"MICHELLE H." wrote in message
...
Hi everyone,


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".


Anyway, now everytime it rains, the driveway gets puddles of that
"rainbow colored" oily water. When I try to wash it with the "Dawn Dish
Soap", the white foamy bubbles from the Dish Soap turn all Black. So the
bubbles all turn this foamy Black color, and the water underneath is all
rainbow colored.


So the other day, what I noticed after the snow melted on the grassy
area next to the driveway, was that there was an area about 3-4 feet
long, and about 1 foot wide, where the grass has turned all Black, and
the soil is now a GRAY color. The reason for this, is because the
asphalt driveway is very old, and not perfectly flat, and so the water
and melting snow runs down onto the grass and soil.


So does this mean that the soil is now contaminated with oil? Do I have
to dig out all the grey-colored soil, and reseed the whole area? If so,
how far down do I need to dig?


Instead of digging all the soil out, can I fix the soil, by just
topdressing the gray soil with some compost or organic topsoil, and then
reseed?


Because its not like the motor oil was dumped or spilled directly on the
grass, but the oily residue in the driveway mixed in with rainwater and
melting snow, and turned the grass Black, and the soil a greasy/oily
grey color.


Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated!!!


P.S.
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? 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?

I doubt salt would work, and salt is not so swift for soil, either.
Salt would further ionize water, likely lowering what little affinity water
has for oil.

They make stuff for oil, go to an industrial supply house, or graingers.com.
Sorb-All comes to mind.
They might make a Sorb-All type product with a little embedded detergent,
or, for a final cleaning, add a little detergent/water to the driveway
before the last application of Sorball.

Does the gray soil smell funny? If so, it could be harboring an anaerobic
bacteria, that machinists sometimes find in old uncirculated soluble oil.
There's also an oil-eating bacteria, don't know if it's commercially
available.

If you have to dig it up, I'd think 6" deep would be enough, but ahm no
'spert. The area is not that large to do, anyway.
Topsoil over the whole lawn doesn't hurt either, can rejuvenate a lawn, so
you might can do both at once.

Also, a "convex" driveway is not bad, but mebbe you should have "gutters" at
the side, mebbe some "concave" asphalt, to catch and divert run-off. Always
a good idea anyway.
--
EA