How to Remove Oil Stains on Driveways

Oil stains on driveways look terrible, and age your home exterior, even if the oil spots are fairly new. Avoid oil spots on your driveway and in your garage if possible, and try to remove those stains quickly, before they set in.

If the oil stain has been there for a long time, like from before purchasing the home, you may need the help of a local driveway cleaning service in McKinney that has the ability to remove even the most set-in oil stains on concrete.

Where Do Concrete Oil Stains Come From?

Mostly, oil from vehicles is the cause for stains on concrete. This might be oil, gas or transmission fluid – or a combination. Some of the most common ways concrete gets stained are from:

• Servicing your own car
• Filling up the gas in a lawn mower
• A leak that needs to be checked out by a mechanic

But, there are many other things that can cause an ugly oil spot on concrete. So let’s look at a few of the best DIY ways to remove those oil stains!

DIY Oil Stain Removal Tips

CAT LITTER FOR OIL STAINS

Cat litter is a easy first step for new oil spots where there is a lot of oil that has to be cleaned up.

Sprinkle cat litter all over the oil stain, getting it down into the stain by crushing it with your feet. It’s best to leave the litter on the oil stain for 24 hours so it will absorb as much as possible. Scrape it up or sweep it off of the driveway the next day and repeat if necessary.

Throw away used litter so pets and wildlife don’t eat it and get sick.

Next you can proceed with one of the following do-it-yourself cleaning methods.

COCA-COLA FOR OIL STAINS

You might have heard urban legends about accident clean-up crews using Coca-Cola to clean the roads, but, be assured, that is not true. However, Coca-Cola does have strong cleaning properties when it comes to oily stains, in part due to its carbonated bubbles, but mainly from the phosphoric acid in the soda.

Pour a good amount of Coca-Cola on top of the oil stain, then cover it with dishwashing liquid (Blue Dawn is widely considered the most effective). Scrub with a stiff brush, using circular motions.

Rinse and repeat if you have to.

BAKING SODA FOR OIL STAINS

Baking soda is a popular home cleaning remedy product.

To remove an oil stain on a driveway, you’ll first need to cover the stain with baking soda and let it sit for a while, somewhere from 30 minutes to a few hours. This should absorb a lot of the oil and allow the baking soda to penetrate the porous concrete.

Next, add blue dishwashing detergent and some water and scrub until there is a thick paste. Again, you can let this sit for optimal penetration, or you can continue to scrub in a circular motion, then rinse.

Just like the Coca-Cola method, you might have to repeat the process one or two times.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT FOR OIL STAINS

Many homeowners already use this to get rid of tough stains on clothing. It’s actually a great product for removing bad oil stains from concrete as well!

Stir powdered laundry detergent and borax in equal parts according to the size of the oil stain. You want to cover it completely. Let this dry mixture sit on the oil stain for an hour or longer, then add some water to make a paste, scrub and rinse.

This is more of a gentle cleaning process, so it might be necessary to repeat the process two or three times. But there is a possibility it will work!

DRIVEWAY CLEANING IN McKinney

Some oil stains on a driveway are just too tough for home remedies. That’s when it may be time to call a professional pressure washing company to clean your concrete surfaces.

We don’t recommend pressure washing your driveway yourself to save a little money. You can cause significant harm that is extremely difficult to fix if you don’t know what you’re doing. The high pressure water stream can break and loosen concrete, and it can leave streaks on a driveway that look just as bad as the oil stains.

Hiring MXG McKinney Pressure Washing is definitely the best choice. Our technicians know the best ways to clean concrete without destroying it, including:

• The right PSI and GPM settings to use
• Which nozzle tip will penetrate concrete without damaging it
• The correct distance to spray the concrete from
• Solutions that can help lighten stains

MXG McKinney Pressure Washing also follows all of the steps to clean the concrete– the most effective process. Most homeowners and other companies don’t have enough patience to do it correctly. They want immediate results.

A professional pressure washing company in McKinney can also provide protective sealing services for driveway so oil stains are less likely to happen again.