There are TWO options that you can try: 1) soak the stain in straight Dawn for at least an hour and then rub it brisky between your hands and rinse it out before rewashing, or 2) the more likely fix for the oil stain is to soak the stain in Goo Gone using the previous instructions. Keep in mind that Goo Gone stinks to high heaven so I suggest washing it out in the sink with plenty of detergent such as Dawn, prior to rewashing it in the clothes washer. I've gotten out oil stains that have been stained for ages.

Here are the directions. I wish you could see the pictures of how this looks, but they sent me a color copy, not a link. Since your patio is green, you would probably have to paint it some sort of cement type color to form the 'grout lines' before rolling on the bricks. If you have patience and a steady hand, this is a great cheap fix. Let me know if you do this and how it turns out. Or, if you have any questions. from Cottage Living: for painting old concrete to look like brick. This is the technique I used on my patio that I got from Cottage Living Magazine. They sent me a reprint, since I misplaced the article. I only wish I could post the photos from the article so you could see what she is doing. But here are the written instructions. Let me know if you need any help. You can do it Go Faux it. The plain paving around the 1930's cottage did little to enhance its charm, but tearing out the concrete and laying a brick walkway would have cost thousands. Instead, Claudia mixed a batch of brick colored paint and rolled it right onto the concrete. Initially, she tried stenciling the bricks, but when it looked 'too neat and perfect', she decided to do the job by hand. After painting a 100 foot long path in an afternoon, she was so pleased with the results that she went onto brick her entire driveway. Details: Paint a brick walkway:Gather the goods: 4 inch paint roller, paint tray, custom blended paint 1) Claudia Darr used 1 gallon of Benjamin Moore's MoorGard Low Lustre Latex House Paint (#103-4B) in the following forumla (the paint dealer will know what this means):OY 1x8, RX 5x, BK 1x22, MA 3x, WH1x16, TG 18 2) Clean the area you plan to paint, and let it dry thoroughly 3) Beginning in a corner, use a 4 inch roller to paing " bricks". Make each one about 7 inches long, leaving about 3/4 inch between each brick (to simulate grout line). Stagger adjoining rows so bricks form a wall pattern. Good luck with this and let us know how it turns out. Some tips from me: sweep the area well before you do this. The 4 inch roller is a skinny little roller that I found in the Benjamin more paint store. It came with a roller stick. I attached one of those wooden poles that screwed into the handle of the roller handle. It is the type you would use when you would paint your ceiling. Trust me, you do not want to bend over with the roller for an entire day painting the ground! Experiment on some old newspaper first to get your technique down. And, I first went around the entire outside of the patio laying the 'bricks' out along the edge in the opposite direction that I ran the rest of the bricks in. It makes for a nicer look.

Great information silversilverado, thank you so much! Did you have mold all over or just in particularly damp spots? My red cedar is only on the second floor and is almost completely protected by a big roof overhang (only the north side ever really gets wet with rain), but we are in a region of the Alps that is a bit damp and chilly... I'm wondering if I will have much moisture problem (the 60 year old pine siding we took down was in really great shape). Your advice sounds very reasonable. I just wish I knew if these oil saturators were the same product as an the oil based stain we used in the US, but I don't think so because they are really new and you can only get them clear (they're mixtures of natural oils, like linseed) and since the product itself is the oil, there is no water based equivalent. It's supposed to be the most ecological treatment for wood. I love the idea of trying the product on a sample first. Quite wise. Thanks again!!

I stained a pool deck with Behr semitransparent stain. It started to flake off in under one year. Behr refunded my money, but the deck looks terrible now. A portion of the deck with new concrete is fine. I think the problem is old concrete doesn't take the stain. Plus the Behr stain is not a true acid based penetrating stain, but some kind of a glop that sits on top of the concrete. Good luck.