How to clean up spilled WVO

[Gruss]

I had a hose get loose while I was transfering some WVO tonight and blew WVO all over a basement room(concrete block walls and floor). I wiped up most of it with some rags, but still have a residue on the floor and a wall. What do you guys use to cleanup this stuff? I hope to clean it up before the wife finds it [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]

[babyarm]

I heard you could use brake cleaner.

[350 long rod]

Gasoline will cut it good also Castrol super clean works very good it is a alkaline type cleaner and will discolor many surfaces when used straight.

[93turbo'd_animal]

well seeing as how its in the basement I would skip the gas but brake clean works decent smell disappears fairly quickly but if you need something less harsh try dawn dish soap ya know it cuts grease out of the way [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]

[roreri]

Castrol super clean works good. Get it at the local Wal-Mart by the gallon.
I have spilt my share, and thats the best I've seen so far!!!

RoReRi

[Spencnaz]

There's also some stuff called Purple Power that works just as good as SuperClean, plus it's a bit cheaper.

Yeah SuperClean works great, I had some WVO stains on my truck. I diluted it 50/50 and it took those stains right off.

[soulpatchfr]

[ QUOTE ]
There's also some stuff called Purple Power...

[/ QUOTE ]
i just picked up a gallon of PP - can't speak to WVO but it works wonders on my waste motor oil mess. i'm a real clutz [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[asnowsquall]

When I spill on the floor and there is a puddle I use a dust pan and a putty knife, or joint knife. You know those 3 or 4" wide things like [image]http://i19.ebayimg.com/01/i/03/85/b1/9a_1_b.JPG[/image]
You can get plastic one cheap and use it like a squeegy to push the oil into the dust pan then when you have a bunch you can dump it in that handy 5 gallon bucket and let it settle so you can process it later. Any residue left on the floor? Going to try using sawdust now that I know I can burn it. If I use any paper towels those go in with the sawdust for burning. Sure would like a pressure cleaner for the garage floor and driveway. For those real stubborn stain you may want a torch [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Seafarer12]

I wouldnt use gas unless you want a change of blowing your house up. Thats all you need is fill your basement up with gas fumes then some of it gets close to an ignition source. I would try simple green first its non toxic and biodegradable. We used that on a lot of the ships I was on and it always worked good. I might try 409 too its works good too.

[Gruss]

Thanks for the tips. I have some simple green I'll give that a shot. If that don't work I'll try the PP or super clean. Gasoline in the basement would not be a good thing as a gas hot water tank nearby would like the fumes [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smokin.gif[/img]

[cranetruck]

Try baking soda and water.

[Gruss]

Tonight I put some saw dust down and that got most of it. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]
Tomarrow I'll sweep that up and then mop the floor and wipe down the walls with some simple green. I also put a switch on my oil pump tonight so it will be a quick shut now next item it happens (I'm quite sure there will be a next time [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img])

[ToddT]

From a chemical design standpoint, I doubt Simple Green will do much good compared to Purple Power and Castrol's Super Clean. The same NaOH that reacts with the oil in biodiesel is needed in the cleaner to saponify the oils.

I have a general purpose cleaner I manufacture that does better and is actually safer than Simple Green. Quite frankly, it didn't remove all the sticky oil residue from my handtools.

Today, I ran some tests with Purple Power and Super Clean. I made 50% strength samples of each and dipped some nasty handtools in them. I couldn't tell any difference in cleaning power. Both chemicals have sufficient caustic (NaOH to cut the grease).

Neither cleaner caused burning of the skin. However, both dried my skin significantly. That's just part of cleaning. Occasional use- don't worry about it. If you have a bunch of tools to clean or doing sufficient cleaning... wear gloves. Those disposable latex or nitrile gloves should be fine.

Curriously, I also tested a soy-based emulsifier blend (made essentially from biodiesel) and it didn't do nearly as good as the much less expensive Purple Power.

OK... chemical cleaning lesson: Whenever your hands feel really slick when rinsing with water, its a dead give away that the cleaner has a fair amount of caustic. Its cheap and works. I don't like it for health reasons... but those big companies make a lot more money than I do.

The higher the pH, the greater probability of flash rusting. After rinsing, I spray everything down with WD-40. Just a tip.

Todd

[flyingisbest]

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img]Sheesh! I thought it was just me! I musta spilled 3 gallons in little separate spills today when I changed out some valving in my filtration setup. It just seems like if a hose dangles over a bucket, it's guaranteed to fall out IF it's full of oil. If a threaded fitting has to be changed, you are sure to have no way of draining the oil beforehand, and no way of putting a bucket under it. That would have required preplanning to avoid such spills. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] By the way, I also used sawdust, and lots of it. It burned pretty nicely in the woodstove, but not sure I will do that again, as the finished basement then had a slight odor of nasty restaurant back side. I guess I will try the purple power, I miiss that "slippery finger" feel from NaOH on my hands [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]. Long story short, sprinkler solenoid valves, though cheap, large enough, and tolerant of veggie oil from a composition standpoint, for some reason do not open and close with warmed or cold veggie. Sometimes you just gotta try to know. Chalk that one up to experience.

But some really good news, and maybe a great tip for those starting up a filtering station. I found that you can use a tankless filter bag adapter, available for the standard 4" and 7" diameter filter bags, in lieu of an expensive tank. They are actually better than the tanks in one respect, with their restrictive retainer baskets, cause the adapter plates don't impede flow. And cheap, so you can set up multiple bag stations. Don't ask me how they seal, cause they are simply a tapered cylinder that you fit the steel ringed bags over, and gravity does the rest. Just place a container below, like a big funnel (I use some spare 15 gallon poly mini drums)
At any rate, I had great success, my setup is as follows: I have a 50 gallon water heater tank adjacent to my waste oil boiler (a Becket based Shenandoah) to heat the oil. After it's good and hot I let it settle overnight, and then drain the water and crud through an enlarged bottom 2" valve. A HUGE amount of crud comes out that way. Then I pump the oil by opening and closing various valves, to a ceiling mounted 1" pipe fitting arrangement and vertically suspended adapter plates I spoke of. I really should take some pictures. At present, I use 2 adapter plates, and filter 100, then 25, then 10 micron. I put 50 gallons through and the bags look like they are only just getting started, don't impede flow at all yet.
Note that my previous attempt with jean leg filters was a disaster. They clogged immediately! With pressure flow they jsut sprung big leaks like a kid who just downed 3 cokes and had a giggle fit. And just using gravity was a no-win too, a 15 gallon overhead tank drained maybe 2 quarts in 24 hours. I don't have time for that nonsense. These filter bags are the ticket! The only down side I see, is that I bought the 4" adapter plates, and now see that there is serious economy realized by using the large 4 square foot surface area 7" dia. bags, standard size #2, so I will likely change out at some point to that larger size, cause the bags are only slightly more expensive for 4 times the surface area. Huge lesson learned here, and I thought it was valuable enough to share...hmm, maybe I shoulda made it a "plans kit and sold it" like some others do...joking of course. Hope this helps somebody, cause after all the messes and frustrations, this success is pretty sweet.

[MrPlowJr_EZ_V]

After workign in 2 restraunts and spilling hundreds of gallons of grease... my favorite is good old HOT water.


Boiling water is best, melts it right away.

I actually one night forgot to close a valve in a fryer, and ended up with 4 empty fryers, and 2 underground drain pipes clogged with grease! Hot water and persistance got it out.