sodium hydroxide and oil make soap. The only caution is to use a mask or spray the the OvenOff quickly and walk away for a while so you don't breath the stuff and to use rubber gloves. One simple spray and rinse will remove all the oil.
This works so well, two spraying and rinses will remove almost all oil on concrete that has been soaked for years.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.