Oil stains on drive

[HellyB]

There has been a minor oil leak from the car, resulting in oil stains on the concrete paviour drive. Recommendations for removing the stains anyone?

[Cash]

Seconded.

[Cash]

To add.

Supplied at Halfords - see link

[Mr Pounder]

Yes, Gunk. But as you have asked a stupid question will not understand what Gunk is. Try Fairy Liquid, water and a stiff brush. It works.

[BartC]

Which one is easier?

[Dave Liquorice]

Fairy Liquid(*). Just work a goodly dollup in with a stiff brush and leave, no need for water. The rain will wash it away.

I guess it depends if you want an "instant cure" or have better things to spend a morning doing...

(*) Other washing up liquids are available.

[Woodworm]

Mr Pounder wrote:

Not all have such a 'vast' a knowledge as you. And I've read some of the 'stupid' questions that you have asked in the past on various groups - they were real 'howlers', and some of the replies were even better.

Now as for using "Fairy Liquid, water and a stiff brush" then if you want to be a maschotist and use brawn instead brains, then perhaps your knowledge isn't that great.

Nope, the correct chemical cleaner is far easier and more efficient to use - spread some Gunk about, wait ten minutes or so (just enough time to brew and drink a cuppa is ideal) and then get the hose pipe out to finish the job (presuming that you are living outside a drought area of course - like me) and you have a nice shiny drive.

[David Paste]

I have also had good results with this method. But I didn't bother scrubbing it in, just covered the stain with the washing-up liquid and forgot about it. Te rain cleared it, eventually.

I did apply the stuff on a warm sunny day, and it didn't rain for a good week or so though, so maybe the warmth & time are factors.

I actually used Cusson's lemon scented stuff. I find that to be a better de-chicken-greaser than fairy liquid!

[Hugh - Was Invisible]

Well it certainly worked OK 40 years ago. Haven't had need for any for a while

[Bob Eager]

Just found a can of it downstairs...as it happens! Useful stuff.

[The Natural Philosopher]

wahsing up liquid scrubbed in and a pressure washer

[The Natural Philosopher]

gunk is more or less fairy liquid and something like paraffin.

[Frank Erskine]

More to the point, what was the cause (and remedy) of the "minor" oil leak?

[Derek Geldard]

[Snip]

Well, traditionally it used to be a Morris minor ...

DerekG

[stuart noble]

Fairy Liquid is formulated to deal with oils and fats found in the home. Sump oil needs something different, although copious amounts of the wrong surfactant will sort of work eventually

[Derek Geldard]

Gunk is dirty brown and leaves stains of it's own IME.

Jizer is a clear fluid and is water miscible in the same way.

DerekG

[The Natural Philosopher]

An olefin is an olefin whether its of animal vegetable or mineral origin.

Fairy liquid is a simple industrial detergent to which is added thickening, scent and colour for the purpose of making the product appealing. They do nothing to either enhance or detract from its cleaming power. My chemistry master who was ex Unilever and had worked on this informed us of this fact. One component cleans dishes the other

10 are there to sell it.

when dealing with thicker oils than liquefied fat in hot water, the key issue is to achieve dilution of the thick oil with a thinner solvent - paraffin is suitable and safe as is white spirit - and then the resulting brew can have detergent added to remove.

Whilst its true that industrial detergent like teepol is better and cheaper than fairy liquid, the latter is more readily available domestically.

I have found gunk leaves its own protective oily reside behind. Its designed to clean mud off oil soaked components not to remove the oil entirely.

It has a hydrophobic element to it - water sprayed on a gunked enegine beads and ruins off as if it were covered in oil. That's not what you want to leave on a concrete drive necessarily.

Its more often used in 'car places' to clean floors simply because it is to hand. Its not formulated for cleaning floors

[The Natural Philosopher]

Yes. I lived over a rally garage that used gunk extensively. The floor was clean, but never free of stains.

I have used domestic detergent with or without additional solvents to clean concrete more or less successfully many times. The oil will stain if they are left there long enough. Caustic soda can help with that but nothing eradicates deep stains that I have found.

I assume that carbon staining - soot, if you like - is not able to be oxidised by strong alkali the way that most organic dyes are.

[stuart noble]

I once read a bit about the HLB values of various materials and the blends of surfactants required to disperse them most economically. I think the industry is a bit more sophisticated than you're giving them credit for.

[Mr Pounder]