I’ve written quite a few articles pertaining to garage floor coatings and coverings, but many people, I know, really don’t have much money to spend on things like that. Those of us without money, though, are the ones that are likely to be changing our own oil, which is a very easy way to stain garage floors. Some car manufacturers aren’t exactly helpful, either; I can think of a certain Subaru that I once had on which there was a plastic cover over the oil pan that was near impossible to get off without removing the front bumper cover. Of course, they included a space for the drain bolt, which made it really easy to get the bolt off, but the oil would never actually drain through that little hole, instead spraying the flooring with a nice, thick coat of used motor oil. You can imagine the mess.
Preventing Garage Flooring Stains From Happening In The First Place
I should’ve probably paid the cash to get a garage floor mat to put under it, or at the very least, a small mat for oil changes, although they may not even make a compartment mat that is large enough to protect the floor from this car’s oil sprinkler. So, of course, I ended up with a thoroughly stained and nasty looking garage floor.
Clean The Spill Up Quickly!
It does matter. Don’t just let the oil or whatever sit on the concrete garage floor. Soak it up with a rag or something, and cleaning the stain will be a lot easier. The longer it sits, the darker and bigger the stain will be. Concrete is porous, so it will absorb just about anything, but it absorbs it pretty slowly, and used motor oil is kind of thick. If you can afford it, use some sort of crystals to soak the oil up. Generally all you have to do is drop the crystals onto the stain, and they will absorb much of the oil, but not always all of it. Let it sit for the prescribed amount of time, then sweep it up and throw it away. Many people swear by kitty litter, and I’ve tried that, but even though it wasn’t the clumping variety, it still clumped, so I basically ended up with an oily mountain range on my still nasty concrete
You Can Always Try Garage Floor Stain Remover…
I can honestly say that I’ve only use a few, but most will agree that garage floor stain removers have a slight chance at best of working. Even when they do work, they’re not very consistent. Even the absolute, most expensive and best ones leave a very light mark on the concrete garage floor and, well, I just don’t think that is worth the trouble. However, if you do, a smallish bottle of stain remover can usually be had at hardware and auto parts stores for around ten to twenty dollars but, if you’ve got a truly epic spill, you’ll probably have to aim a lot larger.
If You Can’t Remove The Garage Floor Stain…
Although it’s obviously not the ideal solution, don’t forget that a garage floor covering can always be purchased later on down the road when you have the funds. They are expensive, though, but aren’t going to be affected by the same limitations as garage floor finishes. In some cases you can still use an epoxy garage floor coating as long as the floor has been cleaned to the specifications of your particular garage floor paint kit, but good luck finding one that says you can use it on stained concrete. Alternatively, there are many garage floor mats out there, and you can get some snap-together garage floor tiles, and never have to worry about the existing or future stains since all of these solutions are resistant to staining. Keep in mind, though, that peel and stick garage floor tile should not be used if you have a large stain since the stain will sweat oil that will eat at the adhesive. The oil certainly won’t come out when you want it to, but it will come right up to eat a garage floor coating or garage floor covering.
Visit Sweet Garage Floor for more information about every kind of garage floor out there.
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