Craig (CraigR3454@aol.com) wrote:
>Fellow SOLers,
>
>I come bearing several questions. My situation is this, my lanlord has told
>me "To get those damned oil spots off of the driveway!" To which I reply, "My
>Bugeye leak oil?! Never, except when there's oil in it." My problem is that
>most of it is very dried. Any suggestions as to how to remove dry oil spots?
This was discussed a couple of years ago, but unfortunately I don't
remember where I saved the thread (if I did). The two suggestions that
I've found most effective (and which were reprinted in a club newsletter
that I also can't find), were the "oven cleaner trick" and the "kitty
litter & brick trick."
The first one is good for the gooey variety of oil spot. Basically you
spray the area down with your favorite variety of oven cleaner, scrub,
rinse, and repeat. (Not too environmentally friendly I suspect, but
hey, I was desperate when I came up with it.) This method doesn't work
for those stubborn stains, but it's great for baked-on grease... . ;^)
The second trick works for both wet oil and stains, but it's only
effective on concrete. Take some kitty litter, spread it on the oil,
then take your handy brick (I use a cinder block), crush the kitty
litter thoroughly and grind it around with the brick. For fresh oil,
what this does is greatly increase the surface area and absorbative
powers of the kitty litter. For old stains I suspect it really just
covers them up, but that's what it's all about in the world of rental
housing. ;^) (I wish I could remember who originally suggested this
method, 'cause it saved me a lot of grief when a jug of old oil sprung a
leak and ran under the wall into my neighbor's garage.)
-coryc
Bonus tip: Don't store old oil in plastic milk jugs for more than a
year or so... it eventually eats through the plastic.
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