How to Remove Tar From Your Shoes

How to Remove Tar From Your Shoes
Published: Nov 11, 2009
Updated: Nov 20, 2021
1 minute read

While it’s a pain to clean tar from the soles of your shoes, it’s not impossible and cleaning the shoes yourself saves you from buying new ones.

Things You Will Need

  • Plastic knife
  • Toothbrush
  • Degreasing dish soap
  • Towel
  1. Scrape off as much of the tar as you can using a plastic knife. Be careful not to poke the sole of the shoe and damage it.

  2. Squirt degreasing dish soap onto the soles of the shoes. Use a toothbrush to scrub the tar in a circular motion, getting down in the grooves of the sole thoroughly. Scrub until all of the tar disappears.

  3. Rinse the soap from your shoes and set them on a towel to dry.

The Drip Cap

  • Typically, cities use tar — a black sticky substance — to repair cracks or pot holes in roads.
  • When exposed to high temperatures, tar melts slightly and becomes tacky.
  • Use a toothbrush to scrub the tar in a circular motion, getting down in the grooves of the sole thoroughly.

Photo Credits

Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images

Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images

ER

Emily Retherford has been a full-time writer since 2009. She specializes in travel, parenting, fashion and beauty with work appearing on various online publications.

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