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February 5, 2007
Basement Oil Spill
I had a very dissappointing experience last week with the removal of an oil tank from my basement. Long story short - the tank had to be cut in order for it to fit out the coal chute. Unfortunately, no attampt was made to NOT spill oil all over the basement floor. Although the gauge read "0", there was still fifty years of sludge etc. that spilled everywhere. After removing the oil with a number of loads of cat lillter (its amazing how well it works) I'm left with quite a stench. The oil stain is dry - I even vacuumed up the remaining dust from the cat litter. I've been ventilating as much as I can, although it has been tough given the weather we are having.
I'm thinking of sealing the whole area with some sort of paint product - the area is currently unpainted cement. Any feedback on the paint idea and/or suggestions on how to get this stink out of my house?
Thanks in advance
Comments
Go to a Pep Boys or Strauss and buy some Garage floor cleaner, It's invented to remove oil and grease.
Thanks for the cat litter tip.
Posted by: Real Madrid at February 5, 2007 2:03 PM
Another idea is a solution of Dawn, the dish detergent and water, which cuts grease. I read that Dawn has been used on roads to remove oil slicks. They use it on birds who get slicked in oil spills.
Posted by: donatella at February 5, 2007 2:55 PM
Citris cleaner and hot water, with a stiff brush. Use the wet vac to suck up the nasty result.
Posted by: anon at February 5, 2007 8:12 PM
This exact same thing happened to us 6 years ago when we renovated. Our GC -- who wasn't the one who f***ed up -- eventually replaced about half our cellar floor with fresh concrete. Because it's the cellar, the job wasn't too expensive. The smell disappeared in about 2 weeks.
Posted by: NeoGrec at February 6, 2007 7:09 PM
Hi poster,
I want to paint a concrete interior floor.
If you decide to paint yours, can you share info on the products you will use?
Thanks.
Posted by: das at November 18, 2007 5:19 AM
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