Oil spill cleanup
 

Hey,

We had a party last night and one of my housemates had left a tub of used motor oil on the back concrete deck. It got spilled.

So we've put kitty litter on it to try and absorb it. Is there anything else we can do to try and clean that up? Is there anything that will help remove the scum on the concrete?

I looked around on google but everything seemd to be about heating oil spills or industrial problems.

Anyways thanks for any help

You can use muriatic acid to try to clean it but I CANNOT OVER EMPHASIZE HOW CAREFUL YOU HAVE TO BE WITH IT!!!!!!

It's an extremely caustic acid that is used for etching concrete in preparation for paint (i.e. garage floors). If you only leave it on for a few seconds it should clean up the scum.

WEAR GLOVES AND AVOID BREATHING IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's sold at Home Depot or Lowes for about $5 per gallon. It's stored outside in the garden area in case of spillage.

Maybe sawdust? Maybe Home Depot or Pep Boys has some solutions.

There are also concrete cleaner solutions that are made to be used with a pressure washer. Check out all of the stuff made by Zep.

It was an accident, but I think it can be really bad for the local water table unless your soil types and underground water flows happen to be "favorable". I have a copy somewhere of a calculation made by a very respected scientist/customer of our's who worked for DuPont. Based on reliable data and assumptions, he showed how even one quart of spilled oil develops into a very very thin layer slick that spreads out over the local water table and even at the very low levels that would be realistically expected it will pollute the local water for anyone who has a well in the area. I'm not sure what you can do about it other than call local EPA "annonymously" and ask if it's something to be concerned about.

Try this site: www.ehow.com/how_113258_clean-oil-spots.html

for all the oil spots in my garage at home i just put some Gojo orange hand cleaner on the spots and scrub it around then spray clean with either a spayer or the hose.
I has always taken up the oil spots for me, but they are semi fresh when i use it.....

Another approach that I have used with some success is Easy-Off oven cleaner and a wire bristle brush. Wear gloves during use and give it some time to sit when you first spray it on.

dawn detergent will break it down pretty well too!

Ive used petrol on small oil stains(about4inches) let it soak for about 3 seconds then lite it with a match. and hey presto...but you must not use too much just enough to cover the stain.also its a good idea to remove the petrol container far away from the lit match..

I have some massive oil stains in my driveway. In the past few weeks, i've scrubbed with everything imaginable and pressure washed.. still stained.

I bought some stuff called pour-n-restore last weekend, but have only gotten a chance to try it on a test area so far. It seems like the stuff REALLY works. It was $7.00 for a small bottle (2 sq feet coverage) and you just pour it on there and wait about 5 hours and sweep it up (turns to a powder).

I'll post up some pictures once it's done before and after.

I would contact your local health department. You dont need to be anonymous because they dont care and they will probably be extremely helpful. Good Luck

Degreaser and a steam cleaner (the kind they advertise on TV that shoots a jet of steam at whatever surface you're cleaning. Put a tarp under the deck, and once the degreaser soaks in, spray it with the steam and soak up what comes out with a sponge. It's best to spray at an angle and have the sponge (soaked in degreaser then wrung out) right in front of where you're spraying.

This just gets me here....6. As a last resort, combat tough spills with muriatic acid and a pressure washer. Apply the acid following the manufacturer's directions, and let it soak for several seconds. Follow with a pressure washer set at 2,500 to 3,000 lbs. per square inch (psi), or 176 to 211 kg per square cm. Like TSP, muriatic acid is a dangerous product; likewise, if you must use it, wear rubber or latex gloves, safety goggles and protective clothing, and never wash such a product down storm drains


But what really gets me is this...never wash such a product down storm drains

How can you stop the water ?

Pour and restore realy does work. There are a number orf those out now, and they really do the trick.

right on, thanks guys