Easily Mop Up Hard-To-Clean Oil Spills With A Surprising Pantry Ingredient

Oil spills are some of the most difficult messes to remove from a garage floor. If you have ever had to clean the thick liquid up, you probably know that attempting to wipe it away with a cleaning towel or mop can actually spread it around even further. It typically takes warm soapy water and several passes with a mop or towel to remove oil spills. You can actually simplify the process of cleaning oil spills off of your garage floor with oats. Believe it or not, this pantry ingredient is surprisingly helpful in absorbing liquids you accidentally spill on the ground. All you have to do is pour dry oats onto the oil spots, allow it to sit and work its magic, and sweep the oil-filled oats up with a broom.

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After completing this process, you should be left with a dry garage floor that is clean and free of slippery and hazardous oil. Although this hack is great to use in the garage, you can also pour oats onto liquid spills in your kitchen, bathroom, or any other rooms in your home with hard flooring. Once you master this cleaning technique, you might just find yourself reaching for oats to tackle liquid spills pretty often.

How to use oats to clean oil spills

To use this hack to clean your garage floors, grab plain oats and pour enough to completely cover each oil spill. Allow them to sit for at least 10 minutes so that they can absorb the liquid. Next, use a broom and dustpan to sweep the oats up and dispose of them. This should get rid of most of the oil, but you might notice that a bit of residue was left behind. Simply use a mop and soapy water to clean up any oil residue that remains. Now, enjoy your clean garage floor.

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Feel free to use this same cleaning process on other hard floors throughout your home as needed. If you need to clean oil stains left in your driveway, you can use this oat hack there, too. You might be curious about why oats are so great at absorbing liquids. It turns out that this is thanks to the soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, and starch granules inside of the popular breakfast food. These components soak liquid right up.

Although oats make it easier to clean oil spills off of your garage floor, you might want to take measures to prevent them altogether. When oil spills are left untouched for long periods of time, they can cause damage to the concrete floors present in many garages. The thick liquid may make concrete more prone to cracking. If your garage floors are made of this material, you may simply lay down cardboard in areas where oil may spill as a quick and affordable solution.

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