Tips to Remove Oil Stains from Concrete Garage Floors

Garage floors are exposed to oil spills and grease more often than other floors. The problem is even worse with the mechanic’s garage floor due to frequent spills of engine oils and grease. The spills do not only make your garage room unattractive but may pose the hazard of slip and fall due to the slipperiness of the oiled floor. Moreover, when you don’t clean dirty engine oil spills in time, they may cause stains on the garage floor. Not knowing the best way to clean oil stains on concrete floors makes the task a real hassle.  Below are some of the tips of getting that ugly sight out of your garage floor.

Methods of cleaning oil stains on concrete floors

Before you choose any method of cleaning oil stains on the garage floor, you need to do a thorough cleaning leaving only the stained spots for easy stain removal.  You will need to clear the garage floor off any obstruction followed by sweeping away of the debris and dust. Wash the surface while scrubbing using a stiff brush and rinse the floor. After that, use the following methods to remove the resistant stains.

Use laundry detergent

It is a proven way of removing oil stains on concrete floors that haven’t stayed on the floor for a long period.  Tons of people rely on this method due to its simplicity and affordability.  All you need to do is to blot out all the oil spills on the floor surface as much as you can. After that, mix the laundry soap in a large amount with warm water in a large bucket. Next, pour some extra soapy water directly on the stain spot and wait for a few minutes for the stain to soak. Using a nylon brush, scrub the floor thoroughly and rinse it with high-pressure water from a garden hose. If your floor stain persists, then you need to try out other ways that we’re going to discuss below.

Use of kerosene

It is a cheaper and innovative way of cleaning oil spills and greasy spots from your floor. Kerosene being an inorganic solvent will break down the strong bonds in the oil or grease, thus making them easy to clean off. For this method, you will need to saturate the stain spots with kerosene and scrub using a stiff nylon brush until the stains come out.  Rinse the floor with high-pressure water from a garden hose until all the dye is no longer present.

Use of Tri-sodium phosphate

This chemical is another cheaper way of cleaning oil stains on concrete garage floors. It is a crystalline cleanser like soap and works pretty well in removing oily stains from the floor surface.  The cleaner will break down the oil and grease stains, making it easy for you to remove the ugly stains.  Use of the chemical is not only recommended for oil stains but also for dissolving other oily substances.

Use of oven cleaner

The cleaner works pretty fast. You can effectively use it for removing oil, grease and transmission oil stains off your concrete garage floor. Spray the oven cleaner on the stained spots and let it stay for about 15 minutes. Scrub the spots with a stiff nylon brush and rinse them off with high-pressure water from the garden hose. If all the stains are not yet off the floor, you will have to apply a second round of the cleaner on the spots and scrub again to remove the stains.

You can also use other home-made solutions such as mixing a paste of sawdust and thinner and pouring mineral spirits on the stain spots.

Cleaning of oily and greasy stains can be carried out easily using the methods above. However, the time taken to clean the oil and grease stains will depend on the effectiveness of the method you choose to use and the size of the stain.  Moreover, you should be more than careful when using the industrial-grade cleansers to avoid any possible poisoning.