cat litter good for oil dry??

Justin SE IOWA · Feb 21, 2011

I have always used OILDRI but the price has gone up to $18 bucks for a 50lbs bag in my town. Was wondering if cat litter worked as good or is it junk?

Michael Priar · Feb 21, 2011

That is all I use. Sometimes have to grind it in a little more with your shoe (bigger grains), but has always worked fine for me. Buy it at the Dollar store, just a few bucks for a 20lb. bag.

MNGB · Feb 21, 2011

My that must be some special oil dry, I just bought (2) 25 lb bags at Fleet Farm about a month ago $2.79 a bag total was $5.58 + tax here in MN.
GB in MN

RobMD · Feb 21, 2011

OH YEAH - good stuff. Whenever I spill oil i pour it out on the floor and stomp on it to make little grains.

It actually soaks more than oil-dri brand absorbent. I keep telling my dealership where i work that it is good stuff but they have yet to start buying cat litter.

36 Coupe · Feb 21, 2011

Oil dry is 4 bucks for 40 lb at TSC.Used to buy at Sams Club until it went to 5.89.Saw it for 11.00 at a hardware store.Cat litter is the same stuff.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 21, 2011

Google "diatomaceous earth."

Brad Gyde · Feb 21, 2011

I'll be the first to say I have in fact used kitty litter.. Worked well enough.

What I can say (and I can't prove this to be fact or fiction) is I used to work in a Wal-Mart type of store here in Michigan in the late 90's/early 2000's and we had a oil spill, so me, being the quick thinker, grabbed a broken open container of kitty litter (since it'd get thrown away anyhow.. can't sell it they said) and used it to soak up the oil.. Worked fine. The next shift I worked our ES&T (or whatever they called em.. store safety people) said to never do that again as certain chemicals that could or could not be in kitty litter (or other items) could increase the risk of "spontaneous combustion" of the spilled oil.

I call BS on it.. Just relaying what I had heard, wonder if anyone else has heard it too? (As I said, I been known to still use it here in the shop now and then)

Oh, and last time I bought oil-dry it was about 5 bucks at my local NAPA (but it was about 6 months ago).. I want to say it was a 80lb bag.

Brad

Gun guru · Feb 21, 2011

Cat litter works great.
Or any other powder that absorbs, like drywall quicksand 45, 90 in the heavy double paper bags. I have used this and it works too, whatever you have laying around. Sand also works, cheap too.

Elmers Grassman · Feb 21, 2011

Not likely to react with oil, but there are chemicles out there that it can react with. Sorbant pads are the best. They collect huge amounts of fluid and are easy to pickup.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 21, 2011

Just had a great result with lime, litre of oil on concrete, no stain. secret is to do it early, no procrastination.

lloyd in sc · Feb 21, 2011

Just be sure it's the clay type It works fine.

MarkWV · Feb 21, 2011

to really step it up, use a 12" x12" piece of 1/2" or 3/4" steel plate, weld tab in middle with hole for a bolt, bolt handle thru it , run it back and forth over it, grinds it into small particles and helps push it down into any divets in floor, sweep up and dispose, works great Mark

cadet trooper · Feb 21, 2011

I agree but not the Tidy Cat one the family dog goes berserk with that smell!

msb · Feb 21, 2011

Got a sawmill or a cabinet shop near you? Sawdust works good and it is usually free.

eastexan · Feb 21, 2011

(quoted from post at 17:29:03 02/21/11) Just had a great result with lime, litre of oil on concrete, no stain. secret is to do it early, no procrastination.

Agreed. Lime sounds like a good idea.
Also what Gun Guru said about most any absorbable powder.

I used to work in a shop that got oil on the concrete floor all the time, and they would sprinkle regular portland cement powder on it. Then after a while they swept it up. Concrete floor always looked good.

37 chief · Feb 21, 2011

You guys with cement floors are lucky to have them. My shop has a dirt floor. It has been that way for years. Worked for Dad. I guess I could have it cemented, maybe after I win the lottery.I have old carpet, and plywod over a lot of it. It's not too bad though. Stan

MarkB_MI · Feb 21, 2011

I believe floor dry came first, then somebody figured out that it works pretty good in a cat box. I use the two interchangeably.

There are big differences in brands of cat litter. The cheap stuff is very dusty. Pay a little extra for the good stuff.

BIG ED · Feb 21, 2011

Works just fine,when I was buying a lot of salvage,I'd get cat litter sometimes,and sold most of it to shops for oil on floors.

Goose · Feb 21, 2011

That's all I've used for years.

C.R. · Feb 21, 2011

that was caused by using oil dri/ kitty litter on a vegitable oil spill, it will not heat up if used on a mineral oil spill

Richard from SE AZ · Feb 21, 2011

I live about 100 miles( I used to live within 5 mi)from a really big outcroping of diotomaceous earth. I go get me a truck load whenever I run low.I dig it out in big chunks and smash it up when I need to obsorb oil. Pretty cool cuz it's full of bones, teeth , etc. You never know what you will find in it.

MSD · Feb 21, 2011

I always used to use the cat litter also but after one use, I had to
toss it. I found some regular oil dry at Sam's Club in a green bag
and you can put that stuff down, swish it around and the oil is
gone. I pick it back up and keep it to reuse again. A bag last me a
long time now. Seems like it always dries back up.

PJH · Feb 22, 2011

It's made in Olmstead, IL, and I've always heard it's the same stuff, just different bags.

Paul

Detmurds · Feb 22, 2011

I remember back in the day when everyone would dump old oil in the ditch that was by the road. ....How times have changed!

I also remember "grown-ups" washing their hands free of grease and oil with gasonline!

Something I think about is why clean it up when it preserves things so well?

Anonymous-0 · Feb 22, 2011

I get the cheapest I can fid as long as it has clay in the description. Our drive is cobblestone and the street is asphalt. The cat litter soaks up the oil, but also camoflages the stain.

Dave

tlak · Feb 22, 2011

If you pour/spread a little gas over the stain then put the absorbant on it it will get most of the stain up too.

ncpapaul · Feb 22, 2011

Oil dry and cat litter are the same except cat litter stinks of perfume! Paul

Janicholson · Feb 22, 2011

Just avoid clumping litter. Clay or not perfume or not, clumping makes everything you had in mind go bad quickly. (almost everything) Jim

36 Coupe · Feb 25, 2011

Never saw drain oil dumped,When I worked in the Ford garage it was put in to an in ground tank.A fellow came around and bought it.You could buy reclaimed oil in 2 gallon cans.Most cars I had changed their oil by burning it.We fed drain oil to a cut down Model A Ford 1 quart to 4 gallons of gas.

cat litter good for oil dry??

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