As you know, many used oils are considered to be hazardous and cannot be put in with your regular trash. At your home, the most common one you will have to worry about is used motor oil. While you can take it to an automotive service center to get rid of it, there are also many ways you can reuse it yourself.

Be careful when handling it. Wear gloves, clothing that will not allow it to soak through to your skin, shoes that will not absorb it, and a painter's mask. If you notice the oil has a lot of particles in it, you should pour it through a strainer to get rid of the debris. Once you are ready, here are just a few things you can do with used motor oil.

Paint Fences

Mix the oil with some creosote and paint livestock fences. This will protect the wood from the elements and keep insects from making a home in it. In addition, your animals will not like the smell so they will not want to chew on the fencing. This can be very handy if you have a horse that likes to crib out of boredom.

Clean Tools

Saw blades, drills, and other tools that require lubrication can be cleaned and lubricated with used motor oil. The oil will remove rust and also keep it from coming back. For tools that have stuck moving parts, you can soak them in the oil or spray it on them as you would any penetrating oil to loosen things up.

Use Fuel

As long as you filter out contaminants, used motor oil can be used as fuel. It is best to only use it in appliances that are not inside. You can have a hot water heater or boiler kept under a carport, but not enclosed completely, and use the oil as fuel. You can also use it in lanterns or torches. 

Straining used motor oil will allow you to use it in many outdoor applications. Of course, you could also take it to a recycling plant or actually build an oil recycler yourself. While you cannot get the oil as pure as a big company can, you can remove most of the volatile chemicals to be able to reuse the oil. You should strive to get as much use out of your motor oil as possible. Reuse it a few times until it is too dirty for you to clean it yourself and then send it to a recycler. A company like Denver Used oil can provide you with more information.