All the excitement I had over seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time quickly turned into angst over how I would clean up this mess.
Recently, my family paid a trip to California for a wedding, the first time any of us had visited the state.
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Of course, one of the first things we had to do was set our feet in the Pacific Ocean.
Throughout our lives, we had set foot or swam in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, all of the Great Lakes, and even the Mediterranean Sea.
So obviously our excitement level couldn’t have been higher when we stepped into the Pacific Ocean in Redondo Beach, but then something happened that I never experienced on the beaches of any other oceans or the Great Lakes.
I noticed a black clump of dirt covering my toe, so naturally I thought it was mud that I just needed to wash off in the water -- it didn’t come off.
I then tried to get it off the toe with my hands -- bad decision. The stuff was on my hands now. Come to find out, this was more than just mud or dirt. I had somehow stepped in ocean tar, and quickly found out that it was a more serious situation than I could imagine.
Ocean or beach tar can be formed due to the combination of debris or hydrocarbons that are present in water. Tar can seep through pores of specific rocks such as limestone, shale or sandstone when sediments in ocean floor start shifting.
Over the next couple of hours, it was quite an ordeal just to try and rid myself of this tar that was sticking to me as if it was another layer of skin.
Has this ever happened to you? If so, you know what I’m talking about. If not, here’s some advice on how to best deal with ocean tar.
1. Soap and water won’t work.
As soon as the tar was on my toe and hands, I just thought minutes of scrubbing with soap and water in a nearby bathroom would do the trick.
Nope.
It barely put a dent in it. It turned out to be a waste of time.
2. Here are some remedies that should work.
- Skin cleanser
- Shave lotion
- Coconut oil
- Cooking oil
- Mayonnaise
- Baking soda
- Apple cider vinegar
All the above can help remove tar, although it might take a few minutes of good scrubbing.
3. Local restaurants or food stands can be a savior.
If there are some food stands or restaurants nearby the beach, it is probably a good idea to see if they can help.
Fortunately, there were plenty of stands along the Redondo Beach Pier, and a generous lady who was running a churros stand turned out to be my guardian tar angel, so to speak.
The lady provided us a glob of something that I’m not 100% sure what it was. It could’ve been lard, butter or just a solid mixture of cooking material.
Whatever it was, it saved the day.
It took 10-15 minutes of rubbing, but eventually whatever the lady at the churros stand provided helped get the tar off both my toe and hands.
I’m not a big fan of churros, but I ended up buying three and leaving a healthy tip as a token of my appreciation.
The moral of the story is that if you don’t want to take a car ride home covered in tar before putting on home remedies listed above to remove tar, a nearby restaurant or food stand can be a lifesaver.
Do you have other remedies for removing tar from skin not listed above? Let us know in the comments below.