Concrete surfaces are unfortunately not completely immune to stains from different materials and liquids, including oil. Oil is a dark liquid that has no problem really seeping right into porous surfaces, like concrete. And since concrete is porous, it can retain things like dirt and oil stains while also being a notoriously difficult surface to clean.

For home or business owners, you might come across oil stains on concrete floors out in the garage or on concrete driveways. Oil stains can be an unpleasant sight to see when you pull into your driveway or as you are working in the garage.

Add in that oil stains can detract from the overall curb appeal of your home or business, and you may be wondering how to get oil stains out of concrete.

Today we want to take a brief look at how to remove old oil stains from concrete.

How to Remove Old Oil Stains from Concrete

As a concrete staining company in Columbus, Ohio, we know the importance of maintaining your concrete driveways and garage floors. Concrete, especially when used for driveways and garage floors, can face a lot of wear and tear from being walked and driven on, outside debris, and liquids like oil that can leave behind stains.

So, how can we get oil stains out of concrete? There are several ways that you can remove oil stains from concrete, but we’ll explore two below.

Using a Commercial Degreaser

Cleaning oil stains out of concrete may require the use of a commercial degreaser. A commercial degreaser is a product that is specially formulated to help in removing grease and oils from different hard surfaces – including concrete.

Commonly used in commercial and industrial settings, commercial degreasers work to remove the oil stains from the concrete without hurting the concrete itself. Once the commercial degreaser is applied to the concrete and the oil stains, it works to loosen the oil from the surface. From there, the oil stains can be cleaned away using a sponge or brush.

This process may need to be repeated a few times, depending on how old and intense the oil stain is.

Using a Poultice

While using a commercial degreaser is a rather aggressive method and perfect for oil stains of any size, using a poultice can be an effective method to cleaning oil stains out of concrete as well. Commonly used for smaller oil stains, a poultice is usually going to be a material that is able to absorb liquid very well. This might include sawdust or talc that is ground down into a powder.

From there, water will be poured over the oil stain before the poultice is spread over top of the stain. The poultice is then left to completely dry. Once it is has dried, a hard brush is used to scrape the poultice off of the area.

Similar to using a commercial degreaser, if the stain has not been completely removed, the process may need to be repeated.

Should you have more questions on how to get old oil stains from concrete, don’t hesitate to reach out to Trusted Coatings. As a concrete staining company, we know how important keeping your concrete clean and well maintained is.

Work with A Highly Rated Concrete Staining Company in Ohio

With a better idea of how to get oil stains out of concrete, you don’t have to feel the pressure to go about removing old oil stains from concrete or maintaining it yourself. Trusted Coatings is here to handle all of your concrete needs – from staining the already existing concrete in your home or business after oil stains have been removed to power washing concrete walkways and driveways that are in desperate need of maintenance.