Removing oil stains on concrete

[TXBowhunter2009]

Muriatic acid will bleach the concrete. Pour it on wet concrete, brush it in, and rinse.

Muriatic acid will dissolve the concrete if you don't rinse it off quick enough! At the least it will leave the surface off the driveway rough.

[blacksunshine]

someone should try a euro with the muriatic acid and post up pics of the results

[Bill M]

Bag of concrete and let it sit for a few days. It will draw it out.

[41Chevy]

Muriatic acid will dissolve the concrete if you don't rinse it off quick enough! At the least it will leave the surface off the driveway rough.

Very true. It can be some nasty stuff if you misuse it. But if used correctly works great.

Directions for working with Muriatic Acid:
Wear protective clothing, rubber gloves and plastic safety glasses while using. To etch or clean concrete and masonry or metal:
Dilute to desired strength by adding acid carefully to water, avoid splashing.
Start with a highly diluted mixture and strengthen gradually (1 part acid to 20 parts water).
Apply solution. Bubbling indicates solution is strong enough.
Flush thoroughly with clean water and immediately after cleaning or etching is complete.

Cleaning Masonry With Muriatic (Hydrochloric) Acid
Masonry can be very alkaline, which makes for poor adhesion of paints, etc. Washing masonry with muriatic acid neutralizes the alkalinity, leaving it in optimal condition to accept paints and other coatings. When cleaning masonry with muriatic acid, a powdery residue is left on the surface. Once that residue is rinsed off, you are left with a very clean, coating friendly surface.

[kfd82]

We have had good luck just putting powdered Tide (or any other brand) laundry soap on oil stains. Just sprinkle a little over it, then the next day sweep that off and repeat until its gone.

[outdoordaddy]

Non-chlorinated brake cleaner

[SaltwaterSlick]

Kitty Litter sprinkled on the spot for a few days will work wonders and won't make a big mess. After it has been on a day or two, sweep it up and dispose of it. Put a second coat down and just sort of grind it into the stain with the sole of your shoe by scraping it back and forth. Let that sit a day or two, and sweap that up. The stain will be 99% gone. If you want to finish it off completely, you can use the purple stuff and a scrub broom or a power washer if you want, but given a little sunshine time, the stain will disipate completely after the kitty litter treatments... the kitty litter actually works better than the oil-sorb stuff you get at auto parts stores...

[daveally]

WD-40 works when I relube my motorcycle chain in the driveway and get black gunk on the concrete.

[alec73065]

Kitty Litter sprinkled on the spot for a few days will work wonders and won't make a big mess. After it has been on a day or two, sweep it up and dispose of it. Put a second coat down and just sort of grind it into the stain with the sole of your shoe by scraping it back and forth. Let that sit a day or two, and sweap that up. The stain will be 99% gone. If you want to finish it off completely, you can use the purple stuff and a scrub broom or a power washer if you want, but given a little sunshine time, the stain will disipate completely after the kitty litter treatments... the kitty litter actually works better than the oil-sorb stuff you get at auto parts stores...

This is what we have done in every machine shop I have worked in . Works every time.

[BuckySWT]

even if it's not a fresh stain? This one is months in the making...bout 2.5 ft across..jet black.

[tvc184]

simple green or try plain ol liquid dawn i have squirted it on many an oil spot on the concrete and just let it soak in. It wont get the whole thing up but it will make it not as bad.

I had an oil stain on a concrete deck at my old house. One night I spilled some Tide liquid detergent with bleach on the stain. It was late and I left it overnight. When I hosed it off the next day, the places where the Tide ran were completely white and looked like new concrete.

So Simple Green or Dawn might work the same way. Just let it soak for a day or two and then hose it off and see.

[J.B.]

Wd-40

[jmac2410]

X10 on the kitty litter

[Tommyh]

good ol spray can brake parts cleaner....works like a champ on pretty much any kind of oil stain....gets oil/grease stains out of clothes, vehicle seats, etc....

AND is smells good!

[blacksunshine]

AND is smells good!

varsol...now that's some sweet smelling stuff....