Absorbing oil and fluids

[Chappers]

Just some useful tips to cope with fluids and oils on the garage or driveway when doing maintenance.

A few things I have used, apart from the obvious drip trays etc.

The absorbent mats that go on mattresses and chairs etc in hospitals and care homes.
These are used for incontinence and other bodily fluids (ack!), but the thin pads are just right to place under the car to collect the odd oil drip and are easily disposed of, although no good for major spills.

Cat litter, clay based granuals. Not the best thing but if you have a major leak over the garage floor, spread the cat litter liberally all over and sweep up a couple of days later.

Coconut husk. I run a machine shop and we use this stuff;
https://isol8.co.uk.
https://youtu.be/WO5gBwRERiw.
It's shredded coconut husk and although expensive (around £11 per 10l bag) is the best thing at soaking up oil that I have found. It soaks up faster than anything I have used industrially (over 45 years!) and that includes the professional oil and chemical spill kits that you can buy. We still use spill kits to control major spills but ISOL-8 is fast and easy to use. After it has soaked up the spill it can be collected and stored to be used again providing it is not too contaminated.
What I like about it is that its very light and is easily spread by hand, you just grab a handful and throw it over the spill or just tip it out of the bag. I buy boxfulls of the stuff for work and always keep some handy for immediate use.

It all depends on how bad your spill is but I guess we have all had accidents with engine oil or brake fluid etc.

To remove oil stains from concrete or block paving, I have used this several times and have had very good results

https://www.amazon.co.uk/McKlords-Ltd-I ... C65&sr=8-7

Hope this helps.

[Classiccars]

Some very handy info thanks