How do you get an oil stain out of a sidewalk? I know it should be the responsibility of Public Works but it's right in front of my house and it's hashing my vibe.
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How do you...
- Thread starter dontpanicbobby
- Start date
I've also heard that Coke will take out oil
I'll try Coke. Works for toilets.
You may have to let it soak overnight
Seriously I don't want to rub down the sidewalk
Smoke?
I'm a Pepsi fan. Should I get a bottle or can of Coke?
I'm a Pepsi fan. Should I get a bottle or can of Coke?
puppykickr
Android Expert
This reminds me of a story...
(crowd groans)
TL/DR;
use liquid dishsoap
My mother is VERY persnickety about her home and all of its parts- inside and out.
While she was gone at work and I was visiting, a lifelong friend of mine stopped by to see me.
We sat and talked around a beer and some food, and I walked him out to his truck.
He was telling me how he had just had his transmission lines replaced that day- right before he came over.
(Can you see where this is going?)
Well, we go out to his truck, which is parked on my mother's clean, concrete driveway.
He gets in, and we say our goodbyes.
After he starts the engine, I notice first a squirt, then a real gusher of tranny fluid pooling out from under his vehicle.
Needless to say, he was already mostly down the drive before he heard me yelling.
So, there was this huge pool, a trail, and then a smaller pool where he stopped, then decided to risk the drive home, and yet another trail going from there out to the road and down the street.
I was freaking out. There were at at least 1-2 full quarts of transmission fluid all over the driveway. And this was NOT fresh, clean, clear, red transnission fluid- the huckleberry that changed the lines did just that- and left the cruddy, blackened, burnt, stinking , old tranny fluid in the thing instead of changing it!
All I could think of was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and what a big deal everyone made about how Dawn dishwashing liquid was saving animals lives by getting oil off of them.
I didn't have Dawn, but I had brought a full, new bottle of some cheap but similar dishsoap for my hands, and I went out there and surrounded the big pools with a thick trail of soap so that it couldn't spread far.
Then I covered the trails connecting the pools and going out to the road.
The street itself is asphalt, so oil is actually beneficial for it.
Anyway, I poured what was left of the soap onto the pools and waited for a while.
It did start to sprinkle rain, so at that point I brought out the garden hose and started trying to spray it down a bit.
It was slow, but progress was achieved.
Luckilly Mom didn't get home until after dark, so she didn't see anything until morning- after it had rained during the night.
I did go ahead and soap the pools down again, wait, and then sprayed them away.
Amazingly enough, there was little trace left after that.
Today you can't even tell where it happened.
And yes, unbelieveably, my friend made it home that night, a trip of about 10 miles from my Mom's house.
(crowd groans)
TL/DR;
use liquid dishsoap
My mother is VERY persnickety about her home and all of its parts- inside and out.
While she was gone at work and I was visiting, a lifelong friend of mine stopped by to see me.
We sat and talked around a beer and some food, and I walked him out to his truck.
He was telling me how he had just had his transmission lines replaced that day- right before he came over.
(Can you see where this is going?)
Well, we go out to his truck, which is parked on my mother's clean, concrete driveway.
He gets in, and we say our goodbyes.
After he starts the engine, I notice first a squirt, then a real gusher of tranny fluid pooling out from under his vehicle.
Needless to say, he was already mostly down the drive before he heard me yelling.
So, there was this huge pool, a trail, and then a smaller pool where he stopped, then decided to risk the drive home, and yet another trail going from there out to the road and down the street.
I was freaking out. There were at at least 1-2 full quarts of transmission fluid all over the driveway. And this was NOT fresh, clean, clear, red transnission fluid- the huckleberry that changed the lines did just that- and left the cruddy, blackened, burnt, stinking , old tranny fluid in the thing instead of changing it!
All I could think of was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and what a big deal everyone made about how Dawn dishwashing liquid was saving animals lives by getting oil off of them.
I didn't have Dawn, but I had brought a full, new bottle of some cheap but similar dishsoap for my hands, and I went out there and surrounded the big pools with a thick trail of soap so that it couldn't spread far.
Then I covered the trails connecting the pools and going out to the road.
The street itself is asphalt, so oil is actually beneficial for it.
Anyway, I poured what was left of the soap onto the pools and waited for a while.
It did start to sprinkle rain, so at that point I brought out the garden hose and started trying to spray it down a bit.
It was slow, but progress was achieved.
Luckilly Mom didn't get home until after dark, so she didn't see anything until morning- after it had rained during the night.
I did go ahead and soap the pools down again, wait, and then sprayed them away.
Amazingly enough, there was little trace left after that.
Today you can't even tell where it happened.
And yes, unbelieveably, my friend made it home that night, a trip of about 10 miles from my Mom's house.
Last edited:
Actually I didn't try it. Looks like every rainstorm we get it gets smaller and smaller so I'm just going to let nature take its course.