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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 The Stains From Occurring 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!

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 The Garage Flooring Just Can’t Be Cleaned…

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.

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