Deck Stain Spill in Garage

[CateP]

Had a little accident.... a gallon of oil-based deck stain spilled on the cement garage floor. We got most of it up, but there is a visible brown stain left. Any ideas how to clean it off or blend or cover?

[Rangervx]

prob gonna be hard to get that to just go away...i would guess u might be looking at painting the floor. there are some really nice concrete paints avail and for the time investment (unless it's a monster garage)...prob would be a nice upgrade. make sure to add some grit to the paint so it doesn't get slick when wet

[codeman671]

Be careful of stain-soaked rags or paper towels sitting around. They are highly combustible. I had a friend in Rangeley that lost their garage due to spontaneous combustion of used rags from staining.

[NoBozo]

If it's bare concrete, go to the hardware store and get some cleaner for Un-sealed concrete. If the floor is painted, it will depend whether it's epoxy..OR regular concrete paint. Try Googling Cleaning Concrete. I found some suggestions there. NB

[brk-lnt]

Home Depot (and probably Lowe's) has this purple concrete cleaner/degreaser stuff that works pretty well.

Though unless your garage is some kind of show place, I'd probably just leave the stain before adding another gallon of chemicals to the floor. It'll wear away over the years.

[DickR]

Cate, just to expand on what Codeman said about storage of oil-soaked rags, spontaneous combustion can occur when a bunch of such material isn't stored in an air-tight container. There always is some low level of oxidation of the solvents going on, with release of heat. When the rags are spread out, the heat easily dissipates, with no increase in temperature and all is well (provided there is no ignition source). When the rags are bunched together and not sealed off from air, then oxygen in the air diffuses through the mass to sustain further oxidation, and also the bunched up rags are somewhat self-insulating. This results in an increase in temperature, which in turn raises the rate of oxidation and temperature increase. For every 10 degrees (centigrade, I think), the reaction rate roughly doubles. Of course, as the temperature goes up, so does the rate of heat dissipation. But heat loss goes linear with temperature, while the rate of oxidation is exponential. Given sufficient volume of solvent-soaked rags, the temperatures scoots up to the point where the mass ignites with visible flame. Burning is just a fast rate of oxidation.

Keep the rags spread out in a ventilated area or in a very tightly closed and preferably metal container until you can get them to the dump.

[NoBozo]

For cleaning OIL spills and drips off the garage floor I've been using clean Kitty Litter for years. Just sprinkle a little on the drips and THEN take a piece of WOOD...I use a piece of 4x4 about 6 inches long layed on its side..... Scrub the kitty litter around..in a grinding motion on the oil drips and Voilà. Sweep it up with a dust pan and brush and discard. It works on bare or painted concrete and will not harm the concrete like Many Liquids will. NB

[Rangervx]

great idea NB...i've done the same...only catch, gotta do that when it's still wet

[Drummer Girl]

Home Depot-Concrete & Masonry Paint Stripper 992

BEHR PREMIUM™ CONCRETE & MASONRY PAINT STRIPPER is part of the BEHR PREMIUM family of Concrete & Masonry Prep products. It is a biodegradable stripper that removes multiple layers of coatings on vertical and horizontal surfaces. It is formulated to strip stains, epoxies, urethanes, elastomerics, alkyds, sealants and most industrial and architectural coatings. BEHR PREMIUM CONCRETE & MASONRY PAINT STRIPPER NO. 992 is designed for Interior & Exterior Metal, Masonry, Stone, Brick and Concrete Surfaces such as: Garage Floors, Driveways, Walkways, Patios, Basement Floors and Concrete Walls.

Use on painted or stained Interior/Exterior, Vertical/Horizontal Concrete, Masonry, Stone, Brick and Metal Surfaces such as: Garage Floors, Driveways, Walkways, Patios, Pool/Cool Decks, Basement Floors and Concrete Walls.
Removes coatings such as: stains, epoxies, urethanes, elastomeric, alkyds, sealants, latex and most industrial and architectural paints.
DO NOT USE ON MARBLE, GRANITE, TERRAZZO, COLORED CONCRETE, BRASS, BRONZE or COPPER.

[LIforrelaxin]

If you really want the garage to look nice, and prevent staining from future accidental spills, you could always put down an epoxy floor... You can by kits from home depot or Lowes to do this... My father in law did it a year or so ago, and it looks nice... So far all drips and spills have wiped clean.....