If you park your car in a garage for long enough, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with an oil spill.
Oil spills can occur for a number of reasons – piping faults, a slip when changing an oil filter, or the mishandling of oil jugs when topping up or maybe it’s just time your decrepit old classic was put out to pasture.
If not swiftly addressed, the chemicals could be picked up by oblivious footwear and trampled through your home with potentially dangerous consequences. Worse yet, the stain left from an overlooked oil spill could leave the condition of your automotive home subject to unbridled ridicule from your other garage-owning friends.
If you spot an oil spill, it’s important to address the situation right away, but don’t be fool into thinking this is some trivial cleaning exercise. To get the job done right, without any residue left nor unattractive stains, it’s important to follow a few steps. Not sure how? Here’s a quick guide to get you going.
Want to keep your clothes and driveway in check, too? Check out our articles on the best garage overalls for working on your car and the Parkers guide to cleaning a driveway.
Step one: Absorb
To begin the clean-up process, you’ll first want to absorb as much of the excess oil as possible. This will get most of the mess out the way, leaving just the oil stain to contend with, rather than attempting to scrub up a viscous liquid material.
Car Lube Absorbent Granules
Price: £12.99 | VIEW OFFER
Start by sprinkling a generous amount of absorbent material over the oil spill site, leaving a thick layer over the top. The material you use is completely up to you, but these skid-proof, non-flammable absorbent granules from Carlube will perfectly do the job.
Other alternatives could include sawdust or kitty litter tray material to soak the spill. Once the material has been layered over the top, allowing it to sit and absorb for 24 to 48 hours. Note, if it’s a sizeable puddle of oil, you may have to repeat this process twice. After this step is complete, the coarse material should be ready to sweep or pick up with a spade or shovel and dispose of.
Step two: Saturate
If you still have a lingering stain, you can saturate with a cleanser material to get the oil up. For this step, you have several options but we would recommend using a penetrating oil like WD-40 as it’s a fast-acting non-conductive cleaner. If you have no WD-40 to hand, try using washing-up liquid or laundry powder.
WD-40 Specialist Contact Cleaner
Price: £7.50 | VIEW OFFER
Like the first step, apply the cleanser material to the oil spill site and leave it to sit on the stain for roughly one to two hours. During this time, the cleansing material will begin to break down the oil by cutting into it – as opposed to a water-based solution that won’t mix – thus lifting the stain.
Related: The best car dollies for mechanics: Pro and DIY
Step three: Scrub
Next, scrub the stain down. To really lift the stain from the garage floor, it’s important to use a stiff, invasive brush as any soft-bristled broom or cloth won’t be strong enough to tackle the pores of the concrete. We highly recommend using a wire brush or broom at this stage.
The Dustpan and Brush Store Wire Brush Set
Price: £9.79 | VIEW OFFER
This two-in-one brush set features a long handle wire brush and a block brush, suiting all your heavy-duty brushing needs. The strong plastic bodies house four-row metal steel bristles that cut through dirt and grime with ease. Quality items from a trusted band.
Newman and Cole Wire Broom
Price: £16.99 | VIEW OFFER
If you’d rather not get down on your knees to address the issue, why not go for this wire broom instead? Featuring a heavy-duty brush head with hard-wearing metal moss scraper bristles to free up grime, dirt and oil stains with ease.
Add a little more of the cleaning solution to the stain site and begin scrubbing down. It’s important to apply firm pressure as, depending on how long the oil spill had been there, it may take some scrubbing before the stain has been entirely lifted. Add a drop of water to the site to help the scrubbing process.
Next, hose the site down or use a pressure washer then leave it to dry. At this point, the stain should be gone, but if a mark does remain, try repeating steps two and three again.
Related: The best gearbox oils
Step four: Paint
If your garage floor really is a lost cause of stains, marks, and chips in the concrete, why not give it a paint? Garage floor painting is simple and not especially expensive but does the job of providing any automotive sanctuary with a new lease of life.
Polar Garage Paint
Price: £18.99 | VIEW OFFER
This floor and garage paint from Polar Specialist Coatings is a tough and durable, hard-wearing solvent-based coating, designed for use on any concrete floor and perfect for your garage. This floor paint is easy to use and does not require a primer. To apply, first make sure that the floor surface is clean, dry and has been well swept. For the best results, apply two coats – the second after six hours – then leave to dry for 16-24 hours.
What next?
Once the stain has been removed and the garage floor painted should you so wish, the last step is to identify why and where the oil spill came from. If it was due to a mechanical fault, have it looked over by the professionals and duly mended – you don’t want to have to repeat this process again.
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