How to remove tar from clothes at home?

To get a tar spot on your clothes, it’s not at all necessary to hug the pine trees in the forest: it’s not enough to take out the Christmas tree after the New Year’s holidays, sit on a fresh log in nature or hang things to dry next to conifers on vacation.

Household pollution that we encounter daily is not as difficult to eliminate as removing tar from clothing at home - you may simply not have the necessary knowledge. This is exactly what we will try to correct with this step-by-step guide on returning things to their original appearance.

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What should not be done?

Let's first discuss what you do not need to do: either because it is unlikely to help, or because it can aggravate the situation. So, if a thing is dirty with tar, it’s not worth it:

• Throw clothes into the washing machine, as if you just dirtied the thing. Resin is not the simplest pollution, and without the help of special means, it will not be possible to remove it either by soaking or using a washing machine.
• To rub pollution - this will only help the resin to eat more into the structure of the fabric, complicating the task of cleaning things. And from fabrics of a light color after such a lash, you run the risk of not completely removing the stain.
• When deciding to use non-trivial methods to remove tar from clothing at home, such as vegetable oil or soda, do not count on efficiency and speed. Firstly, these methods are referred to as an option to combat the stain that remains from the resin, and secondly, there are other, more effective means to eliminate stains. In fairness, I would like to note that with the help of vegetable oil it is really possible to wipe the resin, but only if the pollution appears on a non-fibrous surface, for example, on the skin. And I mean, both the material and your hands. But for terry cloth, cotton, and for synthetics, oil has a dubious effect.

Important! The resin has the ability to harden, so if you want to clean a thing without much effort, try to remove it as quickly as possible.

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We remove the resin

Want to know how to remove pine tar from clothes? The main secret is that you just don’t need to wash it! The first step in cleaning clothes will be the mechanical elimination of contamination:

• It will be easier to remove the stain from the resin, the more resin you can remove before using solvents. Make your task easier by picking up the maximum amount of resin with some sharp object or, if there is nothing suitable nearby, simply with your nails.
• If you have removed almost all of the resin, you can skip this step, however, if you still cannot see the structure of the fabric through the resin, you need to reduce its amount. To do this, send the thing in the freezer for an hour or you can still put something cold on the stain, for example, frozen meat or vegetables. After freezing, some more resin can be removed by rubbing the stain: the resin should crack and crumble, leaving behind a less frightening stain.
• Another mechanical option, to clean the resin from clothes, can be considered heating the dirt with an iron, so that the resin, becoming viscous, goes to pre-prepared substrates in the form of a strip of cotton cloth or a sheet of paper napkins.

Important! This method will be appropriate if you have already tried the two previous ones, but still a lot of resin remains in the fabric structure, and if you are afraid to remove the stain with solvents from a dyed or delicate fabric. For those who are still going to use less gentle methods, this method is not necessary at all.

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Wash the stain

No matter how gentle and delicate methods to remove tar from clothes at home, you may not find on the Internet, their speed and effectiveness can not be compared with the strength of the solvent. Of course, such substances like this are quite aggressive, and we recommend that you test them on a small inconspicuous part of the thing before filling them with a stain. But it is they who can wipe off the resin very quickly and save you a lot of time.

Universal remedy

I would like to start with the tool with the most positive reviews - this is ordinary alcohol. After wetting a cotton swab or cotton swab in alcohol and rubbing the stain slightly, you can clean the item in just a few minutes.

Important! But you will succeed if you have not neglected the preparatory stage and eliminated the maximum amount of resin by mechanical means. After all, you can try to remove a thick layer of resin with alcohol for a very long time - that's why the first stage is so important.

If your pollution is not too old and you did everything according to our recommendations, then most likely you will not have to do anything else. In this case, alcohol will have the most destructive effect on the structure and color of the fabric.

Other solvents

But what to do with a stain that cannot be removed with ordinary alcohol? More aggressive agents that will not stand on ceremony with the resin can help wipe it off:

• Acetone.
• White Spirit.
• Refined gasoline.
• Ammonia.
• Turpentine.

You can even remove tar from clothes at home even with nail polish remover, if you have nothing else at hand. True, it is necessary to make a reservation that eliminating the stain with gasoline, which is used to fill the car, will not work - you just put a new stain on the clothes over the dirt. In addition, it is advisable to apply any of these products with a cotton swab without touching a clean area of ​​the fabric so as not to damage its structure.

Important! Using a solvent is the quickest option to clean the clothes of resin, however, the solvent is capable of damaging things. If the fabric is very thin, or its paint is not resistant, it is better to spend more time and remove the stain with alcohol.

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Eliminating traces and odors

Did you manage to clean the thing from pollution, but now ugly stains have formed on your clothes, and the smell from the solvent is very persistent and is not going to weather? In order to remove stains and odor, you should wash the item in an automatic machine with the addition of a stain remover or dishwashing detergent. After all, it is much better to smell the aroma of alpine meadows than to have a train, like from a jacket of a workshop worker.

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Useful Tips

It must be remembered that each fabric is distinguished by its special structure and quality, therefore, when choosing a method to clean the resin from clothing, you should be extremely careful. For example:

• Alcohols and acids can destroy some types of paints.
• Acetone and acetic acid can destroy acetate silk fabrics.
• Alkalis and bleaches can be used only for white fabrics.

Also, in the process of processing itself, it will not be superfluous to remember the following nuances:

• To prevent the resin stain from spreading over the fabric, when removing it, moisten the fabric with water around the dirt. This will serve as a limiter. You can also use starch or talcum powder.
• It is necessary to process from the edges of the contaminated place to its middle.
• If the stain is large, it is more convenient to apply the stain remover using a pipette or cotton swab.

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Stock footage

It is possible to remove pine resin from clothes and save your favorite things if you follow our instructions. Henceforth, try to be careful, but this useful knowledge will remain with you in case of unforeseen situations.