You can remove oil stains from concrete using specialty degreasers and concrete cleaning products. To save yourself some money, you can try treating the stains using household products like baking soda, laundry detergent, or cat litter.

Whether your concrete surfaces are stained because your car has an oil leak or because you’ve been changing your own oil, those spots can be pretty unsightly—and they can cause problems if you want to seal, stain, or resurface your driveway/garage.

Luckily, removing oil stains from concrete is easier than you might think.

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and your resource for home and car care—has got your back! In this article, we’ll explain the best ways to remove oil stains from concrete using everyday household items, as well as which industrial products you can use for the really tough spots.

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How to remove oil stains from concrete

Apart from being potentially worrying signs of an oil leak, oil stains on concrete can greatly reduce the visual appeal of your house. This can impact the value of your home and make it difficult to do any resurfacing work.

That’s why it’s important that you remove stains from your driveway and garage when they occur. They may seem nearly impossible to remove—but with a little bit of know-how and some elbow grease, you should be able to remove those stains in no time!

Before you begin

There are several methods that you can use to remove oil stains on concrete. Before we dive into them, though, there are a few things to consider.

First, remember that oil is highly flammable. Even when wetted with water and cleaning solutions it can still pose a serious fire risk. Make sure that you properly dispose of any towels or cloths that you use to clean oil stains. Keeping them around could lead to a fire.

Second, oil and the cleaning products used to clear it away can be harmful to plant life.

If you have gardens, bushes, or even just grass near the area you’ll be cleaning, wet them down with water before you begin. This should help shield them from absorbing any harmful chemicals.

And third, consider the terrain that you’ll be working with. If your driveway or garage has an incline, begin working at the top—that way, water and other fluids will flow downward. You don’t want to wash oil down onto areas that you’ve already cleaned!

Treating fresh oil stains on concrete

There’s a big difference between treating an old oil stain and treating a fresh one. Old oil stains are much tougher, and we’ll address how to deal with those shortly.

First, though, let’s go over what to do about a fresh oil stain. If you’ve been vigilant and caught an oil stain early, that’s great news—you should be able to remove it much more easily.

Here’s what to do:

Absorb the oil. The first thing you need to do is remove any excess oil that’s still lingering. If you have cat litter, that will work very well. You can also use old rags if need be.

Scrub and rinse. Mix up a paste of baking soda and water and apply the paste to your stain. Then, scrub the spot with a brillo pad or hard-bristle brush. When you’re done, rinse the spot with water.

Scrub and rinse again. Finally, you’ll want to treat the spot with a generous dose of dish soap (Dawn works well). Then, vigorously scrub the spot with a scrub brush. Finish up by rising the spot with water.

For fresh oil stains, that should be more than enough to do the job! If the stain is still there when you’re done, it might be that it’s older than you thought.

MORE:

How to remove grease and oil from a car interior

Treating old oil stains on concrete

If you’re dealing with an older stain, you’ll need to get a bit more aggressive with your cleaning approach. To that end, there are two main approaches that you can take.

The first is to use common household items and soaps (such as Coca-Cola, laundry detergent, or oven cleaner) to address the problem.

If the first approach doesn’t work, you can always resort to using an

alkaline concrete cleaner

or degreaser. These products are specifically designed for cleaning oil stains—but many homeowners try to avoid using them because they can be highly flammable, toxic if inhaled, and cause serious chemical burns to your skin and eyes.

Alkaline concrete cleaners are definitely a nuclear option, but you may need them as a last resort.

MORE:

How to remove oil and grease from car doors

Best way to remove oil stains from concrete using household products

Before we look at the volatile concrete cleaner options, let’s see if we can’t remove your concrete oil stains with a more moderate approach.

Sometimes, the best way to remove oil stains from concrete is through a basic household product. Here are some options.

Cat litter

is great for absorbing just about anything. For older stains, you’ll likely need to use this approach in combination with some others, but it’s a great first step. Simply sprinkle the cat litter on the oil stain and let it sit.

Make sure to cover that stain completely. And you’ll want to use really cheap cat litter—it has more absorbing materials and fewer perfumes. High-quality cat litter won’t work (not to mention, it will cast a lot more).

Let the cat litter sit there for 30-60 minutes. It should pull out a lot of the oil near the surface of the concrete—it’s that absorbent! Then sweep it away. Do this two or three times.

Afterward, you’ll probably still have a stain, but hopefully a less severe one. Then it’s time to move on to some other options.

Laundry detergent

This is one of the simplest approaches and works well in combination with any of the other methods. Whichever strategy you use, it’s a good idea to use

laundry detergent

as well.

Add a generous amount of laundry detergent and water to the stain, then scrub—really scrub. Concrete is a very resistant surface and it’s going to take a lot of elbow grease to work the stains out.

Baking soda

Often, with a very bad oil stain, you can remove it by pouring on some

baking soda

. Let it sit for 30-60 minutes and then spray off the area with a hose. You’d be surprised how many oil stains will simply vanish after that!

Coca-Cola

This might be the cheapest option, and it’s surprisingly effective! All you have to do is pour 2-3 cans of good old-fashioned Coca-Cola on the stain, leave it for 24 hours, and then wash it away. If the stain is still there, repeat the process.

MORE: How to wash a car at home

How to remove oil stains on concrete using degreasers and concrete cleaners

So, you’ve thrown everything from Coke to cat litter at your oil stain, and it’s still there. So be it.

As mentioned before, there are concrete cleaners and degreasers which are specifically designed to remove oil stains. While effective, these products come with a number of hazards.

If you’re using one, you’ll probably want to

rent a power washer

—you don’t want to be scrubbing these chemicals up close! They can badly burn your skin on contact, and inhaling some of them can be dangerous.

That being said, not all of these products carry the same level of danger, just like they’re not all equally effective. If you’re going to use one, make sure to read the instructions carefully and follow them to the letter.

If you’re not sure which products to use, here are a few suggestions:

Most effective overall for oil stains:

Oil Eater Original’s Cleaner and Degreaser

is the most effective product out there for this kind of job.

Best eco-friendly option:

ACT Concrete Cleaner

is a great choice if you want to minimize the environmental impact of your stain-removal project.

Best on a budget: If you’re on a tight budget, you can get

Sunnyside’s Tri-Sodium Phosphate All Purpose Cleaner

for only about $15/pound.

Perfect for small stains:

Goof Off Concrete Cleaner

can be pretty effective, but it’s impractical for large stains.

Finding affordable home and auto insurance

You never know what sort of crisis you’ll be dealing with as a homeowner. Today it may be driveway stains. Tomorrow it could be a leaking roof or a garage fire.

The only way to be ready for whatever comes is to expect the unexpected. For homeowners, that means having comprehensive and reliable home insurance.

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FAQs

Is it important to remove oil stains from my driveway?

Oil stains are unsightly and can impact the visual appeal of your home, so it’s good to get them cleaned up. Beyond that, if you ever want to stain, seal, or resurface your driveway, you’ll have to get rid of any stains first.

How do I get oil spots off my garage floor?

Sprinkling cat litter and/or baking soda, scrubbing with laundry detergent and water, and using chemical concrete cleaners are all effective options for getting oil spots off your garage floor.

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