Removing tar: pick your surface
Tar is an oil and grease stain, usually from fresh road surfacing or beach tar walked in on shoes and paws. The chemistry stays the same wherever it lands — but the safe way to treat it changes completely with the surface, which is why each pairing below has its own guide.
Not water-soluble
Water alone will not touch this stain; it needs an absorbent, surfactant or solvent stage.
Not heat-sensitive
Temperature is not the enemy with this one; the removal method itself does the work.
Fresh vs dried-in
Tar walked in from fresh road surfacing is soft, sticky and spreads at a touch — chill it hard before doing anything. Older tar has firmed up, which actually helps: the bulk chips off cold, leaving a smaller solvent job. Either way this is a solvent stain; water plays no part.
Tar removal guides by surface
Tar on a wool carpet
very hard to remove · pro sometimes needed
Ice to harden the tar, then white spirit or a citrus-based tar remover on a cloth
Read the guideTar on a nylon carpet
hard to remove · pro sometimes needed
Ice to harden the tar, then white spirit or a citrus-based tar remover on a cloth
Read the guideTar on a polypropylene carpet
very hard to remove · pro sometimes needed
Ice to harden the tar, then white spirit or a citrus-based tar remover on a cloth
Read the guideTar on a polyester carpet
very hard to remove · pro sometimes needed
Ice to harden the tar, then white spirit or a citrus-based tar remover on a cloth
Read the guide