5 Ways to Remove Oil Stains From Your Driveway

By Certified Master Techs in Auto Mechanics Auto Repair Information

Oil stains on the driveway are an ugly nuisance. Ugh! What most people don’t know is they can remove nasty oil stains from their driveway with a few simple steps.

Classic vehicles, although awesome in so many ways, can sometimes slowly drip oil on your paved driveway. Over the course of time — and especially if that beauty is always parked in the same spot — those oil stains add up.

A person might think there is nothing that can be done to remove oil stains without re-paving the driveway.

This person is wrong.

Following are 5 ways to remove oil stains from a paved driveway without breaking the bank.

1. Use Oven Cleaner to Remove Oil Stains

Start by spraying oven cleaner over the oil stain until it fully saturates the stain. Wait at least 15 minutes for the oven cleaner to soak in.

Find a hard steel brush and scrub using as much elbow grease as possible. A hard bristled brush will also work like magic.

As you scrub you’ll notice the oil stain begin to disappear. Keep scrubbing until you see nothing remaining.

Oil stains can sometimes come back after they have been scrubbed away. If this happens, repeat the same process a second time to completely blast it away.

2. Use Detergent

A commercial detergent isn’t needed to remove oil stains.

Any type of soap or detergent will do just fine. The key is in the scrubbing.

Find a brush with very hard bristles, or a strong wire brush. Use warm to hot water mixed in with the detergent.

Cover the oil stain in the soapy mixture and start scrubbing. Watch the nasty stain begin to lift.

Rinse with hot water, then repeat the process.

3. A Couple Cans of Coca-Cola

Very deep and large stains may not react favorably to this method. But if there’s a small pavement stain that just happened, Coca-Cola could be the answer.

Take a can or two of Coke and pour it over the stain before bedtime. Let it sit overnight to work its magic.

In the morning, rinse thoroughly with water. Assuming that the driveway doesn’t have a large slope (which would cause the Coke to run off), the stain should be eliminated.

4. WD-40

WD-40 isn’t just for use on annoying squeaky hinges.

Take a can of WD-40 and spray the oil stain until covered.

Let it sit overnight, then rinse away the mess in the morning.

Most of the stain will get rinsed away in the water. In many cases, there will be no remaining signs of the stain.

5. Heaps of Baking Soda

Completely cover the stain with large amounts of baking soda. Once in place, start to scrub the stain with a steel brush and watch how the baking soda beings to turn black.

After scrubbing, wait for a half-hour before rinsing off with a hose.

Repeat if necessary.