Your Ultimate Guide to Removing Tar from Work Boots (The Easy Way!)

A ‘Man at Work’ has to go through certain work conditions that are unbearable.

But those conditions can’t be neglected either!

They are the part of your job…. Be it the dust covering the work boots or the mud that sticks to them. And if it’s the tar that got stuck to your work boots, you’re going to regret all the way throughout until you reach a place where you get a chance to remove it.

But….cleaning tar from work boots is a very hectic job and something that isn’t a quickie. Still, if you follow the right set of guidelines to remove tar from your work boots, you might be able to do that. It’s more of a challenge to a man who is already surrounded by a lot of problems at the worksite; especially when he does not have that much of time in spare to consult a professional.

By knowing what resources you’ll need and how to properly use them to remove the tar from your work boots, you’re all well-prepared to make the tar go away for good.

The steps outlined in this article would not only help you in removing the tar from your work boots, they would also ensure that your work boots don’t wear out too early.

Depending on which material your work boot is made of, these tar cleaning steps along with a bunch of other handy tips would help you remove the tar from your work boots! Please keep on reading….

How to Remove Tar from Work Boots in 3 Simple Steps:-

To begin with, you’ll need the following things readily available with you:

• Reusable knife (preferably a plastic knife)​​​​ - This is the first thing that you must have. A disposable knife comes in quite handy for removing large amount of tar from your work boots or the tar that got stuck between the grooves patterns;

• Dish cleaner (a soap would work too) - You’d be needing this to wash the tar off of your work boots after you melt it. Most of the times what happens is, the big chunks of tar go away but the leftover still remains there which is harder to remove;

• A used toothbrush - To carry out the entire process of rubbing your work boots;

• Natural softeners (olive oil, petroleum jelly, vegetable oil) - These softeners are pretty good at softening the tar or anything that is similar to it;

• Synthetic/Natural solvents (WD-40 or even kerosene would work well) - These solvents are an additional help, but we do recommend;

(This guide was prepared with the help of The Clean Boot - 100% reusable shoe covers and The Original CleanBoot® Boot Covers Australia)

Step#1: First of all, you’ll have to check how much tar is on your work boots. And once you determine it, pick up a disposable/reusable plastic knife to remove the tar. Just be sure that you take necessary precautionary measures in order to avoid scratching or making holes on your work boots.

After you remove some chunks of tar from your work boots, check to see if there are still any stains left – which we’re sure there would still be. If they are, use a dish detergent or soap to remove them. We recommend using warm distilled water for this.

Pour a mixture of dish washing detergent or soap into a bowl and use an old toothbrush to scrub the remaining tar stains that did not go away with the plastic knife. Rub your work boots in a circular motion. Continue doing it until the tar is completely removed.

Here’s one tip: Never ever consider spraying pressured water on your work boots. Doing so would only create further mess and the tar would eventually spread up. This is something what most of the people do without even knowing the consequences.

Step#2: If the first good step did not remove enough tar from your work boots, you must follow this step#2. Now you’d be needing a natural softener like olive oil or petroleum jelly. Apply a small amount of it on the areas where tar still exists. We recommend letting it stay for one whole hour before removing it. And once the softener does its work, use soap and warm water to remove everything off.

Step#3: This step is to be followed if the tar still exists in areas where it is pretty hard to reach or if the stains are all over the creases. For this step, you’ll be needing a synthetic solvent like WD-40 or anything similar in nature would do its job.

Now soak the areas of your work boots where tar stains still exist. Let the synthetic solvent be there for a while after which you need to scrub those areas so that all the contaminants of the solvent go away. Now thoroughly rinse with a soap mixture.

Here's one tip: If the above-mentioned steps really didn’t work well, try using automobile cleaners and you shall be more than delighted to see the same revived look of your work boots.

Some More Tips to Clean Tar from Your Work Boots

• The automobile cleaners are pretty good at removing the tar without making any damage to the object. Even if you do get successful in removing the tar from your work boots by following the steps mentioned above, we recommend using these special automobile cleaners.

• Baby oil is also very effective at removing the additional tar.

• Use the elbow grease to remove the tar if it’s stuck on the soles.

• Placing your tar-affected work boots in the freezer (for one night) would make your job easier.