Untreated oil stains will deteriorate your asphalt pavement. Your pavement is made up of sand and aggregates which are held together by a binder called asphalt pavement. Oil will dissolve the binder, causing raveling to occur. In cases where the oil stain has been untreated for a while, the top of your asphalt pavement may become soft.
It's always best to treat oil stains as soon as possible. The longer the stain is left on top your pavement, the more it will become saturated into the asphalt, causing the pavement to deteriorate quickly.
Your parking lot budget likely consists of a number for repaving. But do you have a budget for asphalt maintenance? Performing asphalt maintenance will help extend the useful life of your asphalt and delay the need to repave (repaving can be very costly). Asphalt maintenance is the practice of preventing, or quickly resolving issues such as cracks, water penetration, and oxidation. Neglecting maintenance will result in the deterioration of your pavement. This is why we preach performing regular maintenance.