looking for some efficient methods to clean up oil drips in my parking spot...

we have an underground parking structure at our place and while driving out this morning I came to the realization that my space is one of the few that has black pools of oil that the pan is not catching.

my goal is to make the concrete more presentable and not piss off the HOA.

they have complained before hence the pan that they placed in my parking space.

thought it would be nice to clean up the slick and possibly get a larger pan to cover the existing spills.

any ideas?

I am also working on getting the leaks fixed. Still have to do the turbo drain tube, front crank seal, and who knows what else...

Here's a link I found...

How to Remove Oil from Concrete - The Concrete Network

But instead of dealing with that, I would just paint caricatures of the HOA board members over the stains and get a larger pan.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I've used Eco-friendly dish detergent with success before. Soak as much as you can up with kitty litter (or quick dry), sweep it clean and then apply the detergent with some water and a brush or broom. If the HOA is really a stickler, see if you can suck up the detergent with a wet/dry vac for drain disposal.


Sent from an abacus

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

will try these and report back!

thx gents

Concrete is really really tough to get oil stains out of. Your best bet is to just scrub and scrub with degreaser and hope it comes out.

Get a large Aluminum baking pan and put a few baby diapers in it. That'll soak up the oil and cleaning will be simple.

__________________
'84 190D 2.2 5MT (Red/Palomino) Current car. Love it!
'85 190D 2.2 Auto *Cali* (Blue/Blue) *sold*
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Pics or it didn't happen .

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Don't try to wash it, just use soft cat litter / oil dry ( dry clay ) , grind it into the surface then leave it there. The fine powder will wick oil out of the concrete, when it turns oil colored, scrape it up and apply more. However, the soot may be more difficult and may or may not come up for a while.

And, since the clay is more or less concrete color it will hide much of the mess while it is working.

"Oil Grabber" works very well. Even better if the stain is "softened" with kerosene prior to application. It goes on as a thick liquid then swept up after it dries to a powder. I found it at Northern Tool.

http://www.amazon.com/KUTTER-OG32-Grabber-Remover-32-Ounce/dp/B002V4TIXS

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

The best tip for cat litter, Oil-Dri or other dry absorbents is to use your shoe and grind it into the stain. Breaking up the particles into powder greatly increases the net surface area available to absorb. Driving the powder into the pores of the concrete is even better.

__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

I pour on some gasoline, scrub it with a brush, then throw on some oil sorb.
brush it back and forth, let it sit and then brush it back and forth again.
Sweep it up.
As mentioned, the soot in the oil will be a problem to remove.

After you get it as clean as you can, wet the concrete and throw on some
of the powder cement, wet it and brush it into the concrete.
After it is dry, it just might blend in and hid your sins and apease the pita
HOA.

Iam the HOA around here.

Just for fun, pour some black engine oil under one of the HOA stool Pigeons
cars. Sit back and watch the fun.


Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

I piece of old carpet under car works for me. When I sneeze while pouring waste oil and make a spill, I grab a handful of news paper, scrub the paper on the oil, the pulp starts wicking up the oil, then sweep. On my old Rx7 I run a cotton clothesline rope, from the leak on the engine into an empty beer can. The oil siphons right into the can. Capillary action or something. On my beetle , I have a drip pan that we cooked a turkey in last year hanging under engine with wire hangers. Mike

Adding kero , gas or diesel is only going to spread the stain out and make it worse.

I owned a shop for 10 years and always used oil dry / cat litter to clean up various spills over the years. In that time I think I only washed the floor once, to clean built up clay. There were zero signs of oil spots when swept the floor and I sold the building.

I have been using Pro Force degreaser from Sam's Club on my driveway for years. It works very well. Don't be fooled by the color thinking it is the same as "Purple Power". This stuff puts Purple Power to shame! I have only seen it at Sam's Club. This is the best degreaser on the planet!
The best degreaser on the planet!

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All Diesel Fleet
1985 R107 300SLD TURBODIESEL
2005 E320 CDI (daily)

LOTS of parts for sale!


EGR block kit
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/355250-sale-egr-delete-block-off-plate-kit.html

1985 CA emissions 617 owners- You Need This!
Sanden style A/C Compressor Mounting Kit for your 616/ 617 For Sale + Install Inst.

Sanden Instalation Guide (post 11):
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/367883-sanden-retrofit-installation-guide.html

Sure gas will spread the oil, but it will cut it quicker than kero.
Then I dump the oil Sorb on the area and it takes it up.

Cat litter works ok if that is all you have, but the stuff made to soak up
Petrolium spills works the best.


Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

diatomaceous earth is a good sorbent. i ended up with dappled spots that are partly dark because of the oil, partly light because of the DE.

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'77 240D, 504H, OM617.952, etc.