Getting Your Driveway - Yes Driveway! - Ready Before You Sell Your Home!

There are many things people can do to get their home ready before they sell - most common are interior upgrades/improvements, reducing clutter, depersonalizing, repairs, etc.

One thing people tend to over look - yet it is one of the first things seen when pulling up to a home - is the driveway.  Out on a listing call last week - the potential seller did a wonderful job getting their home ready to sell - inside and out.  But what really stood out were the oil and grease stains in the driveway - and garage floor!  These stains can come from anything such as car leaks, lawn mowers, snow blowers, etc.  

Because these liquids are all different, cleaning techniques vary slightly from fluid to fluid and surface to surface.  Here are some basic tips from Good Housekeeping and Readers Digest that will help remove certain stains:

Oil. To remove oil from your driveway, first determine whether the fluid is wet or dry. If the spill is new, start by covering the stain with cat litter, cornstarch, baking soda or cornmeal, which will help absorb the extra moisture. Once the pavement is dry, or if the stain was already dry,  wet the stain with water and scrub with a stiff brush and a paste made from baking soda and water. Finally, rinse the pavement with a hose and let it air dry.   To remove dried oil from concrete, douse the stain with spray lubricant and then rinse with water, says Reader’s Digest. Another method is to put engine degreaser on the stain and scrub it with a wire brush.

Transmission Fluid. Oven cleaner can help clean up this type of liquid. Simply spray the stains with the cleaner and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then, use a stiff brush to scrub the spot and rinse it with your hose at its highest pressure.   If the spill is new, start by covering the stain with cat litter, cornstarch, baking soda or cornmeal, which will help absorb the extra moisture. 

Gasoline. Soak the fresh gas spill with cat litter, baking soda or commercial absorbents and sweeping away excess fluid. Next, scrub the stain with a mixture of dishwasher detergent and water and let it soak in for a few minutes before rinsing with a hose. If that doesn’t take care of the problem, use trisodium phosphate bought at a hardware store, mix it with warm water and scrub the spill with the solution until the stain lightens.