A compound of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon Oil is a non-polar chemical substance that is viscous liquid in nature at an ambient temperature. It is classified as hydrophobic because it does not mix with water but, for its nature of mixing with other oils. It’s classified under mineral oil. Crude oil is a crucial resource in the modern economy. The source of crude oil is from ancient fossilized organic materials like zooplankton which is converted to oil.
So, oil spilling is the process in which viscous oil is released especially in the marine environment. As a result of pollution, oil spilling can be from tankers, drilling rigs, and wells as well as spills of refined petroleum products. With their by-products, oils spill also can occur in the vehicle engine as a result of leakage from the oil tank or as a result of possible mistakes from human beings, when such happens, you will need to clean the engine to avoid any misfortunes
Time taken for an Oil spill on the engine to burn
When oil spills on your engine you must take possible measures to clean it off, letting it burn until it disappears should not be your choice. Time taken for it to burn off completely may not be identified since it depends on the mechanism you used to clean it off. Therefore, time will equally vary. In the subsequent content, we have discussed in detail different ways in which you can clear the spilled oil from the engine.
1. Washing up accessible oil
While holding your oil, someone comes to see the progress then boom! He touches your elbow and the oil spills off to the surface of your engine. Then what do you do? Simple! Sop up with a clean cotton rag or a piece of paper or even a towel, clean as much as you can access else it will be harder than you may think. If by bad luck the oil spilled on moving pulleys and belts, then you must thoroughly wipe it away.
2. Washing the engine
If you own a spray can of degreaser, then carefully splash on the spot where the oil spilled, since grease is soluble in oil, then it is cut through the oil to wash it away. After the grease has dissolved in the oil, wash the engine with either a garden hose or the pressure washer. But when using pressure wash you must be careful because the water you are spraying can damage the electrical components of the engine.
3. Running the engine
Unfortunately, if you spilled the oil onto your engine, then, just make it simple, go onto your driving seat, insert the key and start up the engine. As the engine starts running, the engine oil may cause a foul odor as the oil is heating up and burning off, therefore you are advised to run the engine in a well-ventilated area. In the process of running the engine, the oil burns off within a few couples of minutes.
4. Using Dish soap
Given the oil does not mix in water but when used together with water and most importantly using a stiff brush and garden hose to rinse away the suds, then the oil stains on your engine will disappear within a couple of minutes.
5. Kitty Litter
Using a cheap clay-based cat litter then will offer you another kind of the best solution to dry off the oil from your engine surface. Stomping on top of the litter granules will help soak up the oil as you should leave it overnight to dry off. Then sweep the litter off the next day as you hose off the area.
6. Oven cleaner
Within 5-10 minutes you should be leaving the stains to stay after spraying them. Then scrape them with a stiff brush as you should use the hose at the highest pressure level to rinse the stains away.
7. Baking soda
On the engine at the oil stains, sprinkle an appropriate amount of baking soda and scrub with a stiff brush then wait for at least 30 minutes and rinse off the surface to obtain it clean.
8. Powdered laundry detergent
With your detergent, then sprinkle a little of it on the spots of oil stains, scrap the stain and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and hose off.
N/B: After every one of the ways above, depending on the one you will see as suitable for you. Make sure you run your engine for at least 8-10 minutes to let the oil fully burn off.
Possible effects of not cleaning the oil spill on the engine
Cleaning an oil stain from an engine is cool, you may choose to ignore it but then you must prepare for the worse, this is because an oil spill is not just messy and dirty but also it can be very dangerous.
While driving the serpentine belt can come off and potentially it will lead to loss of steering power and other functions.
Another very important reason why you should clean burn off the spilled oil on your engine is to avoid electrical sparks and hot steel since spilled oil is more of a fire hazard.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
- Can I use the same oil that I use for the engine in my gearbox?
Depending on the level of technology used, then the answer to this question will vary. Although you do so on the old vehicles but with the current technology vehicle you have to use different products for each.
- Why should I choose Synthetic oil?
Facing the fact of the viscosity of the base of oils used, then this will be one of the major advantages over mineral oil which are made from conventional bases that require a large number of purities for them to improve the viscosity.
- Why am I supposed to change the oil?
To maintain the top operation of your vehicle you have to change the oil regularly, the main reason for this is lubricants easily collect particles and external pollution and also because the efficiency of the oil diminishes as time goes by.
- What should I do with the used oil?
Experts advise us to deposit the used oil into special containers that are found in the parking slots in the service stations because if deposited anyhow it will lead to adverse effects due to its biodegradability nature.
Conclusion
Oil is a very important product in the current technology field of transportation and industrialization, due to its viscosity, oil acts as a major lubricant in many moving parts as well as protection services from rust. Also economically we can earn a living from it by selling the extracted oil, but with all these benefits, then we should have to take into account all the safety measures given.
Cleaning or drying off the spilled oil from your engine should be a rule if at all you want the best for your vehicle, therefore to achieve all these you should consider all the measures that we have discussed but if you are comfortable with it, then don’t blame anybody in future because automatically you have to get a replacement for your engine.