how to remove sap from hands

how to remove tree sap

Want to know my SUPER SIMPLE tip for how to remove tree sap from almost anything?

You've come to the right place!

I have TONS of experience removing sticky tree sap from shoes, clothing, hands, hair, toys, strollers, and more, as we had roughly 35-40 massive drippy, sappy pine trees on our property when we first moved to our farmhouse.

Since then, we had all our pine trees cut down (sad but necessary); however, I still use my simple tip to remove tree sap at least a few times each season.

sicky tree sap

How to Remove Tree Sap from Skin:

This is actually the easiest remedy of them all — simply spray a little cooking spray onto the sappy areas, scrub for a few seconds, then wash the area with regular hand or dish soap and warm water.

This has worked every time for me in a matter of seconds

how to remove tree sap from hands

How to Remove Tree Sap from Hair:

I really wish I didn't know this tip — but I do, and thankfully, it's also really simple 🙂

Just pour a little vegetable oil into your hand and rub it into the sappy area. You could even use a comb to scrape it out. Once the stickiness is gone, you can then just shampoo as normal (you don't need to shampoo immediately, you can wait until bath time.)

How to Remove Tree Sap from Clothing:

This is probably the most annoying process, and it's not always 100% successful. However, it is fairly simple and doesn't take much extra time.

The first step is to scrape off any pooling sap if applicable. Then let the sap-infected area soak in a little vegetable oil.

Now comes the tricky part — removing the oil from the clothing. Dish soap actually works really well at removing oil/grease stains so that's what I usually use. However, feel free to try any of your favorite stain/grease removing tricks.

You'll most likely want to look over the item after it comes out of the washer BEFORE you put it in the dryer to see if the oily stain came out. If not, try the dish soap again.

This method also works with fabric cushions for your outdoor furniture.

How to Remove Tree Sap from Toys:

I can't even tell how you many toys I've almost trashed because I didn't feel like cleaning the super sticky sap… but since I'm pretty frugal, I usually cave and end up cleaning the toys!

Whenever I find sap on our plastic toys, I simply grab a small dish and pour in some vegetable oil. Then I take an old t-shirt rag, dip it in the oil, and rub over the sticky areas. Sometimes I need to use a putty knife to help scrape the sap off, but most of the time it just rubs off onto the rag. (I toss the rag when I'm done)

After the sap is removed, I wash the toy with a bucket of soapy water, rinse it with clean water, and let it dry in the sun.

I've had a lot of success with this, but it doesn't always work, especially if the sap has been on the toy for a VERY long time (like over the entire winter).

So there you go — a super simple, quick tip to hopefully save you loads of time and frustration if you ever come into contact with sticky tree sap!

how to remove tree sap