Tips And Hints For Preventing Oil Or Other Chemicals From Leaving Gross Stains On Your Garage Floor

I have a bunch of articles out there about garage floor coatings and coverings, but I know that there are many of us that don't have the money to buy things like that just because they want to. It's unfortunate that those same people who do not have much money are the same that generally change oil in their garage, which is likely the most common way of staining garage floors. Car manufacturers don't help; I used to have a Subaru that had a plastic cover that was almost impossible to remove, but went over the oil pan. There was a space for the drain bolt, but the oil, of course, never drained out of that hole, choosing instead to go every which way, hitting plastic and spraying all over the place. It was, to say the least, a mess.

Preventing Garage Flooring Stains From Happening In The First Place

Had I been smart, I probably would've spent the money to buy a garage floor mat for under the car, or at least a compartment mat for when I did oil changes, though I don't know that they make compartment mats big enough for the type of spillage I encountered. Either way, I ended up with a very stained floor, which would make it quite difficult to apply any kind of garage floor paint.

Clean The Spill ASAP!

Getting the oil off the concrete as quickly as possible helps minimize the staining. The longer it sits, the worse it will be. Try to clean the spill with a rag or paper towel or something, and you will have a much easier time getting the stain up later. Even if it's just a little bit of oil, the stain will be bigger and darker the longer you leave it there. Concrete, being porous, will soak in pretty much anything, but the rate at which it absorbs is fairly slow, and most chemicals that stain are on the thick side. They make crystals that will soak the chemicals up, but they can be pricy. They're usually easy to use, though, and work just by sitting on the chemicals, but they rarely get it all. All you have to do is let the crystals sit on the spill for the specified time period, then sweep them up and toss them in the trash. Some people use kitty litter, and I tried that once, but although I didn't get the type that was supposed to clump, it clumped anyway, and I basically had a few oily hills on my stained concrete.

Does Garage Floor Stain Remover Work?

For some garage floor finishes, yes. Although I haven't used many, the general consensus is not good for most garage floor stain removers. Most anyone will tell you that they only sometimes work, and none of them work on everything. Even the ones that do the best job usually leave a lightly colored stain in your concrete garage floor, and I, personally, don't feel like that's worth it. You can usually pick up a small bottle of the stuff for about ten dollars, but if you have a really big oil spill, you might need to aim larger.

If You Can't Remove The Garage Floor Stain...

If nothing else, you can always buy a garage floor covering whenever you do get the money. These can be expensive, though. Sometimes you can use an epoxy garage floor coating once the floor is cleaned to the kit's specifications, but you'll have to find one that supports this. There's also the option of just buying a set of snap-together garage floor tiles, or one of the many garage floor mats out there, and not worrying about the staining, or even future stains as both garage floor tile and mats are generally stain resistant. However, if you end up with a really big stain that just won't go away, don't use the peel and stick type of tiles since the sticky stuff won't last very long placed up against oil. The stain may not want to come out at your behest, but it will have no problem eating the bottoms of garage floor paint or other garage floor coverings.