Product that will clean & remove oil stains on concrete in a garage?

We have a newer concrete driveway that sometimes gets abused by contractors or service personnel. We try to observe and remove these oil stains ASAP. We use TSP for large areas or areas not treated immediately or this Easy off spray for stains we catch right away. Scrub with a stiff plastic kitchen type brush and rinse with water. Remember to wear personal protection as labels might direct.

I used cat litter and baking soda pour Dawn soap and rince.

a simple purple degreaser will work

You can’t scrub oil and grease stains away. The trick is to draw them up out of the concrete. To do this, mix trisodium phosphate (or a TSP substitute) with water and an absorbent material to make a smooth paste. (See “Buying Absorbent Materials”.) The cleaner slowly soaks into the concrete and breaks up the old oil, and the absorbent captures it. Once the paste dries, the cleaning action stops, and you can scrape and sweep it away (Photo 3). Either throw it away or renew it with more TSP and water and reapply it for deeper cleaning. Use a nylon brush for cleanup (Photo 4). A wire brush may leave steel particles, which can cause rust stains.

Patience is the key. Old, long neglected stains may require two or three applications for complete removal. And even then, some stains might still show, or the freshly cleaned area might look slightly different from the surrounding concrete.

Kitty litter is good at absorbing up the mess, and our local car detailer uses Dollar Tree Awesome Degreaser.

WD-40. Did a leaky oil pan leave a big ugly spot in the middle of your concrete driveway? To get rid of an unsightly oil spot, just spray it with a generous amount of WD-40 and then hose it down with water.

Soda (Coca Cola). Here’s how to remove oil stains from concrete drive-ways and garage floors: Gather up a small bag of cat litter, a few cans of cola, a stiff bristle broom, bucket, laundry detergent, bleach, eye protection, and rubber gloves. Cover the stain with a thin layer of cat litter and brush it in. Sweep up the litter and pour cola to cover the area. Work the cola in with a bristle broom, and leave the cola for about twenty minutes. Mix 1/4 cup laundry detergent with 1/4 cup bleach in 1 gallon (3.7 liters) warm water and use it to mop up the mess.

Oven Cleaner. Get those unsightly grease, oil, and transmission fluid stains off your concrete driveway or garage floor. Spray them with Easy Off No Fume Oven Cleaner in the BLUE can. Let it settle for 5-10 minutes, then scrub with a stiff brush and rinse it off with your garden hose at its highest pressure. Severe stains may require a second application.

Kool-Aid. Nasty rust stains on your concrete? Mix unsweetened lemonade Kool-Aid with hot water. Scrub and the rust stain should come right out.

Baking Soda. Salt and commercial ice-melt formulations can stain — or actually eat away — the concrete around your house. For an effective, but completely innocuous, way to melt the ice on your steps and walkways during those cold winter months, try sprinkling them with generous amounts of baking soda. Add some sand for improved traction.

Ammonia. Tired of those annoying discolorations on your concrete work? To get rid of them, scrub with 1 cup ammonia diluted in 1 gallon (3.7 liters) water. Hose it down well when you’re done.

Pressure washer

Hi Carolyn, automobile shops sell an oil degreaser that works like a charm. Just follow the instructions on the back and the concrete should be as good as new.

Grind the kitty litter into the stain with a scrap of 2x4. Let sit a couple of days, sweep up.

Then degrease with a degreaser and power wash. You have to break down the oil, so let it sit and scrub it in with a brush.

If you can’t or don’t want to power wash (splashes), then use bucket of hot water and broom out side.

Hello Carolyn,

Try using a strong detergent mix or use a Concrete cleaner.