I have some oil spots on a walk way and stairs I’m trying to get out and I tried muriatic acid and bleach with dawn soap, neither one works like at all. I’ve also tried degreaser. You guys have any advice on how to get it out of the concrete and / or brick.
Are you using hot water?
I’ve heard kitty litter works well, drop it on spot ,crush in with boot ,wait a month.
Me on the other hand would use HCS400 ,let it set 10 minutes or less and turbo it @ 200 degrees .
Spray it with 12.5 and wait
Haven’t tried heat yet.
Ill have to look up HCS400
Kitty litter and time will do a lot but that looks like a pretty set in stain. You’ll probably need a stout degreaser and heat to lift it.
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Dragon juice may work
Sodium hydroxide mixed strong to emulsify that followed by hot water. That’s more than oil. While wet crush in oil dri. Wait a couple weeks. Looks like grease more than oil.
@Justin6489 It doesn’t look like oil it looks like paint. Perhaps someone dumped out a container filled with mineral spirits or lacquer thinner loaded with a enamel. Try a solvent on it.
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I know you said you threw some Dawn in with the sh but sh isn’t going to do anything to a grease or oil stain. Remember, SH is used for organic stains. By organic I mean algae, leaf stains, mildew, etc. Acids are more for mineral deposits such as rust or hard water stains. Be careful when using Muriatic because it will etch concrete. Etch it too much and it’s definitely noticeable.
As mentioned you really want a Hydroxide based cleaner for grease and oil along with some hot water. Some of the purple type cleaners have Hydroxide in them but not all. You have to look at the ingredients. They are all pretty weak and diluted though so you’re better off seeing if you have a local pressure washing store or order online.
Do forget about the kitty litter. @squidskc posted a video awhile back on how he removed an oil stain just from using it. It works really well on newer stains. It just really depends on how old it is. If it’s an old stain there will likely always be a shadow.
Be sure to listen to @dperez. It might not be grease at all and his recommendation might just be the ticket.
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It’s oil. It’s actually my own walk way lol. I changed the oil in my diesel truck and left it in a bucket like a dummy, it rained the next day and splattered it everywhere. This was about 2 months back. I tried to get it up the day after it happened but it lightened it some and wouldn’t come out. Tried the acid and let it sit but never came out. I will try what you guys are suggesting and see if it works. Thanks guys.
MEK will work, or similar.
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Acid won’t get the oil out. You’re at the wrong end of the ph scale. I guess if you let it sit long enough it might etch or eat the concrete away though.
If you ever spill oil and, it’s fresh, your best bet is kitty litter or dry sweep. You have to really step on, twist, and grind it into the concrete with the soles of your boots. The sooner you throw the kitty litter on the better. You can get most of it up that way.
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That will never come up completely. You can lighten it up with sodium hydroxide based degreaser. I buy some locally already made and spike it up with some pure hydroxide to make it even stronger. Apply directly undiluted. Let it sit for 20min. Agitate it a few times with a stiff bristle deck brush and keep it wet. Surface clean with hot water at the highest temperature. Rinse. Repeat a few times. It would hurt to let the degreaser sit over night a few times. Be sure the concrete is dry before applying to get the full effect. Next you can look into oil eating enzymes. I’ve never used them but I’d be interested in your results. Share them here is you do.
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My father in law has owned a business for 25 years selling good bacteria or enzymes. He mainly uses them as a part of maintenance for restaurants, schools, sewer treatment plants, and even factories such as ADM. He pumps them into grease traps and the “bugs” basically consume or eat the grease. This prevents the places from having to have the grease pumped out and saves them a lot of cash. The ingest and breakdown so much of the grease that it turns it to liquid which can then just go down the drain. He showed me what they can do once by pouring some into a jar of used black motor oil. After a couple days that black motor oil was tan in color and basically as thin as water. You can also spray them on compost piles. What would normally take 6 months might take 6 weeks. The enzymes are the same thing we have in nature. You know, good bacteria. It’s just in a highly concentrated form. It’s the same stuff they tell you to pour in septic tanks. I’ve never tried them on oil stains. If you use them the key is keeping them wet. If they dry they won’t work. That would be the only challenge when using them on a customer’s property. They take time to consume or ingest the oil and grease. My in-laws are coming up at the end of the month so I’ll have him bring some so I can see what they can do. He works with a micro biologist out of Texas. The system or setup he has in place produces the highest count of bacteria out there. No other lab can match the numbers he puts out. The world of enzymes has really came a long way. It’s amazing what they can do.
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Does he know if there is a bug you can put in your septic tank so you don’t have to have it drained as often?
I’m sure you’ve heard of Rid-X. You can get it about anywhere. It’s basically the same thing as mentioned above. It’s good bacteria that helps speed up decomposition. Healthy septic tanks already have good bacteria but adding more pretty much super charges it. Different products have different counts of bacteria. The more bacteria the better and faster they are going to work. My father-in-law says Rid-X is crap compared to what he uses but I’m sure he’s being a little bias. In an environment where the bugs have a constant food source they continue to multiply. That’s a big reason why they say not to flush bleach or other chemicals down the drain when you’re on a septic tank. It kills some of the good bacteria.
I think I might have a 5 gallon pail of the my father-in-laws “bugs” in powder form. He mainly makes it in liquid but years back was going to market a flushable pouch for septic tanks. I’ve had them for awhile so I’ll have to ask him if they’re still good. If they are I’ll mail you some. I’m guessing they’re fine and are activated once wet. You just sprinkle half a cup down the toilet once a month.
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F9 Double Eagle or Zep Purple straight with a deck brush. Dwell 20 minutes. Surface clean.
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Ill pay you for your troubles for sure. Its the least i can do for charging you card $260 lmao.
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