Your driveway is something everyone will see when they look at your house and the exterior of your property can be greatly affected if you have a driveway full of stains and/or damage. Exterior appeal is important. Removing the most common stains is pretty easy and requires very little driveway repair. It’s always best to clean up a stain as soon as you notice it. Common stains include:
Oil
Oil is the most common driveway stain and it’s often hard to avoid as most cars leak oil at one time or another. There are a lot of products on the market that are designed to remove oil from a driveway or garage floor. Look for one that includes a degreaser as this will be the most effective. Apply, let sit for a few minutes and then scrub the area with a firm brush. Driveways are pretty hard so you can use an aggressive brush with some pressure to get the stain out. Then you can rinse and repeat if necessary.
Tire Marks
Tires can leave marks on your driveway and there’s nothing worse than a big, black tire streak across a concrete driveway. Usually a degreaser will work for these marks as well, but you may need a product that will strip the sealer on your driveway, thus removing the stain. Some simple driveway repairs may be needed afterwards that include resealing that area.
Rust, Chemicals and More
Some other random stains can creep up on your driveway and typical cleaners won’t work. You can always contact a contractor who is experienced with sealing or completing driveway repairs. Sometimes pressure washing can remove leftover stains.
Keep in mind that after you remove stains from your driveway; you may have compromised the sealant that you originally had applied. It’s always a good idea to reseal the area of the driveway you were working on after it has been cleaned.
