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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

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 That Spill Up ASAP!

One of the main things you can do to help remove the stain is to remove the oil as soon as you can once it spills. Believe me, the longer it’s sitting there, the harder the stain will be to remove. Have a roll of paper towels or stack of rags for this purpose, and you’ll be glad later. Don’t think that only a small amount of oil is safe, either, because even a little dot will make a bigger, darker stain the longer it is left on the concrete. This is because concrete will soak up anything liquid like a very slow sponge, but a sponge nonetheless. There are products that are designed to soak the chemicals up, often called concrete crystals or something similar, but those can get very expensive very fast if you’re very spill-happy. If you can afford them, though, they would certainly help since they will absorb much of the spill, but never all of it. To use them, you just set them on and in the spill for however long they’re supposed to sit, then sweep them with a broom that you don’t mind getting nasty, and throw them away. I’ve heard people say they use kitty litter, and I did try that, got the type that doesn’t clump and everything, but I still ended up with stains and some really gross, gummed up kitty litter.

You Can Always Try Garage Floor Stain Remover…

I’ve had, and heard of, mixed luck with garage floor stain removers. They seem to be hit or miss, and I haven’t heard of any cure-all. Even the best ones tend to leave a slightly visible blemish on the concrete, so I don’t know if that’s really worth it to you. They generally run around ten bucks for a bottle that’s meant to treat a smallish area, so if you have a big oil spill in your garage, you might need to find a bigger bottle.

If You Just Can’t Remove That Garage Floor Stain…

If all else fails, your next best bet will be to use a garage floor covering. This can be pretty expensive. You might be able to do an epoxy garage floor coating after you’ve cleaned the stains with stain remover, but that totally depends on the garage floor coating’s directions. You can always, instead, buy a mat, or snap-together garage floor tiles, and never worry about the existing stain or future stains, since garage floor mats and tiles are both stain resistant. If you have a big, persistent stain, avoid peel and stick garage floor tile as the adhesives tend to break down if they touch any other chemical. That oil may be stubborn about going anywhere when you want it to, but it’s great about ruining any garage floor finishes.

For more information on garage flooring, check out Sweet Garage Floor.

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