Oil Leaks Messing Up Your Driveway?
By Teresa Ambord
Does your car or someone else’s leave oily stains on your driveway? That can be frustrating for a homeowner, especially when you take special care to prevent such stains but your teenager’s jalopy or a visitor parks in your unmarked driveway, and pulls away, leaving spots.
If that happens, there are ways to remove or at least lighten the spots, including some commercial products. You may need to use several of the following ideas. But start with something to soak up the grease.
Absorbent Materials:
As soon as you realize there is a grease spot, start by covering it with an absorbent material like sand, baking soda, cornmeal, or dry detergent. But probably the most recommended product to use is kitty litter. After all, its purpose is to absorb. Work the litter (or other material) into the spots with your foot or an old broom. That removes the top layer of oil. Then dispose of the litter. It is possible that using kitty litter will actually remove the grease and make the spots lighter than the rest of the driveway. Once you’ve used the litter to remove most of the grease, apply some dry detergent and scrub with a stiff brush. Remove the dry detergent and replace it with a paste of dry detergent and waster. Scrape off the detergent and rinse the stain.
Some people recommend using sand, baking soda, cornmeal, or dry detergent.. Another absorbent material works well is peat moss. Drop it on the oil dry, and work it in as with the kitty litter, using a stiff broom or brush.
Here’s one more dry material possibility: sprinkle the area with dishwasher detergent and let sit. Then pour boiling water on the spots and scrub.
Cola
Cover the area in cola. (Unless perhaps, you are prone to ants!) Some suggest doing this in place of using an absorbent material while others use the cola afterwards. Whatever you choose, leave the soda on overnight. Then mix up a bucket of warm water with a good measure of dishwashing liquid (Dawn is a good choice for grease cutting) and scrub with a brush of broom. Rinse. Cola is non-toxic and inexpensive, especially if you buy big bottles of generic soda.
Many commercial products have been successful. Here are a few ideas:
- Top Job - After letting the kitty litter absorb the top layer, leave the litter on the spot. Mix up half a bucket of water with Top Job and pour onto the litter. Then use a scrub brush and elbow grease and work the Top Job right into the spots. This method can even clean up even big grease stains.
- Murphy’s Oil Soap - Remove the top layer using one of the above dry materials. After discarding the litter, pour Murphy’s Oil Soap right on the spots. This soap is very inexpensive, so be generous. Leave it for two hours, then get out the hose and spray, spray, spray. Chances are, the driveway will be clean enough for the kids to play on.
- Simple Green - Simple Green is a great product. It is safe even for people with chemical sensitivity, and is biodegradable.
- Engine Degreaser - To clean up the residue after absorbing the top layer, try a commercial degreaser like SuperClean, made by Castrol, or Gunk. You can buy either product at a department store with an automotive section, or an auto parts store.
