Fresh motor-oil drips lift with hot-water extraction and a degreaser before they bond to the concrete; oil that's sat for weeks or months has usually soaked past the surface and needs a poultice or solvent-based treatment instead of a single pass. Fort Lauderdale Pressure Washing treats the two differently rather than running one generic driveway wash over both.
The difference between an oil stain that comes out and one that doesn't is almost always time. A drip caught the same week sits on top of the concrete and responds to hot water and a degreaser worked in with a brush before the pressure washer ever touches it. A stain that's baked in under the Florida sun for a season has migrated into the concrete's pores, and no amount of PSI pushes it back out — that one needs a poultice that draws the oil out from underneath instead.
Fort Lauderdale Pressure Washing looks at the stain before quoting the job — age, size, how deep it's set — because a five-minute degreaser pass and a multi-hour poultice extraction are different jobs, not the same 'driveway cleaning' line item. Across the 20 areas the crew covers, it's the single most common call after a standard house wash: someone gets the exterior cleaned, notices the driveway stain that's been there for years, and adds it on.
How can you tell if a stain is too old to fully remove?
Some stains are. Oil that's been sitting on porous, unsealed concrete for a year or more, especially in direct sun, will lighten significantly under a poultice treatment but may not disappear completely — that's worth knowing before booking, not after. Sealed or newer concrete responds better, because the oil hasn't had as many pores to travel into.
Is a garage floor stain treated differently than a driveway stain?
Yes. A garage floor has no slope to carry water and degreaser to a drain, so those jobs use a wet-vac extraction step instead of a straight rinse. The crew, based at 9 NE 19th Ct in Wilton Manors, carries wet-vac gear on every truck so a garage stain doesn't need a separate scheduled visit.
Does pressure washing alone ever work on its own?
On a stain caught within a day or two, sometimes — hot water and enough dwell time on the degreaser is occasionally all it takes, no poultice required. That's the cheaper version of the job, and the one we'd rather sell when it's actually true, because a poultice treatment takes longer and costs more for the same result.
Will pressure washing alone remove an old oil stain?
Not reliably — high pressure moves surface dirt but doesn't pull oil out of concrete once it's soaked in. For a set-in stain, a poultice or solvent treatment does the actual lifting; the pressure wash at the end is just the rinse.
How soon should I get a fresh oil stain treated?
As soon as you reasonably can. The longer a fresh drip sits, especially in direct sun, the further it migrates into the concrete's pores, which turns a same-visit degreaser job into a longer poultice treatment.
Can you guarantee the stain will disappear completely?
For fresh stains, generally yes. For stains that have set for a year or more on unsealed concrete, we'll say upfront if we expect the poultice to lighten it rather than fully clear it, so the result isn't a surprise.
Can I book a same-week appointment?
Scheduling runs Monday through Saturday, 8 AM to 5 PM, and oil stain jobs are worked into the same visit as a driveway or house wash whenever possible, so you're not paying for two separate trips.