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?

"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

"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?


Nix the salt idea.

To clean the oil off the driveway rather than dish soap use laundry
detergent. Wet the stain area and then use a stiff brush and hose it well
after.

As far as the oil residue on the lawn don't panic. there are natural
bacteria in the soil that will eat the petroleum over time. If it does not
green up after the weather warms up you can dig out a little bit and toss in
some fresh dirt.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.

MICHELLE H. wrote:
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?


Oil doesn't dry. You should have swept up the oil/kitty litter. You
undid that effort by using detergent to wash the oil out of the kitty
litter.

When you have some dry weather, put down some more kitty litter, mash it
into the pavement with your foot and let it work for a few hours. Then
sweep or shovel it up and dispose of it property.

You might have killed part of your lawn with oil. When it rains, the
residual oil will probably float up and, perhaps, some will wash away
with the rain water. If the top of the soil is real oily, you might
gain by sprinkling down some litter, letting it soak and the remove the
litter and dispose. You would have to do that when the ground is dry,
or the litter will just soak up the moisture rather than the oil.

Don't use clumping kitty litter.

Hi everyone,


Thanks for all the helpful responses so far, I really do appreciate it!!
Someone asked me if I "SCRUBBED the dish soap into the oil spot". No,
when I used the Dawn dish soap, I DIDN'T scrub it in. I just swept up
all of the oil soaked kitty litter, and then put some Dawn dish soap
over the oil spot, when it was raining.


Also, I DIDN'T "mash" the kitty litter in with my foot, as the previous
poster suggested. I just poured the kitty litter over the puddle of oil,
let it sit for a few hours, and then swept it up, and disposed of it in
the trash. I will have to try "mashing it in with my foot" next time.


I am not sure if the kitty litter is what turned the soil Grey, because
I used a bag of "Johnny Cat" kitty litter which is White in color.


But I will follow your suggestions and keep putting kitty litter there,
and "mash it in with my foot", to try to dry the oil spot up, so that
when it rains, there is no more "rainbow colored" water.

Hopefully I can just topdress the lawn with some compost or even organic
topsoil, when the weather warms up ( its in the 40's in my area ), and
reseed, and hopefully the grass will come back!?

MICHELLE H. wrote:
Hi everyone,


Thanks for all the helpful responses so far, I really do appreciate it!!
Someone asked me if I "SCRUBBED the dish soap into the oil spot". No,
when I used the Dawn dish soap, I DIDN'T scrub it in. I just swept up
all of the oil soaked kitty litter, and then put some Dawn dish soap
over the oil spot, when it was raining.


Also, I DIDN'T "mash" the kitty litter in with my foot, as the previous
poster suggested. I just poured the kitty litter over the puddle of oil,
let it sit for a few hours, and then swept it up, and disposed of it in
the trash. I will have to try "mashing it in with my foot" next time.


I am not sure if the kitty litter is what turned the soil Grey, because
I used a bag of "Johnny Cat" kitty litter which is White in color.

The grey soil is probably k.l.....no other explanation. If the k.l. is
piled deep on the grass, it might take up enough water to dry out the
grass. I had a neighbor in our condo who did me the "favor" of putting
USED kitty litter on my potted plants outdoors to "fertilize" them.
Weird woman! Killed my plants.

But I will follow your suggestions and keep putting kitty litter there,
and "mash it in with my foot", to try to dry the oil spot up, so that
when it rains, there is no more "rainbow colored" water.

Don't obsess if you see a tiny bit of oil on the water...it doesn't take
much oil on the water to make a rainbow. I've seen it when I have
planted plants near our parking lot - dig hole, fill with water for the
plant and voila. It will probably take a very long time to be entirely
gone. If the grass dies in the area where the oil ran off, you might
want to dig up a few inches of the topsoil and replace it.

Hopefully I can just topdress the lawn with some compost or even organic
topsoil, when the weather warms up ( its in the 40's in my area ), and
reseed, and hopefully the grass will come back!?


I misunderstood your first post - if you removed the k.l., then there
isn't likely to be a huge amount of oil remaining in or on the ground.

On Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:05:14 -0500, (MICHELLE H.)
wrote:

I am not sure if the kitty litter is what turned the soil Grey, because
I used a bag of "Johnny Cat" kitty litter which is White in color.

The litter is clay (?), so it may have very well turned the soil grey.

Put a sample in a jar, cover with water, let it sit, and see what
color the water turns.

On Feb 28, 11:55*am, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
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?

First scrub hard some liquid or powder Tide of other washing powder
into the surface wherever you think the oil residue is located. Then
grind in some kitty litter and let it sit for a day. Then, when the
temp is above freezing, wash the whole area down toward the street,
use the hose to redirect any water that goes toward the grass to the
middle of the driveway and then down to the curb/gutter.

I have had to do this a few times when visitors stayed overnight and
parked their dripping vehicles in my driveway. You may have to repeat
this a few times, The oily film can be caused by a very tiny amount
of oil so don't be discouraged if you have to repeat. Instead of
kitty litter, you can use some regular dirt from around your house if
you have a high spot you want to level out.

On Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:37:40 -0800 (PST), "hr(bob) "
wrote:

On Feb 28, 11:55*am, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
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?

First scrub hard some liquid or powder Tide of other washing powder
into the surface wherever you think the oil residue is located. Then
grind in some kitty litter and let it sit for a day. Then, when the
temp is above freezing, wash the whole area down toward the street,
use the hose to redirect any water that goes toward the grass to the
middle of the driveway and then down to the curb/gutter.

I have had to do this a few times when visitors stayed overnight and
parked their dripping vehicles in my driveway. You may have to repeat
this a few times, The oily film can be caused by a very tiny amount
of oil so don't be discouraged if you have to repeat. Instead of
kitty litter, you can use some regular dirt from around your house if
you have a high spot you want to level out.

Tide powder would me my first choice for the oily surface. I've used
it for oil clean up around the home.

Pit Row at Daytona 500 track is oily from years of abuse..

DW - (Darrell Waltrip of NSACAR fame and driver) would do the same,
but NASCAR officials won't allow it.

Cars are sliding past the pit box and need a good cleaning.

Disclaimer: DW drove with a Tide sponsor in the old days ..