so does anyone have any good tips/tricks for removing oil stains from a concrete driveway??

 

TSP and a scrub brush. Have also used solvent and oil dry.

 

What is TSP?

 

You can use the absorbent stuff made for soaking up spills (its like cat litter).

For small spots, I will use brake cleaner or carb cleaner w/ a towel.

 

i would guess this stuff: http://alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/tsp.html

 

Tri-Sodium-Phosphate
Trisodiumphosphate

Spelling. . . take your pick. ?????????????????? (I dunno for sure!)

 

You can find more info on this subject in this forum and the archives.

 

Castrol has a cleaner/degreaser in a purple container that works the best I have ever seen and its biodegradable. Costco has a similar item that works as well I am told by my neighbor. Brake cleaner spray is a good spot cleaner, too.

 

My son in law works for a paint company and his dad does painting and construction and they reach for the TSP first thing when prepping a floor or almost any surface for painting. I used it on my RV when I put on the roof coating.

 

Oil-Dry, or some other purpose made oil absorbing product from the auto parts store, works much, much better than kitty litter. I have tested this by buying both products and testing the results on two similarly stained areas. There is no comparison.

Once most of the oil is up, pour some Oil-Dry onto the stain and scuff it around with your shoes. Really grind it in. This will usually get rid of the last vestiges of the stain, in a way that just pouring the product on and sweeping it up never will.

 

Pulverize some drywall and work into the stain.

 

Oil Dry is just CHEAP cat litter that is over priced. I've actually found a brand of cat litter that works better and is reusable. I'll have to find the name after while, but it's what we use. Grind it in, sweep it up, no more oil spot.

 

I had heard the same theory as Mr. Pfogle advances, and had always bought the cheapest kitty litter I could find to clean my shop. But when Autozone had oil absorbent on sale, I decided to put the theory to a test.

The oil-dry product that I tested was based on diatomaceous earth. Most kitty litters, including the one I tested, are based on clay. In my testing, there was no comparison in effectiveness of removing oil stains from concrete. The diatomaceous product was far superior to the clay kitty litter, and the price was at least in the same ballpark as kitty litter, about $5.00 for 20 pounds. (You can get the cheapest kitty litter at the cheapest discount grocery stores for maybe half that, but my wife insists that only the $4.20 for 20 pounds kitty litter is good enough for our cats).

I would not be surprised to find that a CLAY based oil absorbent is no better than cheap clay kitty litter, but I feel that the diatomaceous earth stuff was well worth the extra money in this particular test.

Maybe there is a kitty litter based on something other than clay, and that's what Mr. Pfogle uses?

 

Most hardware stores will have TSP. It is with cleaning products or in the paint section. Ask - they will know where to find it.

 

I have found that just plan old portland cement will suck the crap out of it. Pretty cheap at the big boxes of cement companies. Keep some handy in a coffee can to throw on oil spills just before I throw the leaking vehicle off of my drive