Removing engine oil from block paving?

JustAnotherSaver

What's the best way to do this? I had some patio cleaner which didn't really do much.

Car had been leaking oil so there's a patch on the drive that has a nice oil stain there. I have a power washer with needle-like attachment for high pressure. I've tried this itself before but you can still see the patch clearly. Imagine i need to scrub some sort of solution in to the block paving but what would be best?

Belenus

It is unlikely that that you will ever get the stain out completely as it will have penetrated the blocks.

Can you remove the affected blocks and relay them upside down?

JohnB47

We had a guy do some work at our house and his van left a few splodges of engine oil on the driveway. I put some washing washing powder directly on the splodges (can't remember if bio or not) dampened it a bit to stop it blowing away and just left it there. A few weeks later the splodges had gone.
Oh and our blocks (sets?) have a definite top and bottom so wouldn't look right turned over.

Ebe_Scrooge

I agree with the previous 2 posts.  Firstly, you're unlikely to completely remove the stain if it's soaked into the bricks.  Removing and re-laying upside down is an option if your blocks are the same on both sides.  You could try scrubbing it with undiluted washing up liquid, rinse, repeat several times.  Maybe even remove the blocks, leave them to soak for a couple of days in a bucket with a strong solution of washing up liquid.  Last resort - replace the stained blocks with new ones.  You'll probably be able to find the right type of blocks without too much bother, but the new ones will stand out for quite some time until they've weathered in, and you might never get a perfect colour match.  You could put the new blocks somewhere less noticeable, and use the blocks you take from there to replace the stained ones.But I'd start with several applications of washing up liquid - you may find this will lessen the stain enough so that it's barely noticeable.

Slinky

I had an oil leak after my car was serviced onto our brand new block paved drive - couldn't believe it, only been down a week.

I used this stuff and it worked. How much of the success was down to it being clean oil that hadn't been on the pavers very long I dont know. Wasn't cheap.

https://www.oiltechnics.com/products/industrial-cleaning/oil-removal/biological-oil-removers/ot8-2019/