oil stained concrete..What to do?

   / oil stained concrete..What to do? #1  
C

coffeeman

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Aug 7, 2005
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!

My front entrance to house has a portico covering 2 cars from weather. For a few summers I have used one side to park my Mahindra 4110 and mower out of weather.
NO problem till this year. Last fall, had to split tractor in half to do transmission repair. Now leaks Hytran on concrete, Since the concrete is collared brownish it doesn't look real bad.
But, wife is not real happy. However, my seat has stayed dry all summer. Since folks coming to my house this year, I have strategically parked my Exterra over the oil stains.
I just parked tractor today in garage. Mower cleaned, greased and parked for winter.

Any suggestions how to clean the oil up? It's all Hytran oil. It's crazy, Only had to replace about 1/2 gallon of fluid whole summer season. A little oil spreads a lot.
My concrete was dyed in the concrete truck. Color is all through, not painted. Hasn't been sealed for about 5 yrs. I wonder if oil eats through sealer? Maybe I should have
sealed yearly? Also, had one big stain when gas line was leaking on a visitors car. I never realized gas would do that? Road salt dripping from car causes
damage too.

May you all have a great thanksgiving day. Hoping today will lead to better days ahead for all, right into the New Year!!

Cheers......Coffeeman
 
   / oil stained concrete..What to do? #2  
Man, hydro fluid stains bad!!!!! I've tried several "miracle" cleaners but found none that removes that stain. I've not tried Muriatic Acid yet cause I'm afraid it will etch my floor.

Hopefully someone can chime in with a fix. I'm all ears.
 
   / oil stained concrete..What to do? #3  
I have never seen anything that will completely remove oil stain. You can use oil sorb material and even cat litter placed on the oil to try and draw the oil back out of the concrete pores but I don't think anything is going to remove completely the red tinted oil.
 
   / oil stained concrete..What to do? #5  
Concrete sealer should be reapplied as it wears off. Weather, traffic and sunlight all affects this timing. 5 years is a LONG TIME :)
Industrial concrete sealers will withstand transmission fluid, jet fuel, etc. Buy it at a good commercial paint store. May have to special order it. Way better than your box store stuff.

Muriatic acid is probably not a good idea. It will for sure open up the pores as it disolves the lime / calcium on the concrete it does reach.
I do not have a for sure suggestion i hate to say.

TSP (tri sodium phosphate i think it its) cleaning soap, found at paint stores for one place, might work well. Just mix the powder really strong with water, hot water would help, pressure washer also. Be sure your careful which way your blowing pressure washer or having the run off go. You might have oil all over. Also very likely to have the TSP leave "clean" streaks where it runs off. Been there , done that :)

Putting the TSP on as a powder and letting it soak and scrubbing it in sometimes works also. Then rinse off.

Cover with Oil dry or cat liter and pour in and let soak strong paint thinner such as MEK or toluene and let set till the thinner evaporates. Quite often the oil will move from the concrete to the oil dry.
Keep the thinner off your hands and eyes and remember its very flammable.

Simple green really strong might help at the end for final cleanup.
 
   / oil stained concrete..What to do? #6  
What about a special paint of some kind? I think there is one called Restore or Renu. . . I have used it before but never to cover a concrete stain. A concrete resurfacing (decorative) might work, but expensive - would look nice tho and make the wife happy.
 
   / oil stained concrete..What to do? #7  
TERMINATOR-HSD Concrete Cleaner was formulated to be the most concentrated oil stain remover in the market. It contains billions of micro-bacteria that digest oil and gas. Though originally designed for industrial and oilfield use, this oil stain remover is now available for consumers

Used this once on an oil stain that absolutely refused to clean up with anything I threw at it. I happened to hear about it on a weekend home repair show and thought it was worth a chance. It took 3 days, but once it was finished, you'd never know the stain had been there.

Amazon.com: Concrete and Driveway Cleaner by TERMINATOR-HSD (1�oz): Home & Kitchen
 
   / oil stained concrete..What to do? #8  
Spray the same oil on all the driveway. Then the leak won't be noticeable. :D

Bruce
 
   / oil stained concrete..What to do? #9  
Solvents and compressed air, are the dry cleaners secret weapons.

Soak the area that is stained, with mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, or any similar oil dissolving solvent, and allow it time to break up the oil. Then, get some towels and blot up the excess. Use compressed air to blow the rest out of the pours of the concrete, before it dries. Repeat until desired affect is achieved.

Reseal the concrete when you are satisfied with the way it looks.

It's not a lot of fun. But, it cleans it as well as you can get.

Non chlorinated brake cleaner, is lacquer thinner. And, it is a convenient way to remove smaller stains.
 
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