It happens to the best of driveways. Having oil stains on a concrete driveway can be the result of an unnoticed leak, or from a spill while attempting to change the oil. Either by accident or oversight the cement concrete is a porous material. The oil will soak into the ground forming a hard to remove stain. But these following steps will make your driveway stain-free once again.

Soak it all in

First step is to grab an absorbent cloth or towel. Lay the cloth over the spill, and let it soak up all the grease it can absorb. Change to another cloth, and discard the old one, when it has been fully soaked. Continue this process until you’ve soaked up as much of the oil as possible.

Pour the cornmeal

Next, the oil stain will need an absorbent material that will go further in extracting the oil from the driveway. Cornmeal is a good substance to use. You should pour a mound of it over the oil stain, and let it stay there for about three hours. After the cornmeal has had its time to soak, get a broom and dustpan to sweep up the cornmeal.

Wet the surface

Now, you should wet the area where the stain is. Take a bucket and fill it with warm water. Pour the warm water over all of the stained area. Then, spread dry detergent over the newly dampened oil stain. Make a soapy lather by scrubbing the concrete with a brush that has stiff bristles. They should be able to stand up to the rough texture of the concrete. After scrubbing, let the soapy solution remain there for about 10 minutes.

Make it hotter

This time when you rinse, you will do so with boiling water. Bring water to a boil on your stove, and use this water to rinse the soap away. It’s a good idea to use rubber gloves to safely handle the boiling water temperature and soap. Use the water to remove all soapy residue. This process with the detergent, scrubbing, and rinsing should be repeated to get at all the remaining oil residue.

Final rinse

Finally, remove all the remaining soapsuds by continuing to pour water over the stained area until all residue of the oil is removed. The driveway can then be dried with absorbent cloths. Having oil stains on a concrete driveway doesn’t have to be a permanent condition.