Removing Pine Tree Sap from Carpet

How do I safely and cheaply remove pine tree sap from a short pile carpet?

By Jill from London, England

Answers: Removing Pine Tree Sap from Carpet

Read answers for this question below.

By 08/21/2011

Just used cutters insect repellant, sprayed it on the car where the sap was, rubbed very hard, it all came off!

By 02/10/2011

My suggestion would be to toss some ice in a plastic bag and place it on the sappy parts of your carpet. Pitch is similar to gum, and to remove gum off clothing you freeze it and simply peel off. Never run into the pitch problem but that is what I would first try.

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Removing Pine Tree Sap

How do I remove pine tree sap from my car?

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Try Pine Sol or Pine Oil. I had a drop of sap fall into my hair and that's how I got it out. I've heard it works on clothes, etc. (08/28/2003)

By Verue

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

You might try mayonnaise, as a former florist, we used it in our shop to remove pitch from our hands. (09/02/2003)

By ThriftyFun

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Rubbing Alcohol or Simple Green, although I am not certain how Simple Green would affect your paint job. Be sure to read the label. (05/07/2004)

By Tawnda

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

I've used plain baking soda on a damp rag and it has worked well. Rub some into the pine sap. It is gentle so it won't hurt the wax or finish. Keep applying it until you can remove it. You can buy large bags or boxes of baking soda for cleaning purposes, but it is the same as in the small boxes. (07/12/2004)

By ThriftyFun

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

How do I remove tree sap from my car or clothing? Pine pitch can easily be removed from almost anything by using a water-soluble paint brush cleaner. The best thing, which is also harmless to skin, paint, and hair, is bacon grease or lard. Just rub it on, and off comes the sap. To get pine sap off of your hands, simply rub mayonaise on them. Then wash it off. It works great. To remove pine tar or almost anything, apply lighter fluid, gasoline, or WD-40 to the stain. Plain old rubbing alcohol also works great. Avon Skin So Soft (oil) removes it just like that. It also will take the sap off cars and windows. (10/08/2004)

By vicsul1

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

I simply use butter to remove sap from my daughter's hands and feet in the summertime. If you do this in the bathtub there is no greasy mess to clean up. (01/28/2005)

By Suzie

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

My lab got pine sap all over her head this afternoon and I had no idea what to use to get it off of her safely. After reading the previous entries, it sounded to me like anything really oily would do the job. I decided to give baby oil a try. It worked like a charm. (06/04/2005)

By Jeannette

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Do not use any alcohol based solvent on finished surfaces. Especially your car. It will ruin your paint. For hands, feet, and clothing, I use Goop or a similar hand-cleaning formula found at most hardware and drug stores. It also removes grease, tar, and generally any oil-based resin. Safe, and washes off with water. (06/05/2005)

By wbr

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

I discovered by trial and error:

This works fantastically. Beacon floor wax remover, removed heavy thick, spots of tree sap, the car was covered. It took about 30 minutes to completely remove off both cars. Other brands of similarly constituted floor wax remover will probably work equally well. (09/01/2005)

By Robert E. G.

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Try the Murphy's Oil soap. It is gentle on the car, but cuts through practically anything. Try it non diluted, and use a plastic scraper (like a spatula) (03/22/2006)

By camo_angels

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Thanks, "OFF" works wonders on removing pine sap from my car. There is also a lotion form that works as well. (04/23/2006)

By OTT

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

HEET, the stuff you put in the gas tank in the winter to prevent freeze ups. Works very well for removing tree sap from cars. (05/23/2006)

By skiziks

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

I tried all of these suggestions. What finally worked was superglue remover on a textured cleaning cloth. Came right off. Additional comment on superglue remover. I used it only on the windshield, not on paint. I don't know what it would do to a painted finish. (07/21/2006)

By Hermit

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Absolutely works. I used a Cutters pump type. It also took road tar off my lower door panels with the same ease as it took the pine sap that had been on my hood for over a month, (11/26/2006)

By Bill D.

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

My experience with pinegum and my Dad told me this one...is to use peanut butter. Tis the oil that desolves the gum. Rubbing it in well works, but leaving it on overnite makes it come off really easy. (05/29/2007)

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

I have a pair of navy dress pants that I'm going to try, but let me warn you. I was at my car dealership and my trade-in from 3 years ago was sitting there and the dealer told me that the paint job had been ruined by the kids and their bugspray. Don't leave it on there. I don't know how ruined it is, but sounded like it was going to need a re-paint. A little sap would be better than a big swipe of bad paint. (07/25/2007)

By Karensue

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Try Rain X for removing pine gum off your car, works well for me (08/08/2007)

By Bob P

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Hand sanitizer did it for me. Had some pine tree sap on a nylon tent and after reading all the good advice on here, tried hand sanitizer and it took it right out (incidentally, mayonnaise didn't work for me). Many thanks for the advice. Bob (05/13/2008)

By Bob

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

DEEP WOODS OFF worked great. I got pine tree sap all over the seat of my favorite blue jeans. I tried the OFF the next day and it came off perfectly. (06/28/2008)

By Sheryl

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

I just removed tree sap from my hair by applying Goo Gone. It worked instantly. (07/15/2008)

By Nancy

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

I used hand sanitizer in my son's hair to get the sap. It worked great. (07/28/2008)

By Hoilley

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Got some pine sap on my pants and carpet I used Grease Lighting and it all came off my pants after a wash and it came out of the carpet using a nylon scrub brush. (09/28/2008)

By Butch

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

I had pine sap on some new wood molding that I was installing. 70% isopropyl alcohol worked great to remove it. (10/12/2008)

By Richly Blessed

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap from Carpet

Mayonnaise worked for me. I rubbed some into the sap spot and massaged the carpet. Within a few minutes it started loosening. This was fresh sap. I put a little more on until I couldn't feel any sap anymore, then soaked up the mayonnaise with paper towels then soaked the carpet with Pet Stain remover. I just checked the spot, completely clean and no odor. (01/18/2009)

By Stu

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Mayonnaise easily removed sap from my Golden Retriever's head. Thanks for the tip. (02/27/2009)

By Sharon

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

I read these posts and saw that someone used OFF on their yoga pants to get sap off. I just tried it an dit works like a charm. Thank you for posting. (07/21/2009)

By Alyssau

Removing Pine Tree Sap

How do I remove pine tree sap from my car?

Removing Pine Tree Sap

To remove pine sap from the painted surfaces and the windows of your car. Use a product called PB Blaster. This is rust loosening aerosol that can be purchased at most auto parts stores. Spray a little on a soft rag and rub. It takes a little elbow grease, but it does not harm the paint.

By Bob from Carpentersville, IL

RE: Removing Pine Tree Sap

Baby oil is much less expensive and you don't have to wear gloves. It has always been the way we've removed pine sap from our hands. Give it a try. (10/28/2009)

By kimbe37