How to Clean Oil Leak on Engine?: Step By Step Guide To Follow

Oil leak is a regular incident for car owners. It makes the garage floor dirty & sticky if you forget to clean the leaked oil soon. The longer the leaked oil is on the surface, the harder it will be to clean that area.

So, how to clean oil leak on engine? You can clean oil leaks in two ways. One uses absorbent ingredients, including clay kitty, sawdust, and cornstarch. Then, you can clean that area and remove everything. Another way is to clean the sticky oil leaks on the engine with a degreaser & chemicals.

Today’s write-up will be on these two methods to help you clean the entire area and learn to clean the oil leaks on the engine.

Cleaning Method 1: For Regular Oil Leaked

In the first method, we’ll clean the regular oil leaks on the engine. Therefore, we’ll use clay kitty litter, sawdust, or cornstarch to remove the leaked oil and clean the engine within a while.

Clay Kitty Litter/Sawdust/Corn Starch

When you find the leaked oil under your vehicle, you first need to spread some clay kitty or sawdust. Even cornstarch will do the job perfectly. These adsorbents take off the oil from the ground at their best level (at least, you won’t find any oil to touch).

After covering the oil, you should let them take out the oil for 30 minutes or an hour. That’s for the immediate oil removal under your car.

Baking Soda & Water

Once the absorbent takes over the leaked oil, you should clean that area. Try to remove all the cornstarch, sawdust, or clay kitty litter.

After that, you should use baking soda over that area and let it be there for 10 to 15 minutes. It’ll absorb the rest of the oil and remove the oil effect from that area. Then, clean the entire surface with water. There will be no more leaked oil impact. 

Laundry Detergent Powder

Sometimes, the baking soda & water may fail to clean the oil leak on the engine. In that case, you should use some laundry detergent powder. The baking soda must be used before you use the cleaners or any detergent powder.

Scrub With Stiff Brush

When you are done spreading laundry detergent powder, you should scrub the entire area with a stiff brush. Don’t use your regular cleaning brush that can damage the surface or leave some scratches over there.

Only the stiff brush can ensure the safest cleaning without leaving any scratches. After scrubbing, you must wash the entire area and remove both the oil & detergent powder from every corner.

Cleaning Method 2: For Sticky Engine Oil

Sometimes, the leaked engine oil might be there for a week, and you must remember to clean that area. In that case, you’ll find sticky grease in that area, and you cannot remove that grease by following method one.

That’s why method 2 is here with a heavy-duty degreaser. Let’s follow the process and clean the old oil grease.

Apply Heavy-Duty Degreaser

If you find sticky grease under your vehicle or the engine, you should apply some degreaser. Be sure to use the heavy-duty cleanser to ensure the quickest cleaning of oil leaked on the engine.

You’ll find the regular degreaser; don’t go for that. You must go for the heavy-duty one with chemicals to remove the grease.

Use Chemical Products

After applying the heavy-duty degreaser, you should use some chemical cleaner on the steaky oil. If the degreaser comes with chemicals, you don’t need to use further chemicals; otherwise, use some harsh detergent that contains chemicals.

Clean with Baking Soda/Detergent Powder

After decreasing the entire surface, you should clean the entire area with baking soda or regular detergent. It’s better to spread some detergent over the surface and scrub with a stiff brush. It’ll surely remove the strong & sticky oil from the engine & the garage surface.

Cleaning tips to Remove Leaked Oil from the engine

Once your engine leaks oil, it’ll go through the engine and become sticky. You must apply the engine cleaner there if you want to clean your engine’s sticky leaked oil. Or you may follow the below tips.

1. Remove the oil filter & air intake.
2. Cover the electric wires and other things.
3. Apply some degreaser on your engine and remove the sticky leaked oil from there.
4. Clean the engine by wiping with a stiffy brush or anything soft.

That’s how you can clean the oil leak on your engine without damaging any engine part.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I Remove sticky Engine Oil from Garage Ground?

You can remove the sticky engine oil from the garage ground by using a degreaser & detergent. These two things are the best cleaner for removing any hard or strong grease and sticky oil. Besides, baking soda could be the first cleaning material that you can use first to remove the sticky engine oil.

What’s The Best Cleaner for Cleaning Leak oil on an Engine?

Heavy-duty degreaser is the best cleaner for cleaning leaked oil on the engine. Before that, you should cover the entire electric parts. Then, wet the engine with a degreaser. It’ll surely clean your leaked oil from the engine.

Closing Words

How to clean oil leak on engine? You can use the degreaser, baking soda, detergent, and stiff brush to clean the oil leaks from both the garage surface and your engine. You may also follow the above two methods, whatever fits you better.

From the above discussion, you got the entire process of cleaning leaked oil from everywhere. Follow the tips and get a cleaned surface & engine together.