oil spill on block paving how do i remove it

dawn27

I had an oil leak from my car which has leaked all over the block paving, does anyone know how to remove the oil stains.
any help appreciated:o

olias

You can try sand but tbh this only usually works if done immediately. If your drive wasn't sealed then the oil will have soaked into the blocks and be there permanantly. Your best bet is to lift the blocks affected and replace them. Should be an easy jod to do. The new blocks will look odd initially but will weather in to match

Olias

dawn27

thanks, the oil spill isn't fresh and the block paving isn't sealed.
how easy would it be to take the blocks up myself and replace them?

Wherryman

This may not remove the oil completely but should make it less obvious.

Gunk Driveway Clear 1 litre

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_160244_langId_-1_categoryId_165713

olias

Should be fairly easy as they are just layed on a sand base so provided you can get something down the side of them you can just prise them up.

If its just a few blocks then you should be fine, only problem you will have is if it is a large section you lift. Then once you lay the new blocks you really need to get some fine silica sand to sprinlkle on the joints and hire a whacker plate to bed down the new blocks to ensure they are level and locked together. With a small number of blocks you can probably get away with bedding them down by hitting them with a rubber mallet or similar (about £5 from a DIY shed).

Olias

olias

Wherryman wrote: »

This may not remove the oil completely but should make it less obvious.

Gunk Driveway Clear 1 litre

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_160244_langId_-1_categoryId_165713

Looks like it's a type of brick acid or similar which is nasty stuff - if you give it a try make sure you're well togged up with eye protection and gloves and long sleeves

Olias

sooz

olias wrote: »

. The new blocks will look odd initially but will weather in to match

since oil stains are normally right in the middle of your parking space/drive, you can take some old ones out that you normally don't see - eg under the bins - & put the new ones in their place. Then use the weathered ones to replace the oilstained ones. It's only a little bit more work, & looks less obvious.

darich

i'd try something like washing up liquid and a stiff brush. the washing up liquid is designed to break up oil and fat on your plates so why not on the drive?

I'd think twice about lifting any blocks - if you can prise something between them then they're not packed tightly enough. It also means that relaying them you won't have a snug space to simply drop them back into. There's also a good chance the ones you lift will rock when you relay them. That cold cause the bedding to move and then adjacent blocks start to move too. If you lift them, be very careful.

darich

olias wrote: »

Looks like it's a type of brick acid or similar which is nasty stuff - if you give it a try make sure you're well togged up with eye protection and gloves and long sleeves

Olias

Looks very nasty indeed!!!
3 lines of product description and about 12 lines of warnings!!

dawn27

thanks for all the replies i will try and clean the bricks first and if that doesn't work i will have to replace the bricks:T

LadyinBlack_2

Just a thought. Could you just turn them upside down if the oil hasn't gone right through?