Oil spill cleanup products?

[MilesTeg]

So I had a "fun adventure" today changing the oil on my 2018 2.5 ecoboost. By fun I mean I ended up spilling about a quart of oil and a good half cup or so made it off my absorber mat and onto on my smoothed garage floor. To make matters worse, the spill got all over my winter wheel with all it's sipes and I tracked some oil onto my textured driveway.

What's the best way to clean this up that doesn't involve water/rinsing with a hose/pressure washer? My neighborhood drains directly to a river and I don't want to pollute. Any products that work like a homemade poultice (apply, let dry, sweep up) that work and are not dangerous to your health?

 

[gogydm]

Kitty litter will soak it right up, even from the concrete if you leave it long enough. They sell the oil absorber at the auto stores too, same thing just cheaper, dustier, and not scented.

 

[Deleted member 89374]

Non-chlorinated break cleaner to clean concrete/driveway.

 

[spasm3]

Wood ashes.

 

[Egg_Head]

Kitty litter will soak it right up, even from the concrete if you leave it long enough. They sell the oil absorber at the auto stores too, same thing just cheaper, dustier, and not scented.

Cheapest, private store branded kitty litter!

 

[kballowe]

We use Mr. Clean - but Purple Power I think is a bit stronger. Experiment on the dilution ratio.

 

[Snagglefoot]

After removing the absorbent material you can get more of the oil stain out with Oil Eater. Available on Amazon. A few applications and rubbing with paper towels will fade the stain. Approved for food service so it’s not bad for the environment I guess.

 

[Pablo]

I never found cat litter a great absorber of oil. Great for water based liquids, but it kinda ignores oils.

BUT yest for a bulk spill, it works in a pinch as a dam then the whole mess can be scooped and bagged in an emergency.

This is better: https://www.amazon.com/Chemsorb-ABSORBENT-SP30GA-L5B-Universal-Pesticides/dp/B07BGCRDCY

This works: https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Concentrate-Floor-Absorbent-Bagged/dp/B00GP57QVU

 

[Joel_MD]

When I was a kid we always had oil leaks on the driveway and garage floor. My dad showed me how to take Oil-Dri (kitty litter) and grind it into the concrete with the heel of a shoe. It works pretty well to remove stains if you use it that way.

 

[D60]

I've always used the cheap oil absorbent from any FLAPS. Lots of debate online which is cheaper - kitty litter or this. I think it depends on where you're shopping for kitty litter and if you maybe have a Costco membership etc.

IME in the past comparing online pricing even the cheapest kitty litter was more expensive per pound on walmart's site vs the big bag of oilsorb at AZ. It has been a number of years and I tired of the debate so YMMV. If someone else says I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

You can typically (and I do) reuse the oilsorb over and over. I fill a 5 gal bucket, scoop it onto spills, and then sweep up and throw it back into the 5 gal bucket. If it's a gooey mess it's pretty well done for, but if it's just light black use it again.

A single bag from AZ lasts me YEARS, and I spill a fair bit of oil, ATF and coolant.

Let the oilsorb work for a few days. If it is a gooey mess, swap it out for fresh stuff and repeat. Then finish off with brake cleaner (not 50 State stuff, it's worthless) and an old t-shirt mopped around under your boot.

Then give it another 24 hours before final judgment-- I bet any stain will only be visible if you KNOW exactly where to look with an overly concerned eye. It's concrete. Have a beer and relax.

 

[64bawagon]

I put about an ounce of Dawn detergent into a 24 oz spray bottle and use that on anything oil related that gets on the driveway. Spray it on and let it sit a few days. Least toxic cleaner I can think of.

 

[tasch72]

If you're in an area of the world not under the purview of the EPA, gasoline works very well at pulling oil up out of concrete. Just a splash will do and the gas will evaporate with the oil.

If the stain is particularly bad, you can toss some kitty litter over the top of the gas-splashed concrete overnight so the gas doesn't evaporate as fast.

Then, just sweep up the kitty litter the next day and save for re-use or disposal

 

[JHZR2]

I like baking soda.

I had some white slurry that was good at pulling oil out, and then drying with the oil trapped… but I don’t recall the name.

scrubbing with dawn and water helps, even if done locally and blotted with paper towels.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

If you're in an area of the world not under the purview of the EPA, gasoline works very well at pulling oil up out of concrete. Just a splash will do and the gas will evaporate with the oil.

If the stain is particularly bad, you can toss some kitty litter over the top of the gas-splashed concrete overnight so the gas doesn't evaporate as fast.

Then, just sweep up the kitty litter the next day and save for re-use or disposal

LMAO

If he's worried about 8-10 oz of spilled oil, he's gonna freak out about that!


I won't mention the hundreds of thousands of car repair shops across the US ( I bet the OP is in Canada) that probably "spill" 8-10 oz of used motor oil per day.....

 

[Pablo]

He spilled a qt (32 oz) PLUS

He doesn't want WET or PW solutions. He wants dry.

It's on things, tires and such, Cat litter won't work. Textured driveway. Again cat litter has never been great.

Wow.

GO!

 

[Scuder]

BUT yest for a bulk spill, it works in a pinch as a dam then the whole mess can be scooped and bagged in an emergency.

Been there, done that. There's nothing like working with the urgency caused by being on the edge of panic while trying to contain a spreading pool of oil with a dam of speedy dry.

 

[nwjones18]

The great thing about cat litter is you can use it over and over indefinetly. I have a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff that I've been using for years. I don't know where the oil goes that it soaks up but I just keep using the same litter and it keeps working. (Note that I only have a few spills per year requiring clean up.)

 

[PimTac]

We used to use sawdust.

 

[nomas]

When I was a kid we always had oil leaks on the driveway and garage floor. My dad showed me how to take Oil-Dri (kitty litter) and grind it into the concrete with the heel of a shoe. It works pretty well to remove stains if you use it that way.

That's what I do . Grind it into a powder . Always works for me .

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

I don't use cat litter. We have cats and cat litter and I don't use it.
I use the product that looks similar, found at parts stores, labeled oil-dry or similar. It works. Amazingly so. I spill a little oil, gear oil, AHC fluid, brake fluid, etc., on my concrete driveway at times. A cup or two of oil-dry on the spot, grind it in with my size 12 Keens and move it around and in a day or two, it's gone. Gone.

If I had a porus or permable hard surface, I'd probably pour some oil-dry on the spot and swat it around with a broom and MOVE ON, I've got waaaaay too many other things to worry about and do than to stand around worrying about some oil spilled.