Dealing with tomato tar

Labradors2 · August 17, 2014

Has anybody got this licked?

I know that we can squish a green tomato and smear that all over our dirty hands to remove the tar. Failing that, I have a spray bottle of white vinegar which I spray all over my hands then "wash" them with it then rinse, before soaping up. Yet however diligent I am, those yellow marks are all over my kitchen and bathroom towels and they look unsightly. - and it doesn't come out!

Does anyone have a good recipe for removing tar from towels and clothes?

I try to remember to take a bowl into the garden with me to save using the front of my t-shirt as a bag to carry my tomato haul back to the house!

Linda

ContainerTed · August 17, 2014

Oxyclean and Dawn soak and then Oxyclean in the washer as well. Gets in out for me. I use only Dawn on my hands and am careful to not touch anything before taking care of them.

Labradors2 · August 17, 2014

Thanks Ted,

Will give it a try!

That Dawn is amazing stuff isn't it? ( have a note somewhere that the apple scented one is great for lacing fruit-fly traps!) I must try using that instead of liquid soap......

Cheers,
Linda

rags57078 · August 17, 2014

I would try simple green , its an amazing cleaner/degreaser

bower · August 17, 2014

I can't deal with it at all without a nail brush. I have a nice coarse bristle brush that I use to scrub my hands with soap whenever I've been at the tomato plants. Not perfect but better than without. Chlorox spray and hot water then takes it off the sink...

I have had the same problem with towels, I just use some household bleach in the wash and that seems to get most of it out. Better than detergent alone.

Also wearing more gloves, especially rubber gloves, for pruning jobs and such. Never as nice as bare handed, it's hard to resist..... well, it's inevitable, I still get it on my hands.

**carolyn137** · August 17, 2014

Linda, next time try a nice juicy RIPE or half rotten tomato and it does the trick. It's all we ever used on the farm where I was raised.

Actually I've never heard of using a green tomato, assuming you mean an unripe one, since they have little juice.

What you call tar is actually a secretion from tomato trichomes and good thing I could remember trichomes when Googling.

http://biologicalthinking.blogspot.c...ato-hands.html

Carolyn, who used to keep three pairs of sneakers, that's what they were once called, the current ones and when they got green/black when shot moved on to the next pair, but the third pair were my dress sneakers, if you will, and buy more and repeat sequence as long asnecessary.

salix · August 17, 2014

Only on your hands?!? Guess it's because I'm short - I have to practically crawl into the plants to pick - am green up to my shoulders, and neck and face and ears...
Carolyn, I use a somewhat similar system, only in my case it's garden shirts.

Labradors2 · August 17, 2014

Thanks Carolyn!

I had Googled the problem and came across a site where they said that "tomato growers use an unsaleable green tomato" to clean their hands. You are perfectly right that they are severely lacking in juice! Next time I'll try to find a ripe one!

Unfortunately, your link didn't work for me.

I wear dark coloured garden clogs in the garden, so no problems with getting them dirty

.

Linda

**carolyn137** · August 17, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labradors2

Thanks Carolyn!

I had Googled the problem and came across a site where they said that "tomato growers use an unsaleable green tomato" to clean their hands. You are perfectly right that they are severely lacking in juice! Next time I'll try to find a ripe one!

Unfortunately, your link didn't work for me.

I wear dark coloured garden clogs in the garden, so no problems with getting them dirty

.

Linda

It just opened via Google for me again, but didn't open for me here, so here it is again, and then I'll post a different link.

http://biologicalthinking.blogspot.c...ato-hands.html

And the second one:

http://www.growingformarket.com/arti...-tomato-plants

The hairs being referred to in the above link are the trichomes.

I just checked the above two links and they open fine for me in this post.

Carolyn

Cole_Robbie · August 18, 2014

The stuff is so bright and colorful when I wash it off that it makes me wonder if it could be made into a very effective yellow dye.

AKmark · August 17, 2014

Grab a stalk of rhubarb and grind it up in your hands, removes dirt too, and is not sticky.

Labradors2 · August 17, 2014

Good tip to use rhubarb when there are no tomatoes to use Mark!

Thanks,
Linda

ddsack · August 17, 2014

When I know I'm going to be spending some time tying up or pruning leaves, I try to remember to put on the disposable blue nitrile gloves - can be found in the paint sections of big box stores. They are much stronger than latex disposables and you still have pretty decent feel. They can be reused a couple of times if you put extra foot/baby/antiseptic powder (or cornstarch?) in them to keep your hands from sweating too much, and are careful in taking them off. Sprinkle in a few shakes of powder, pinch closed the wrist so the rest of the glove inflates a little like a balloon and shake the glove so the powder penetrates into all the finger openings. I even reverse left to right hands the next time I use them, so the dirtier sides are on the back of the hand, and the fingertips and palm are less worn.

Labradors2 · August 18, 2014

Thanks for the links about trichomes Carolyn!

I was interested in the comment about adding a leaf or three to a stew to make it taste tomatoey. I thought that the leaves were poisonous! I wonder if Sungold leaves would be amazing or not?

Dee, Thanks for the idea of nitrile gloves. Probably the best way to avoid having disgusting- looking hands all summer!

Linda

ginger2778 · August 18, 2014

Thanks for starting it Linda. Very very helpful. Good for those times I have forgotten to put on gloves.

August 17, 2014	#1
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,896	Dealing with tomato tar Has anybody got this licked? I know that we can squish a green tomato and smear that all over our dirty hands to remove the tar. Failing that, I have a spray bottle of white vinegar which I spray all over my hands then "wash" them with it then rinse, before soaping up. Yet however diligent I am, those yellow marks are all over my kitchen and bathroom towels and they look unsightly. - and it doesn't come out! Does anyone have a good recipe for removing tar from towels and clothes? I try to remember to take a bowl into the garden with me to save using the front of my t-shirt as a bag to carry my tomato haul back to the house! Linda

August 17, 2014	#2
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	Oxyclean and Dawn soak and then Oxyclean in the washer as well. Gets in out for me. I use only Dawn on my hands and am careful to not touch anything before taking care of them. __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

August 17, 2014	#6
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Linda, next time try a nice juicy RIPE or half rotten tomato and it does the trick. It's all we ever used on the farm where I was raised. Actually I've never heard of using a green tomato, assuming you mean an unripe one, since they have little juice. What you call tar is actually a secretion from tomato trichomes and good thing I could remember trichomes when Googling. http://biologicalthinking.blogspot.c...ato-hands.html Carolyn, who used to keep three pairs of sneakers, that's what they were once called, the current ones and when they got green/black when shot moved on to the next pair, but the third pair were my dress sneakers, if you will, and buy more and repeat sequence as long asnecessary. __________________ Carolyn

August 17, 2014	#7
salix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: north central B.C. Posts: 2,310	Only on your hands?!? Guess it's because I'm short - I have to practically crawl into the plants to pick - am green up to my shoulders, and neck and face and ears... Carolyn, I use a somewhat similar system, only in my case it's garden shirts. __________________ "He who has a library and a garden wants for nothing." -Cicero

August 17, 2014	#13
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	When I know I'm going to be spending some time tying up or pruning leaves, I try to remember to put on the disposable blue nitrile gloves - can be found in the paint sections of big box stores. They are much stronger than latex disposables and you still have pretty decent feel. They can be reused a couple of times if you put extra foot/baby/antiseptic powder (or cornstarch?) in them to keep your hands from sweating too much, and are careful in taking them off. Sprinkle in a few shakes of powder, pinch closed the wrist so the rest of the glove inflates a little like a balloon and shake the glove so the powder penetrates into all the finger openings. I even reverse left to right hands the next time I use them, so the dirtier sides are on the back of the hand, and the fingertips and palm are less worn. __________________ Dee **************

August 17, 2014	#4
rags57078 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: South Dakota Posts: 278	I would try simple green , its an amazing cleaner/degreaser

August 17, 2014	#5
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	I can't deal with it at all without a nail brush. I have a nice coarse bristle brush that I use to scrub my hands with soap whenever I've been at the tomato plants. Not perfect but better than without. Chlorox spray and hot water then takes it off the sink... I have had the same problem with towels, I just use some household bleach in the wash and that seems to get most of it out. Better than detergent alone. Also wearing more gloves, especially rubber gloves, for pruning jobs and such. Never as nice as bare handed, it's hard to resist..... well, it's inevitable, I still get it on my hands.

August 18, 2014	#10
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	The stuff is so bright and colorful when I wash it off that it makes me wonder if it could be made into a very effective yellow dye.

August 17, 2014	#11
AKmark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Wasilla Alaska Posts: 2,010	Grab a stalk of rhubarb and grind it up in your hands, removes dirt too, and is not sticky.

August 18, 2014	#15
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	I really like this thread. Thanks for starting it Linda. Very very helpful. Good for those times I have forgotten to put on gloves.