Cleaning Oil from Concrete Drive Throughs

Introduction

Cleaning oil from concrete can be a frustrating task particularly when dealing with drive through concrete . The building manager is charged with keeping their drive through facility clean and attractive to customers, but must always guard against the potential for environmental pollution. Oil contamination from vehicles is a particular problem. Oil stains being the most noticeable to appearance and yet the most stubborn to clean. The longer oil spills are left to accumulate, the harder they are to clean and the greater are the issues of disposal.

Cleaning oil from concrete

Many common surface cleaning and washing routines can contribute to this pollution threat. Water runoff from pressure washing, containing oil, dirt and grease will harm aquatic life if it gets into waterways via the gutter or storm drain. On the other hand, cleaning oil from concrete with dry powder is messy with residual often tracked around by vehicles. Dry powder requires careful clean up and disposal as the powder absorbs the oil and becomes classified as a hazardous material in its own right.

Microbial Cleaning

Microbial cleaning is a much more effective way to achieve deep cleaning oil from concrete. CoverClean HC uses living organisms (microbes) to eat and consume oil rather than disperse it. Enzymes released by the microbe break the oil contaminant down into digestible pieces. The oil is then consumed as food by the microbe. These microbes migrate into the pores of the concrete to totally digest oils, converting them to carbon dioxide and water, eliminating problems of residual pollutants.

There are major differences between using CoverClean HC and the use of standard degreasers. Detergents and degreasers remove or disperse hydrocarbons from the surface of the concrete only. They do nothing for contaminants in the pores of the concrete. Furthermore typical degreasers don’t actually break down the oil. As “solvents” they thin out the oil and spread it

CoverClean HC is a very green cleaning process, cleaning without pollution. The product has no VOC’s is Non Hazardous, Non Flammable and there are no restrictions on the surfaces it can be used on. Typical applications include:

• Machine shop floors
• Parking lots and driveways
• Drive throughs
• Toll Booths
• Heavy oil contaminated concrete
• Asphalt
• Brick and stone pavers
• Dumpsters
• Petroleum tanks and pits
• Kitchens and restaurants