Hints And Tips On Preventing Motor Oil From Leaving Icky Stains On Your Garage Floor

By Gilbert Flodfree

I have a bunch of articles out there about garage floor coatings and coverings, but I know that there are many of us that don't have the money to buy things like that just because they want to. It's unfortunate that those same people who do not have much money are the same that generally change oil in their garage, which is likely the most common way of staining garage floors. Car manufacturers don't help; I used to have a Subaru that had a plastic cover that was almost impossible to remove, but went over the oil pan. There was a space for the drain bolt, but the oil, of course, never drained out of that hole, choosing instead to go every which way, hitting plastic and spraying all over the place. It was, to say the least, a mess.

Preventing The Stains From Occurring In The First Place

I should've probably paid the cash to get a garage floor mat to put under it, or at the very least, a small mat for oil changes, although they may not even make a compartment mat that is large enough to protect the floor from this car's oil sprinkler. So, of course, I ended up with a thoroughly stained and nasty looking garage floor.

Clean That Spill Up ASAP!

One of the main things you can do to help remove the stain is to remove the oil as soon as you can once it spills. Believe me, the longer it's sitting there, the harder the stain will be to remove. Have a roll of paper towels or stack of rags for this purpose, and you'll be glad later. Don't think that only a small amount of oil is safe, either, because even a little dot will make a bigger, darker stain the longer it is left on the concrete. This is because concrete will soak up anything liquid like a very slow sponge, but a sponge nonetheless. There are products that are designed to soak the chemicals up, often called concrete crystals or something similar, but those can get very expensive very fast if you're very spill-happy. If you can afford them, though, they would certainly help since they will absorb much of the spill, but never all of it. To use them, you just set them on and in the spill for however long they're supposed to sit, then sweep them with a broom that you don't mind getting nasty, and throw them away. I've heard people say they use kitty litter, and I did try that, got the type that doesn't clump and everything, but I still ended up with stains and some really gross, gummed up kitty litter.

You Can Always Try Garage Floor Stain Remover...

I've had, and heard of, mixed luck with garage floor stain removers. They seem to be hit or miss, and I haven't heard of any cure-all. Even the best ones tend to leave a slightly visible blemish on the concrete, so I don't know if that's really worth it to you. They generally run around ten bucks for a bottle that's meant to treat a smallish area, so if you have a big oil spill in your garage, you might need to find a bigger bottle.

If You Just Can't Remove That Garage Floor Stain...

If nothing else, you can always buy a garage floor covering whenever you do get the money. These can be expensive, though. Sometimes you can use an epoxy garage floor coating once the floor is cleaned to the kit's specifications, but you'll have to find one that supports this. There's also the option of just buying a set of snap-together garage floor tiles, or one of the many garage floor mats out there, and not worrying about the staining, or even future stains as both garage floor tile and mats are generally stain resistant. However, if you end up with a really big stain that just won't go away, don't use the peel and stick type of tiles since the sticky stuff won't last very long placed up against oil. The stain may not want to come out at your behest, but it will have no problem eating the bottoms of garage floor paint or other garage floor coverings. - 21393

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