Jim top-poasted:

Can one of you with experience in this type of situation help the OP?

MICHELLE H. wrote:

A few months ago, my car had a major oil leak ( Rear Main Seal ),
and when I started it up, oil basically POURED right out in A STREAM,
and my car went through one quart of oil in like 5 minutes. There
was a HUGE puddle of oil all over the driveway. I used kitty litter
to try to soak it all up. and then tried to wash it away with some
"Dawn Dish Soap".

Did you even try to take a shovel or dust-pan and scoop it up and toss
it in the garbage?

Or did you do exactly as you said - which was to create a muddy mess of
it and they try to wash the whole thing down the road? I don't have to
tell you what a bone-head assinine thing that would be to do.

And Jim - what's your problem? Why are you so keen to have someone come
up with an answer to someone else's problem?

Winter isin't even god-damn over and I can't believe all the people that
are fixated on problems with their lawn.

So does this mean that the soil is now contaminated with oil?

Is the ground frozen where you are? Don't you think it might be a good
idea to freeking tell us where in North America you are? Don't you
think that us knowing what climate zone you're in might give us a clue
as to how to come up with an answer for you?

Is there anyway to DRY OUT the oily residue in the driveway,
so that when it rains, the puddles won't have that oily,
rainbow color?

What is the daytime outdoor temperature RIGHT NOW where you are?

Is the oily area exposed to direct sunlight?

High temperature and sunlight will breakdown the oil and make it
evaporate. This usually happens in THE SUMMER. But since we don't know
where you are, it's useless trying to help you do anything at this
point. You could be in Florida or North Dakota - who knows?

Pour some gasoline on it (one or two cups worth), take a stiff plastic
scrub-brush to it, follow quickly with detergent and lots of water to
flush it down the road. Do that if it's really bugging your ass at this
point. Nothing is as cheap and effective as gasoline at taking oil
stains and residue out of pavement. But if it's cold out, it's gonna
take more elbow grease.

Will scattering "rock salt" down on the area where the oil spill
was, help to dry it out? Because doesn't rock salt dry stuff out?

My god (shakes head).

Salt will pull water out of stuff and dry it - not oil. You put salt
down and mix it with oil and you're going to have a real, ugly mess that
will really screw up your soil.

Lawn Guy wrote:

[....]

And Jim - what's your problem? Why are you so keen to have someone come
up with an answer to someone else's problem?

and why did you loan your PC to some ****ed off asshole?

On Mar 2, 11:47*pm, Jim wrote:
Lawn Guy wrote:

[....]

And Jim - what's your problem? *Why are you so keen to have someone come
up with an answer to someone else's problem?

and why did you loan your PC to some ****ed off asshole?


That's kind of what I thought too. Only I didn't think he lent his
computer to anyone.

I especially liked the opening part:

Michelle:

was a HUGE puddle of oil all over the driveway. I used kitty litter
to try to soak it all up. and then tried to wash it away with some
"Dawn Dish Soap".

LawnGuy:

Did you even try to take a shovel or dust-pan and scoop it up and
toss
it in the garbage?


You think he'd at least read the post before making an ass of himself.

"Lawn Guy" wrote:

"Or did you do exactly as you said - which was to create a muddy mess of
it and they try to wash the whole thing down the road? I don't have to
tell you what a bone-head assinine thing that would be to do".

END
---------


First of all, no need to be rude, and second of all, HUH?????? I NEVER
said ANYTHING about washing it down the road!!!!! My driveway is NOT on
a hill. The driveway is about 125 feet long and it is flat. The leak
happened on the opposite end of the driveway from the road where I park
the car, which is about 100 or so plus feet from the road.


Also, what I said was that the driveway is flat, and paved asphalt, but
is also old ( don't know WHEN it was paved last ), and the driveway has
some cracks and bumps in it. So when it rains or the snow melts, the
water were I park my car runs over to the grassy side of the driveway.
The oil mixed in with the water, and turned the soil GRAY.


Next, this oil leak happened in December, when it was like 20 degrees
outside, and so there was no way I could try to wash it away.


Okay, to answer your questions, I am in the Northeast, and yesterday it
was 60 degrees outside. Today its in the 40's with drizzle, and this
weekend its suppose to be back up into the high 40's and mid 50's. We
have only had about 16 inches of snow for the entire winter, and our
BIGGEST storm was a whopping 4 inches. Every other storm was a mere
dusting, wet slushy snow, or less than 2 inches.


Yes, I have been using rock salt in the driveway, because when the snow
melts off the house roof ( no gutters on driveway side of house ), and
it drips down into the driveway, it freezes at night, and turns the
driveway into a skating rink.


But yesterday was 60 outside. Today 40's and high 40's and mid 50's for
the next week.


NO, the ground is NOT frozen, as it is in the mid 30's at night.

When I said "I tried to wash it away", I DIDN'T mean that I took the
garden hose in 20' degree December weather, and washed it into the
street and down a storm drain to pollute the towns water!!!!


After I swept up all of the oil soaked "Johnny Cat" kitty litter, and
disposed of it in a Black trash bag, and threw it in the garbage can, I
put some "DAWN" dishsoap over the oil spot when it was raining, hoping
to get rid of it.


I used the "Dawn", because "Dawn" has those commercials saying that
"Dawn Dishsoap" is used to clean oil off wildlife animals when there is
an oil spill somewhere. So I figured that the "Dawn" would help get rid
of the oil spot, but unfortunately its still there.


And because the asphalt driveway is old, there is a rut, where I park my
car, and when it rains the rut fills up with oil and rainbow water, and
starts going over towards the grassy side of the driveway turning the
grass Black, and the soil Grey.