How to Clean up Tar on Your Driveway
Whether the spill is small or large, removing tar from your driveway can be quite challenging. Fortunately, there are measures you can take to amend this predicament. First, if you plan on using a solvent to attempt to remove the tar stains from your driveway, read the entire label and manufacturer’s recommendations before doing anything since some solvents can actually allow the stain to seep more deeply into the concrete. If this happens, you risk permanently staining your driveway and much of the tar could become impossible to remove. Next, before you apply any solvent or solution, you should plan to scrape your driveway thoroughly with a chisel or the edge of a shovel. To get in between the cracks in your driveway, try to remove the tar with the edge of a flathead screwdriver.
Then, apply scouring powder and water to the surface and scrub the stain thoroughly. Rinse the stain clean with a hose and try using a poultice comprised of powdered material and toluene or benzol to remove the stain. Allow the poultice to sit as long as indicated by the manufacturer’s label. Then remove the poultice and use the scouring powder and water to scrub the stain free. If the stain is still there, you will need to resort to more intensive measures to remove or at least lighten it. First, you can consider using a resurfacing product like Mr. Mac’s Concrete Resurfacer to hopefully remove the stain. You should be able to find this product at your local home improvement store. If it fails as well, then your last alternative is to consider having your driveway sandblasted by professionals.
