One of the truest things about oil is that it always spills. It spills when it’s extracted. It spills when it’s transported. And, of course, it spills where you use it. This means that a place like a gas station, where many people are filling their cars with gasoline and oil, spills are likely. Unfortunately, along with spills come oil slip injuries.
While it’s impossible to stop spills completely, there are ways you can minimize spills and hopefully prevent oil slip related injuries using a few simple techniques.
When a person tries to manually fill their car with oil, they are likely to spill at least a little of it. With most cars, you can’t get the oil bottle right at the lip of the reservoir. Especially when the engine is hot, you have to hold the oil bottle above the reservoir, and it involves a bit of eyeballing to predict where the stream of oil will go when the bottle tips. Some people are pretty good and spill little to none. Others have a hard time with this and create a significant spill.
You can reduce spills of this type by providing a simple aid: a paper funnel. This won’t completely eliminate spills, but it makes it easier for people to get more of their oil into their car and less of it on your concrete.
Also, help people clean up their own spills by giving them paper towels if they report a spill.
One of the worst places for oil spills is on the concrete apron between pumps. This is a place where people frequently walk, whether they’re filling their car or are on their way between the pumps and the store. Plus, the concrete gets more slippery than asphalt if there’s a spill. When you sell people a bottle of oil, ask if they would move their car to a more out-of-the-way place before adding oil. That way, if they spill, it will be less of a hazard.
This can also help consolidate your oil spills in one area, where it’s easier to notice them. This will not only make it easier to deal with them, but it will also help to avoid slips in the future. Of course, not everyone will comply with your request, but it still doesn’t hurt to ask.
As long as it is safe to do so, try to clean oil spills immediately. One benefit of talking to people when they buy oil – when you give them a funnel and/or ask them to move their car – is that they’re more likely to report spills to you.
Whether the person making a spill or someone else mentions it, you should try to clean oil spills as soon as you know they’re there.
Even if you are friendly and engage with everyone buying oil at your gas station, not all of them are going to tell you when they spill oil. People also won’t mention if they have a car that regularly leaks oil, even if the leak is large and they just parked it on your apron.
Often, the only way to know when there are spills is to walk the property to look for them.
The problem with oil spills is that it can be almost impossible to clean them fully. Even if you get right out and wipe up spills, then put down the “kitty litter” absorbent, there will likely be an ugly residue left behind.
That’s where Terminator-HSD can help. Our bioremediation concrete cleaner can lift out and break down the oil that’s soaked into your concrete and asphalt. Using a combination of special absorbents and oil-digesting microbes, Terminator HSD can eliminate even old oil stains from your tarmac, apron, sidewalk, and more. You won’t be releasing oil into local water, and it doesn’t take much work: just sprinkle it on and mist it occasionally to stimulate microbial activity.
If you are looking to eliminate oil stains from your gas station property, order Terminator-HSD to completely eliminate them in an eco-friendly way. You can also contact us to learn about a volume discount.