The best way to remove roof sealant from your hands with items you have around your home is to douse your hands with cooking oil (such as olive oil) and let the oil soak for 20–30 minutes. Then, wash your hands with soap and warm water. Instead of a home method, consider using a contractor’s scrub containing pumice stone. Alternatively, you can use specially designed hand wipes treated with solvents to remove roof sealant from your skin. Avoid using chemicals such as paint thinner, WD-40, or gasoline on your skin to remove roof sealant.
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What to Avoid When Removing Roof Sealant From Skin
Do not scrub roof tar from your hands with an abrasive brush or scrubber. Doing so can damage your skin, causing raw skin, tenderness, or even bleeding. Although roof sealant is stubborn, excessive scrubbing isn’t the answer. Instead, it’s essential to use a compound that helps loosen the bond between the roof sealant and your skin.
- Avoid harsh brushes and scrubber pads when removing tar from skin—they can rub your skin raw.
- Do not use paint remover products—such as mineral spirits or paint thinner—to remove roof sealant from skin.
- Harsh chemicals can damage skin and cause numbness or irritation.
It’s also essential to avoid using harsh chemicals to remove roofing tar from your skin. Gasoline, WD-40, mineral spirits, paint thinner, and other paint-remover chemicals are dangerous if applied to your skin. These compounds can cause skin irritation and numbness. There are several harmless options you can use instead.
3 Ways to Remove Roof Sealant From Your Skin
If you need to remove roofing sealant or epoxy from your skin, it’s essential to use a safe method that will remove the roof sealant without damaging your skin. Below are the best ways to remove roof sealant safely.
Cooking Oil
One of the best ways to remove roof sealant from your hands is by rubbing a cooking oil into your skin and allowing it to soak for 20–30 minutes. You can use olive oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, or any other food-grade oil you own. This is a great DIY method because you probably have olive oil or a similar cooking oil in your home. To use this method:
- Pour a liberal amount of olive oil or other natural cooking oil onto your hands.
- Rub the olive oil into the skin until the roof sealant on your skin is thoroughly coated with oil.
- Put on a pair of rubber, silicone, or nitrile gloves.
- Wait 20–30 minutes.
- Remove the gloves.
- Wash your hands with warm, soapy water.
This method is skin-safe and super-effective. Unlike harsh soaps and chemicals, using olive oil won’t damage your skin or dry it out. Because it uses inexpensive household products, it’s one of our favorite methods for getting roof sealant or epoxy off your skin.
Gojo
One of the best products for removing roof sealant, silicone caulk, and resin from your skin is Gojo. Instead of a soap product, Gojo is a skin cleanser that contains crushed pumice. Pumice is a type of porous stone typically used to scrub skin. To use Gojo to remove roof sealant from your hands, simply fill one palm with Gojo and rub it on your hands. The pumice will gently scrub away the roof sealant.
- This Gojo hand cleaner contains pumice stone, a natural product that scrubs roof sealant off skin.
- Alternate between scrubbing with Gojo and washing your hands with soap and warm water.
- Gojo will remove a broad range of stains from skin, including paint, tar, and grease.
Because Gojo does not contain soap, it’s best to alternate between scrubbing your hands with Gojo and washing with soap and water. The pumice in Gojo is gentle enough that it won’t rub skin raw, which is a risk with brillo pads and scrub brushes.
Hand Cleaner Wipes
One of the most versatile and convenient ways to get roof sealant off your hands is by using hand wipes specifically designed for the job. These hand wipes can be used to quickly clean your hands even if you don’t have access to running water. So, if you’re working outdoors, it’s great to have these wipes in your toolbox.
- Hand cleaner wipes can be used to remove roof sealant from skin quickly and easily.
- There’s no need to wash your hands if you have these wipes, so they work great on job sites without easy access to running water.
- Standard hand wipes won’t remove roof sealant. It’s important to use a brand designed for contractors.
It’s essential to use hand wipes specifically made for contractors when removing roof sealant from your hands. Standard baby wipes or other hand wipes aren’t engineered to tackle grease, tar, and epoxy.
Does Vinegar Remove Roofing Tar From Skin?
Vinegar is mostly made up of acetic acid. This is a drying agent that won’t remove roofing tar from your skin. Instead, you’re most likely to cause skin irritation and inflammation by using vinegar on your skin. If you need to get roofing tar off your skin, stick to skin-safe oils that help soften the tar. Otherwise, use a hand cleaner with a crushed pumice stone to help scrub the tar from your skin without causing skin damage.
How Do You Get Roof Sealant Off Your Hands?
The best ways to remove roof sealant from your hands are:
- Rub cooking oil into your skin and allow it to soak for 20–30 minutes, then wash with soap and warm water.
- Scrub your hands with Gojo or a similar cleaner containing crushed pumice stone.
- Use hand cleaner wipes designed for removing grease, tar, and paint.
These methods are skin-safe and effective. Do not use harsh chemicals such as paint thinner, acetone, or gasoline, since these can cause skin inflammation, redness, and irritation. Additionally, steer clear of scrubbing with a brush or harsh scrubber pad. Too much scrubbing can leave your skin raw. Stick with a gentle method and you’ll remove the roof sealant from your hands without harming your skin.
