In the process of "marking its territory' my T has made a mess of the garage floor. I've tried smacking it on the nose with a rolled up newspaper while firmly saying "NO!" but it's not working.
I'll work on the leaks when I have to do a major mechanical job, but until then what does every body do to clean up the mess ?
schuh
Schuh,
A clay based product works well, you can find large bags at Sams Club or BJ Warehouse ...
Then there is always cat litter .....
Jim
Jim
What do I ask for at Sam's ?
I'm assuming that will get the wet oil up, how about actually cleaning the remaining oil stains ?
thanks
Oil dry at the auto parts house. Or cardboard, plywood to keep it from the floor. And kitty litter is same as oil dry.
I save my fine sawdust, works great and is cheap! KB
Gasoline will soak that oil right down through the concrete, as I've seen in my driveway.
Sweeping cement onto it will hide the stains.
Purple Power(available at the auto parts store) works pretty good. I pre-treated the spots with it straight from the jug and let it sit for a while. Then wash the entire floor with it. I was going to paint the floor, so after washing with the Purple Power, I scrubbed it good with a strong mixture of TSP. The flood looked almost good enough to not need painting!!....Chip
I have a layer of plastic, layer of cardboard, then several large steel drip pans. Sure helps. The pans can be drained off as needed and slid over so I can work under the car and not lay in a puddle. The rolled up paper over the nose just didn't stand a chance.
I don't worry about it. I park my T's in the same place every time so when the liquid oil gets bad, I sweep the garage toward the oil spill. I live on a gravel/dirt road, so I get quite a bit of dirt on the garage floor. After I sweep it over the spills, I get a flat nose shovel and scrape it up and throw it back on the driveway. I use drip pans which catch most of the oil, and the T's are parked over it so I don't get it on the shoes unless the T is out of the garage.
Norm
I use large metal drip pans with a layer of Oil Dry in it to keep from making messes.
Oil dry or kitty litter works the best (or dirt off the car as Norman says) After the wet oil is absorbed, grind dry clay pellets into the floor with your foot until it is powder, then sweep, you will find that there is very little trace of the oil stain.
Best
Gus
Our mechanic cleans oil stains by pouring a thick layer of oil dry (old style clay kitty litter. Not the new clumping type) over the stain and then pouring solvent or gasoline into the oil dry over the stain which softens the old black oil and allows the oil dry to soak it up. After the solvent evaporates, he has a brick mounted on the end of a broom stick which he uses to scrub the oil dry into a powder which soaks up anything that is left. When he picks it up, you can see no evidence of the oil stain. Jim Patrick
PS. I understand that muriatic acid can be used to clean concrete, but I have never tried it.
Just ordered 40 lb of oil dry from Amazon. $10.02 & free shipping (w/prime).
Thanks for all the ideas!
schuh
Brake cleaner and a rag will clean small areas
Way to go Schuh, that is the easiest and safest way, isn't amazon prime a great thing?
Best
Gus
Gus
I love it. Didn't think I would make my money back - but I was wrong, made it back several times over!
Cheers
schuh
Hey Schuh,
We used to add things to the wish list until we had enough to get free shipping, and now we just order it, and we get free videos too, way better than netflicks for 1/12th the cost. We bought a kitchen stove last month, and shipping was free.
If you can find it, there is an oil absorbant made by Moltan Corp. It is made out of diatomasis earth and really does a good job soaking up oil. It is much better than clay type oil absorb. It is processed only in NV. It is also used as a filtration product such as is used in a swimming pool filter.
Shuh
I put down cardboard for the drips from the front and rear axles. Under the engine and diff I have 2 of those plastic trays that go under your washing machine. These are filled with a thin layer of oil dri.
Don't use muriatic acid!
Yes, it will clean the floor, but it will also (1) weaken or dissolve the top layer of the cement, and (2) kill you if the ventilation isn't good enough.
It isn't worth the downside!