How to Get Olive Oil Out of a Brick Patio

It’s nice to enjoy a barbecue on a summer day outside on your brick patio. What’s not so nice is when olive oil accidentally gets spilled on the brick. Oil can be a tricky substance to remove from any surface. The greasy nature of olive oil can leave quite an unsightly stain.

Removing olive oil from a brick patio at first sight of the mishap will increase the chances that no stain will be left.

Things You Will Need

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  • Kitty litter (or similar absorbent substance)
  • Stiff cardboard or wood scraper
  • Bucket
  • Warm water
  • 1 lb. trisodium phosphate
  • Powdered chalk
  • Spatula
  • Stiff scrub brush
  • Dish-washing liquid
  • ½ cup ammonia
  • Mineral spirits
  • Soak up as much of the olive oil from the brick as possible. Sprinkle kitty litter, cement powder, baby powder, fine sawdust or similar substance directly onto the stain. Use a generous amount and make sure that the entire stain is covered. Do not try to soak up the olive oil with a rag. This may only spread the olive oil further onto the brick patio.

  • Allow the oil to soak into the kitty litter (or whichever product you are using). Gently scrape up the pile of kitty litter and oil, using a stiff piece of cardboard, wood scraper or similar item.

  • Fill a bucket with one gallon of warm water. Add a pound of trisodium phosphate to the water and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle in some powdered chalk while mixing until a thick paste forms.

  • Spread the paste over the stain using a spatula. Spread on a layer about a half-inch thick.

  • Allow the paste to dry onto the olive oil stain. Use a wooden scraper or stiff piece of cardboard to remove the paste from the brick patio.

  • Wash the stained area of the brick patio with clean water and a scrub brush. Allow the surface to air-dry.

  • Use dish-washing liquid and water as an alternative cleaning method if you do not have trisodium phosphate on hand. Mix a generous amount of dish-washing liquid into a gallon of warm water. If you have ammonia handy, add a half-cup to the mixture. Pour the mixture onto the stained area (after soaking up the majority with kitty litter) and scrub with a stiff scrub brush. Rinse with plain water.

  • Scrub down the area with mineral spirits if any sight of the olive oil still persists. Rinse the brick patio with plain water.

  • The Drip Cap

    • It’s nice to enjoy a barbecue on a summer day outside on your brick patio.
    • Oil can be a tricky substance to remove from any surface.
    • Gently scrape up the pile of kitty litter and oil, using a stiff piece of cardboard, wood scraper or similar item.
    • Spread on a layer about a half-inch thick.
    • Wash the stained area of the brick patio with clean water and a scrub brush.

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