Removing oil stains from block paving

[Old Boggy]

I’m after a bit of advice as to the best way to remove oil stains from block paving. My car developed an oil leak which has now been sorted, but I now wish to somehow get rid of the quite bad stains.

I’ve tried ‘Gunk’ that I got from Halfords, but that hasn’t worked. Mr.Google suggests all sorts such as baking soda, vinegar etc.etc.

I’m therefore looking to the expertise of the PW massive as I’m sure that I’m not the first to have this problem. I’ve got a jet washer but understand rightly or wrongly that it could make matters worse by pushing the oil down deeper.

Any advice most gratefully received.

OB

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Just lift the stained blocks, turn over and refit!    

[Diver One]

I tried a mixture of biological washing machine liquid stuff ( sorry to be so technical 😂) and dishwasher tablets. Mashed up into a paste with some hot water. Let it sit for a few hours then ,"scrubbed" it off with the jet wash spinney brushy thing

[Bigbob]

You might be easier turning the brick when i tried it i used patio cleaner , heavy, duty degreaser  and then fairy liquid put it on scrub it in wait 15  minutes and power wash off i think i still see some remains and that was last summer 

[old'un]

Spray the whole drive with oil, it will all look the same then.

[ditchman]

there is a fluid (commercial) you can get ,,,you put it on the dry concrete and it looks like milk it soaks in and lifts the oil out....seen local garages use it under the lifts....

dont know how good it is.......have a word with your local garage ..see it you can blag some

[MrPhantom]

I just used fairy liquid and a sponge scourer on my drive, as that’s all I had. Rub in and leave to soak for a few minutes. Very effective on small areas and certainly worked for me. It will take a few goes though..

[humperdingle]

Use a light oil, like brake cleaner - it acts as a solvent for the engine oil, then lots of soapy washing-up liquid with water

[Old Boggy]

Thanks for all your replies.

Tightchoke and BigBob have given me an the idea, but turning them would not give the chamferred edge that they have. I`ve had a look round my garden and found a few spare pavers, so will have a go at lifting the stained ones and replacing them with the few I`ve found. Not sure whether they will be easy to get out, but perhaps drill and tap them somehow to get them out, or it may be a cold chisel and club hammer job.

I don`t think that I`ll be taking Old`un`s advice though

OB

[sandspider]

Petrol under clingfilm (to stop evaporation), leave for 20 mins. Hose off. Fairy liquid, scrub. That (as far as I remember) worked for me in the past on a heavily oil stained concrete drive.

Do not smoke while doing this!

[JKD]

5 hours ago, Old Boggy said:

Thanks for all your replies.

Tightchoke and BigBob have given me an the idea, but turning them would not give the chamferred edge that they have. I`ve had a look round my garden and found a few spare pavers, so will have a go at lifting the stained ones and replacing them with the few I`ve found. Not sure whether they will be easy to get out, but perhaps drill and tap them somehow to get them out, or it may be a cold chisel and club hammer job.

I don`t think that I`ll be taking Old`un`s advice though

OB

Some helpful advice above re cleaning 👍 If they don't clean up very well, best to lift a few from an area that isn't seen much and swap them over. If you get to the point that that needs doing, if you can hang on until I'm down your way and I'll gladly do that small task for you 🙃

[ph5172]

Funnily enough someone parked their car half on half off the path lagging loads of oil everywhere outside our house. 
I tried washing up liquid. Washing powder and even oven cleaner with no joy. 

Watching this with interest 

[Old Boggy]

40 minutes ago, JKD said:

Some helpful advice above re cleaning 👍 If they don't clean up very well, best to lift a few from an area that isn't seen much and swap them over. If you get to the point that that needs doing, if you can hang on until I'm down your way and I'll gladly do that small task for you 🙃

Many thanks Chris for your very kind offer but I will have a go myself as I’ve got far more time than you have with your busy schedule.

PM sent anyway.

[rapid rich]

‘Virosol’ you can find it on Amazon, comes in a 5l jar . It’s a natural citrus degreaser so when you scrub and wash it off it’s safe to rinse into drains . 
I’ve used it successfully many times on garage floor after car service oil spills

 

RR

[JKD]

13 hours ago, Old Boggy said:

Many thanks Chris for your very kind offer but I will have a go myself as I’ve got far more time than you have with your busy schedule.

PM sent anyway.

The offer is there if you need it 😉

[dipper]

On 04/04/2023 at 08:05, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Just lift the stained blocks, turn over and refit!    

 

On 04/04/2023 at 08:05, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Just lift the stained blocks, turn over and refit!    

Worked atMarshalls before retiring if you turn over you don’t have the face edge .Best bet get some more blocks cheap enough?

[harrycatcat1]

Washing powder left wet overnight shifts most things/stains. Easy enough to try anyway. 

[team tractor]

I was on a job the other day where ink was spilt on a brand new carpet. The guy said to use wd40 on a rag then dab it as it’s a degreaser . Never directly onto the carpet tho. 
maybe it’ll work  Granted he used a solvent but said it’s the same thing . 
tbh I’ve never seen anything remove oil from pavers tho .

[TIGHTCHOKE]

1 hour ago, team tractor said:

I was on a job the other day where ink was spilt on a brand new carpet. The guy said to use wd40 on a rag then dab it as it’s a degreaser . Never directly onto the carpet tho. 
maybe it’ll work  Granted he used a solvent but said it’s the same thing . 
tbh I’ve never seen anything remove oil from pavers tho .

Usually it's your claret!   

[oneshot1979]

Tried and tested method, with stories to back it up..... Brake cleaner, full gallon can of it and proper absorbent spill dry granules, NOT cat litter.

Saturate the stain with brake cleaner, this will break up the oil and lift it from the floor, keep the area wet with brake cleaner for a few minutes, it won't take much longer for it to dissolve the oil and mix together, cover with spill dry and allow to soak up solution, aggravate with a stiff brush once area is covered, for historic stains it may take two or three applications but you can attack it straight away once you've swept up the granules you've just used. I've done this on used engine oil stains, red diesel, EP90 (messy and miserable) all sorts. Never failed me yet.

[ditchman]

1 hour ago, oneshot1979 said:

Tried and tested method, with stories to back it up..... Brake cleaner, full gallon can of it and proper absorbent spill dry granules, NOT cat litter.

Saturate the stain with brake cleaner, this will break up the oil and lift it from the floor, keep the area wet with brake cleaner for a few minutes, it won't take much longer for it to dissolve the oil and mix together, cover with spill dry and allow to soak up solution, aggravate with a stiff brush once area is covered, for historic stains it may take two or three applications but you can attack it straight away once you've swept up the granules you've just used. I've done this on used engine oil stains, red diesel, EP90 (messy and miserable) all sorts. Never failed me yet.

sounds just the ticket

[team tractor]

4 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Usually it's your claret!   

My daughters room has blood off my fingers making her new bed 😂

[Old Boggy]

Many thanks for all the suggestions and a bit of an update on this.

I went to a local car factors to see what they had or could advise. The guy was most helpful and said they didn`t stock anything suitable but could order it in.

He then said that his boss had the same trouble and advised a far cheaper method as follows -:

Get the cheapest washing up liquid available, squirt it all over the oiled area and leave for a couple of hours. Scrub with a brush and then cover with cat litter. Leave for a few hours, remove the cat litter and wash with a jet spray.

I did this and after two applications all the staining had disappeared completely.

I noticed a post by oneshot1979 said `don`t use cat litter`, but it certainly worked for me and they were very bad and well soaked in oil stains.

Thanks to JKD for his offer to replace with some pavers I`ve found, so not now necessary, but if you`re passing, the kettle will be on for a cuppa and a chat.

OB

[ditchman]

cheers for the update 

[oneshot1979]

The trouble with cat litter is there are different kinds, higher grade products tend to be a sort of pumice like material, which is as good as any oil spill granule, the other end of the scale can be clay based, this will clump when wet, and worse, if used for oil spills with water and detergent will form a loam or batter that is akin to white wash. For simplicity I just suggested just don't use the stuff.