Dumped four gallons of used oil on the garage floor

[Elkins45]

Long story short I knocked over a bucket of used oil in the garage. I managed to get the door open and grab a shop broom and move the bulk of it out into the drive. What a mess! Any suggestions on cleanup beyond kitty litter and Dawn?

 

[JOD]

I'd done this as well. Honestly, kitty litter is recommended for a reason! Non-clumping clay litter works better than just about anything. Saw dust works well--and wood shavings work OK if you have chickens and have some laying around. But it's hard to beat the surface area of kitty litter. You may have to rinse/repeat a few times. I big push broom will come in handy.

 

[VQLT]

absorbent bed pads. lay them with the absorbent side on top of the oil. it should soak up most of it and of course kitty litter

 

[Chris142]

Throwing anything on it like dirt,sawdust or cat litter is the first thing to do.

 

[john_pifer]

You told on yourself! EPA is on their way!

 

[TheLawnRanger]

Oil dry is your pal. Kitty litter is the same but with a clumping agent. I don't remember the brand of oil dry I have right now (may be Oil Dri brand) but I looked up the industry history and it is actually very interesting.

 

[bbhero]

Like the guys have said... Kitty litter first obviously... I want to say I used Goo be Gone and it really took away the oil spot on my step dad's back step area which was small pebble rock embedded with concrete. . . It totally took that spot away... I was impressed. I thought I was the only one to have done something this awesome

 

[spasm3]

I like sawdust, as you can sweep it up and burn it afterwards. Simple green should help clean it up. I have used Westleys Bleach white tire cleaner for dark spots.

 

[JHZR2]

So sorry to hear that. Kitty litter is good but has limitations. There is a liquid product which draws oil out and dries to a whiteish brown powder which can be swept up. Forget the name but it's a white liquid.

 

[Lyman]

Home depot sells a good driveway cleaning fluid after you get the liquid up.

 

[KD0AXS]

I did this last time I changed the oil in my truck, except I didn't just spill used oil. I forgot to put the drain plug back in and dumped 4 gallons of Rotella T6 in, which went right out the bottom and overflowed my drain pan all over the floor. Obviously the one small bag of kitty litter I had on hand wasn't enough. Had to go get more litter and 4 more gallons of oil.

 

[AC1DD]

Originally Posted by Elkins45

Long story short I knocked over a bucket of used oil in the garage. I managed to get the door open and grab a shop broom and move the bulk of it out into the drive. What a mess! Any suggestions on cleanup beyond kitty litter and Dawn?

No pics?!?!? In any case I hope your clean up goes quickly and well. These spills seem to take forever to clean up

 

[bbhero]

Wow... Holy cow... Well one time I was a World Champion and forgot to take out the screw top on the drain pan... Hot oil and I had to get that top unscrewed... Great combination there I got it done with only minor redness to my hand.

 

[dlundblad]

My local farm store has an absorbent stuff like cat litter, but seems to work much better on spills. Used some a while back on some spilled gear oil. Comes in large bags, but only weighs 25 lbs IIRC.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd contain it, scoop up as much as possible, blot up what I could, and get kitty litter or speedy dry and cover it with it. Sweep it up and re-apply after it is fully loaded with oil. Once I got all I could up, soak it with simple green and scrub it, then power wash it if possible. If power washing is not an option, simple green wash and dry, as much as needed. I've had a small spill or two over the years and was successful cleaning it up that way.

 

[atikovi]

Why do you have used oil in a bucket in the first place? They sell proper drain pans that are nearly impossible to tip over and much easier to empty.

 

[SeaJay]

I worked in a grocery store back in the day. As the low man on the totem pole I was the one who was called to clean up any mess. Cooking oil was the worst. Kitty litter was far and away the most efficient way to get the oil off of the floor. Not sure about stain removal, but kitty litter for the oil removal.

 

[WyrTwister]

Might try paint thinner followed by the kitty litter on the difficult spots ?

 

[DriveHard]

We use "Pig Mats" here at work. https://www.newpig.com/pig-absorbent-mat/c/5001?show=All

 

[bradepb]

I hope your not married