True dat. Besides, how I am supposed to get in that tight parking spot? 
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Am I ever glad I’ve never lived in an HOA situation. My friend repainted the deck of her condo, where all the decks have to be painted grey, and her nasty upstairs neighbor, who seems to have nothing to do but poke her nose in things that don’t concern her, filed a complaint with the HOA because it wasn’t exactly the correct shade of grey.
I’m with @Brian_R170, in believing that driveways, like any other part of the home, should be kept clean. I too have had some guests who dripped oil and it took some effort to get it up.
No HOA for me; It’s the OCD that forces me to keep things clean.
Funny story: I am working with a builder who’s doing some custom homes in my area. A couple of months ago I was tasked with finding some paver options for a client’s yard and driveway. While I was looking over brochures at a local distributor I realized the cover photo of one of the catalogs was actually my driveway (and garage). Even more incentive to keep things clean.
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@HH_AZ @Brian_R170 Well, if I was the sort to get fussed about oil stains on the driveway, I’d likely have done my diveway in some sort of paving that hides the stains, rather than light-colored smooth grey concrete 
@muddy even if there was such a pavement, I’m not one to “hide the stains”; I’m one who would rather clean the surfaces.
With that said, the pavers were there when I purchased the home.
Other than gravel and maybe asphalt there are very few surfaces that would fit your criteria.
- Gravel doesn’t do well if you’re trying to keep your car clean and scratch free, Something that doesn’t appear to be a concern for you.
- Asphalt doesn’t do well in the hot summer heat of AZ, but having grown up in a home with an asphalt driveway, I know first hand oil stains are still visible, albeit a little more “hidden”.
There isn’t a specific rule about oil stains on the driveway, but my next-door neighbor received a letter from the HOA that called out their oil stain several years ago, so there must be some generic rule they can cite to tell a homeowner to clean it up. To be fair, his was really bad and had been building up for years. The spot where he parked his vehicle was about 3ft x 5ft and made of packed oil and dirt well over 1/2-inch thick in the center (I helped him clean it up after he got the letter).
Unfortunately, the HOA won’t allow us to replace the concrete with pavers.
I don’t think hiding oil is possible, but you can seal the surface to make cleanup easy and minimize staining (I think this was what @NordlingHouse was referring to). Unfortunately, the heat and sunlight in Arizona ensures that sealers don’t last long. In fact, if I just leave the oil stains like they are now, the’ll be nearly disintegrated in about 6 months.
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Ah, the tyranny of the HOA. When I lived in Canada, there was no HOA, but I had nasty neighbors who reported me to the city for the “unsightly mess” of lumber scraps on the side of my house. It was actually a very small pile, and quite neat, not strewn all over, and was destined to be broken up for kindling. But as a single mom with 3 kids, it wasn’t exactly at the top of my list. And the neighbors who reported it (of course the city wouldn’t tell me, but I knew- all the rest of the neighbors were nice and friendly) didn’t even live where they could see it- their house fronted on the block behind me, but they liked to shortcut through the alleyway next to my house. Once she ran over my 5 year old’s tricycle that she’d dropped in the alley because she had to desperately come inside and pee, on purpose.
I was thinking something like an exposed aggregate, with lots of black gravel in it.
I don’t want to wash covers, or even have decorative pillows anymore.
Have you ever watched the movie “Along Came Polly”? It’s an entertaining little romantic comedy with Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller, and totally worth watching for the “decorative pillow” scene.
Never seen it but I now have seen the “decorative pillow” scene
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Get a couple bags of cheap cat litter and sprinkle on top of these. Two treatments should help remove these. Then if necessary apply the degreaser.
There are Fifty Shades of Grey.
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Ok, I’ll get me coat 
JF
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I have wanted to do that in every guest room I’ve stayed in that had useless pillows.
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No useless pillows here. I’m talking about throw pillows for the couch and the reading chair - you know so that you have something to put behind your shoulders or under your elbow to get comfortable. I don’t put any on the bed though, there are already pillows on the bed of course.
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Minor, but my last guest before everything hit the fan (mid March) tried to light and ruined—not one, not two, but three flame-less battery operated candles. I couldn’t even be mad about it because it was so comical.
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Lol. That’s perseverance for you 
I have 3 apartments inside my home. They all have the same exact model of electric kettle. But only in one of the apartments, always the same one, a guest ruins the kettle by putting it on the gas stove about every 2 months. Not sure why that apartment is cursed for electric kettles but I’m thinking about making an art collage of the sad notes that people leave me after they do it. I always feel really bad for them 
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Why not just get a regular kettle that goes on the stove? Seems like a better idea than replacing an electric kettle every 2 months.
We started out with one of those and guests boiled it dry (the same apartment ). It seems more dangerous than screwing up with the electric kettle.
Besides, it only happens in that one cursed apartment. Who am I to interfere with such a phenomenon? 
People always leave cash for it (we’ve probably made a profit because they just guess how much it will cost). And…it’s become a source of amusement at this point, though it’s not nearly as reliable as how creative people get with the bamboo fold-out dish drainer
And before someone asks, yes, we put a note on it and mention it in the house manual and tour. It makes no difference. It still happens. Even guests who stay in more than one of our apartments who burn the electric kettle, they only burn it that one apartment.
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That is decidedly weird that it only happens in one apartment. I did that myself once, at my daughter’s house. Because I’ve never had an electric kettle in my life, got distracted talking to my granddaughter one morning, and just set it on the burner without thinking. Caught it in about 2 seconds, but still too late. My daughter has high-class taste, so of course it was a $100 Cuisanart kettle 
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