Cleaning up engine oil

[ajlelectronics]

last night some time, our premises were defaced by used engine oil poured over our frontage, in front of the door in particular. It also went over the footpath and down the rain gulleys into the drains. Highways came out and merely covered it in sandy gravel. The frontage is red/brown block paving. I know that engine oil stains badly, so wondered if there were any sure fire cleaning materials that will remove the staining?

When I saw the problem, I went straight to the CCTV recordings, only to find that one camera of the eight was down. Just try a vague guess about which camera it might have been? :-(

 

[brightspark]

hot water washer with traffic film detergent

 

[the snooper]

Use some celly thinners and a stiff brush to break it down

 

[WorkshopChris]

Neat washing up liquid and a stiff broom to loosen, then jet wash.

 

[Bill Edwards]

How big an area? Nothing beats brake, clutch/ parts cleaner bought cheaply in 5l containers but washing up liquid seems very good for this kind of job and cost effective.
Like WorkshopChris says, a stiff brush then washed away.

 

[Mee]

Good degreaser followed by neat washing up liquid and jet washing.

 

[Rig Pig]

I have a red/brown brick drive, the best oil remover I have found is biological washing powder with a small amount of water and a stiff broom, where it's soaked in I leave the mix on for a few days - it has had 100% success on oil so far, the only problem is it leaves clean Bits!

 

[bricol]

I have a box of Persil for just such jobs - spread over, brush in and around. I water it and keep brushing though, washing it away reasonably quickly. Admittedly not over such a large area as this sounds.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Some useful tips there, greatly appreciated. When the rain stops, I think we will start with washing up liquid and go to washing powder if that fails.

 

[armalites]

Brake cleaner will certainly dissolve it.

 

[tazz]

have u any old batteries with acid in them ??? that works good ;}

 

[andy_v]

i use cat litter, for oil spillages, clean not from the cat box works a treat.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

What about cheap, 17p bottle, coke from Tesco etc ?

 

[CompoSimmonite]

i use cat litter, for oil spillages, clean not from the cat box works a treat.

Me too. The lightweight stuff is best.

 

[Shox Dr]

i use cat litter, for oil spillages, clean not from the cat box works a treat.

It does, works a treat, and cheap as second hand cat doodo

Be careful when using on block paving, as it will pull the die from them.

 

[zx9]

i use cat litter, for oil spillages, clean not from the cat box works a treat.

Not the Fuller's Earth clay stuff, I made that mistake once.

 

[pedrobedro]

We spilt some on the brother in law's new concrete and the thing that cleaned it up best was some stuff they used in the washing machine, Vanish Oxi Action or something like that. Tipped on and scrubbed in a bit then left a while and washed out with a bucket of warm water.

 

[123hotchef]

I used cement on my garage floor worked well but that is just concrete

 

[ajlelectronics]

Well it is still raining. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[Johnseat]

Buy the cheapest washing up liquid and pour it over, brush and leave to stand then jet wash off.