cleaningdriveway
Anyone have tips for removing oil stains from a concrete unpaved driveway? The spill was from a leaking car, now fixed, and they are a few months old. There are so many products and spurious reviews at Amazon. I'm not sure whom to trust…
Does anyone have personal experience with products to clean these oil stains? Our driveway like most driveways has a slight slant to allow water to run-off to the street gutters.
Anything you do to dissolve the paint or with a pressure washer will also remove some asphalt.
I'd vote for a good pressure washer, as tar can be messy stuff since it too will probably dissolve under the action of paint stripper. Rent one if necessary, BEFORE the paint has had time to harden is best.
Once that is done, however, you will still be left with an image of what you stripped off. So I'd next take the opportunity to apply some blacktop sealer to the entire driveway.
Finally, ensure that the kids who did it will not repeat the action. Their paying for the work will help in that respect. If they are required to help do the repair itself, that would be best.
First fix the leak! Then attack the stain with a bristle brush and some dish detergent; if that doesn't do it, there are commercial cleaners for asphalt or concrete, like this that are a bit stronger. Don't expect 100% results, but the stain will fade over time:
Best Answer
I've always used cat litter. It's absorbent enough that it tends to pull the oil out of the concrete. Not sure how well it would work on a stain once it's set in for a while though, but it's cheap enough that you don't have much to lose by trying.