How to Remove Oil Stains from Your Driveway
Think about the last time you saw a freshly paved driveway. The new pavement was uniformly black in color and surely stood in stark contrast to the faded and stained pavement surrounding it. Unfortunately it probably wasn’t too long before an oil stain showed up on this driveway, and many people are under the impression that it’s impossible to get oil stains off a driveway.
AC Paving takes pride in our ability to provide you with a perfect driveway, but it will require regular maintenance to stay this way. Among the greatest threats to your driveway are oil stains. So what can you do to remove oil stains from your driveway?
Don’t Get Oil Stains on Your Driveway!
This may seem pretty obvious, but there are several steps you can take to protect your driveway from oil stains in the first place. First and foremost, you should make sure that any cars or lawn mowers you own are properly maintained, so that they don’t leave oil stains behind.
Beyond that, it’s also a good idea to lay a drop cloth on your driveway if you plan to work on a vehicle. That way, even if the vehicle is leaking oil you won’t have to deal with removing oil stains from your driveway.
Get Oil off Your Driveway Right Away!
As with stains on your clothing, you have a better chance of removing oil stains from your driveway if you clean the oil up right after it gets on the driveway. In this situation, the best substance you can have available is kitty litter. Kitty litter is good for absorbing fluids other than the ones produced by cats, and that includes oil stains.
In order for the kitty litter to absorb as much oil as possible, cover the stain completely and let it sit overnight. The next day, after using a broom to clear away the kitty litter, apply dish detergent to the stain, scrub it and hose it off. Repeat this process as many times as necessary to remove the oil stain from your driveway.
Another option is to use a commercial driveway cleaning product, but make sure you’re using a product made for asphalt and not concrete, because if not you could damage your driveway.
How to Remove Old Oil Stains From Your Driveway
Cleaning up fresh oil stains is difficult enough, but getting oil off your driveway once the stain has set in can be a nearly impossible task. That’s why many homeowners opt to use driveway sealer to mask old oil stains. However, this is a costly and time-consuming solution, and there’s actually another option before resorting to driveway sealer.
The first step is to apply baking soda or trisodium phosphate (TSP) to the oil stain. After using a brush to rub the baking soda or TSP into the stain, let it sit for an hour before washing it away with water. Just make sure to be careful with TSP, as it’s a very caustic substance.
Hopefully by following these tips you’ll be able to remove the oil stains from your driveway. However, if you’d rather leave your driveway maintenance to professionals, AC Paving would be more than happy to help you out. Just call (410) 923-6100 or click here to contact us online.