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Oil stain & smell in utility room judetf 06-29-2008
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Posted by on June 29, 2008, 7:53 am
The former utility room in our home had an oil-fired water heater
which, over the years, leaked a good bit of oil. We have now emptied
the room and plan to turn it into a food pantry, but the oil stains
(and odor) are seemingly permanently set into the concrete floor. We
have tried a variety of methods to remove the stain and smell, but
nothing has worked and the oil smell is _very_ strong.

The current floor is basically a concrete subfloor - currently you
step down into the room (the concrete is about 6" below the threshold
of the door into the room).

I am considering pouring a new layer of concrete - maybe 2-4" - and
allowing it to set, then redoing the room from there. My only concern
is that the smell might still find its way into the room, which would
then be even more difficult to solve.

Does this sound like a good solution to the problem, to just cover it
over entirely?

Thanks!
jtf

Real Goods Solar, Inc.
Posted by Norminn on June 29, 2008, 7:39 am
judetf@gmail.com wrote:

>The former utility room in our home had an oil-fired water heater
>which, over the years, leaked a good bit of oil. We have now emptied
>the room and plan to turn it into a food pantry, but the oil stains
>(and odor) are seemingly permanently set into the concrete floor. We
>have tried a variety of methods to remove the stain and smell, but
>nothing has worked and the oil smell is _very_ strong.
>
>The current floor is basically a concrete subfloor - currently you
>step down into the room (the concrete is about 6" below the threshold
>of the door into the room).
>
>I am considering pouring a new layer of concrete - maybe 2-4" - and
>allowing it to set, then redoing the room from there. My only concern
>is that the smell might still find its way into the room, which would
>then be even more difficult to solve.
>
>Does this sound like a good solution to the problem, to just cover it
>over entirely?
>
>Thanks!
>jtf
>
>
Have you tried cat litter? It worked very well for oil spilled on
concrete by a neighbor in our condo. City
recommended the cat litter. $2. Just spread on the concrete, mash it
in with your feet, leave for day or two.

Posted by on June 29, 2008, 10:45 am
> jud...@gmail.com wrote:
> >The former utility room in our home had an oil-fired water heater
> >which, over the years, leaked a good bit of oil. We have now emptied
> >the room and plan to turn it into a food pantry, but the oil stains
> >(and odor) are seemingly permanently set into the concrete floor. We
> >have tried a variety of methods to remove the stain and smell, but
> >nothing has worked and the oil smell is _very_ strong.
>
> >The current floor is basically a concrete subfloor - currently you
> >step down into the room (the concrete is about 6" below the threshold
> >of the door into the room).
>
> >I am considering pouring a new layer of concrete - maybe 2-4" - and
> >allowing it to set, then redoing the room from there. My only concern
> >is that the smell might still find its way into the room, which would
> >then be even more difficult to solve.
>
> >Does this sound like a good solution to the problem, to just cover it
> >over entirely?
>
> >Thanks!
> >jtf
>
> Have you tried cat litter? =A0It worked very well for oil spilled on
> concrete by a neighbor in our condo. =A0City
> recommended the cat litter. =A0$2. =A0Just spread on the concrete, mash it=

> in with your feet, leave for day or two.

We've tried _all_ the tricks (including cat litter). This is an
accumulation of probably 15 years of drips at the water heater. It has
permeated the concrete; I could be wrong, but I don't think there is
going to be any way to get it "out" short of tearing out the concrete.
So I'm hoping that pouring a new layer will take care of the problem,
but would love some thoughts on that approach.

Thanks again.
jtf

Posted by Oren on June 29, 2008, 5:12 pm
On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:45:10 -0700 (PDT), judetf@gmail.com wrote:

>> jud...@gmail.com wrote:
>> >The former utility room in our home had an oil-fired water heater
>> >which, over the years, leaked a good bit of oil. We have now emptied
>> >the room and plan to turn it into a food pantry, but the oil stains
>> >(and odor) are seemingly permanently set into the concrete floor. We
>> >have tried a variety of methods to remove the stain and smell, but
>> >nothing has worked and the oil smell is _very_ strong.
>>
>> >The current floor is basically a concrete subfloor - currently you
>> >step down into the room (the concrete is about 6" below the threshold
>> >of the door into the room).
>>
>> >I am considering pouring a new layer of concrete - maybe 2-4" - and
>> >allowing it to set, then redoing the room from there. My only concern
>> >is that the smell might still find its way into the room, which would
>> >then be even more difficult to solve.
>>
>> >Does this sound like a good solution to the problem, to just cover it
>> >over entirely?
>>
>> >Thanks!
>> >jtf
>>
>> Have you tried cat litter?  It worked very well for oil spilled on
>> concrete by a neighbor in our condo.  City
>> recommended the cat litter.  $2.  Just spread on the concrete, mash it
>> in with your feet, leave for day or two.
>
>We've tried _all_ the tricks (including cat litter). This is an
>accumulation of probably 15 years of drips at the water heater. It has
>permeated the concrete; I could be wrong, but I don't think there is
>going to be any way to get it "out" short of tearing out the concrete.
>So I'm hoping that pouring a new layer will take care of the problem,
>but would love some thoughts on that approach.
>
>Thanks again.
>jtf

You didn't acid etch the floor (trick)? Etching and sealing might help
you.

If you are serious about pouring cement: my thought was to use a butyl
membrane, like a shower pan is made.

ymmv

Posted by Smitty Two on June 29, 2008, 12:39 pm

> judetf@gmail.com wrote:
>
> >The former utility room in our home had an oil-fired water heater
> >which, over the years, leaked a good bit of oil. We have now emptied
> >the room and plan to turn it into a food pantry, but the oil stains
> >(and odor) are seemingly permanently set into the concrete floor. We
> >have tried a variety of methods to remove the stain and smell, but
> >nothing has worked and the oil smell is _very_ strong.
> >
> >The current floor is basically a concrete subfloor - currently you
> >step down into the room (the concrete is about 6" below the threshold
> >of the door into the room).
> >
> >I am considering pouring a new layer of concrete - maybe 2-4" - and
> >allowing it to set, then redoing the room from there. My only concern
> >is that the smell might still find its way into the room, which would
> >then be even more difficult to solve.
> >
> >Does this sound like a good solution to the problem, to just cover it
> >over entirely?
> >
> >Thanks!
> >jtf
> >
> >
> Have you tried cat litter? It worked very well for oil spilled on
> concrete by a neighbor in our condo. City
> recommended the cat litter. $2. Just spread on the concrete, mash it
> in with your feet, leave for day or two.

A fresh oil spill is quite different from the OP's problem. I don't
think the OP will ever get the smell out of there. That oil has likely
saturated the concrete floor, and the dirt below it to a remarkable
depth.

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