Let’s Admit it, we have no matter how well we take care of our vehicles, our lovely city, Calgary, takes a toll on them, and from time to time, they drip oil all over our lovely clean driveways. Then you are stuck staring at a dirty oil stain, on your fresh driveway. The Calgary snow hides it in the winter, but then, as the spring comes, you see it again. House cleaning services should extend past the interior walls of the home. Our cleaning company recommends you add oil stain cleaning to your spring clean routine, and here’s 3 easy methods to clean the oil off your driveway.
Fun Fact! The Cleaning team from the best Calgary cleaning company, wanted to pass along a life hack for our Calgary friends. Try using coca Cola on the stain. Just dump it on, let it sit, and rinse off. Works great in a pinch, and on a budget
Cleaning oil off Driveway: Cleaning supplies you may need
Small stains:
- A detergent with a bucket
- Fresh water
- And a stiff bristle brush
For small, hard to remove and older stains: poultice method is recommended
- Clean kitty litter
- Basic acetone or paint thinner
- Clean sheet of plastic just bigger than your stain
- Stiff bristle brush
Bigger stains:
- Generic degreaser or microbial cleaner
- A bucket or hose for water
- Stiff bristle brush
First, start by looking at the oil stain, and sizing it up. The size of the oil stain on your driveway will be a good indicator of what method you can use to clean the oil off.
Small oil stain on the driveway: Pour the cleaning detergent of choice on top of the oil stain, and let this sit for 10 minutes. This will allow the detergent to start breaking up the oil stain, and do some of the hard work for you. While that’s sitting, fill up the bucket with very hot water. Be careful not to burn yourself. After 10 minutes has passed, use the stiff bristle brush and hot water, and vigorously scrub clean the oil stained area. You may have to repeat the process a few times, to get a truly clean driveway.
Oil stains On the Driveway: How to Clean
For medium oil stains on the driveway: Start with mixing your poultice. This can be created when you mix your absorbing material, like kitty litter or garage sawdust, with your chemical. Together, they will create a paste, and work in unison to remove the oil stain. To understand how this method truly cleans the oil off your driveway, you need to know what each part does. Simply put, the chemical loosens the oil and releases it from the driveway, and the absorbent material, pulls it up and absorbs it within itself. Apply the paste ¼ inch thick all over the stain, and let sit 24 hours. One vital cleaning step not to miss, is to cover the poultice with plastic, so it doesn’t dry pout too fast. After 24 hours, rinse the affected area on the driveway off with a garden hose and some fresh Calgary water.
Outdoor House Cleaning
For large driveway oil stains: Three North Clean recommends using a professional enzyme/ microorganism that will actually eat away the oil. We use this same concept for kitchen odours, and smoke damaged homes in Calgary. With the super cold winters people tent to smoke inside more, and cleaning smoke of walls is a nightmare, unless you hire a professional cleaning company like us. Applying the same methodology to your driveway, you can purchase a microorganism product from amazon, like Terminator HSD. You can use, any microbial concrete cleaner, as a matter in fact. Just be sure to follow the specific cleaning instruction on the bottle, as they will vary cleaning agent to cleaning agent.
