Maple tree mess

[tennistime99]

Didn't know Maple trees dropped sap but they had to be the culprit. I noticed a misty drop here and there in my headlamp while starting a campfire and thought maybe it was going to rain. Woke up to what looked like dew all over my tarp except things were sticking to it... Bugs, ashes, leaves etc.

Got home and threw it in the washing machine full of hot water and hand washed it. From what I can tell I think out came off.

If it was pitch from fir trees out must have been blowing on the wind because I had no fir trees directly overhead.

Here's a picture that sort of shows the small drops:



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[OCDave]

On occasion, I will wipe down my tarp with a damp rag. This seems to have been an effective maintenance over the past several years. I do this for both sap and bird droppings.

I suspect throwing it in a washing machine would be overkill. I also would fear inflicting unnecessary wear-and-tear on my gear.

[Scarecrow]

That's some Maple King sweat ya got there.

[TrailSlug]

The Maples in my yard rain sap on my cars if we park under them. We like to park under them this time of year to get the cars out of the heat but I have to wash them weekly to keep them from being a giant sticky mess. A wet rag should be more than enough to clean this off but if not a bit of soapy water will definitely clean it off. I wouldn't dream of putting a tarp in a washing machine though.

[michigandave]

That's some Maple King sweat ya got there.

I was thinking the same thing. On one of my last trips, I had the same thing dripping on my tarp. It seemed to dry pretty quick and when it hardened up I could just wipe it down and clean it off.

[Scarecrow]

Kinda off topic, but after seeing this, I had to look up "how to make maple syrup".



You guys ever harvest that sap for this?

[tennistime99]

The Maples in my yard rain sap on my cars if we park under them. We like to park under them this time of year to get the cars out of the heat but I have to wash them weekly to keep them from being a giant sticky mess. A wet rag should be more than enough to clean this off but if not a bit of soapy water will definitely clean it off. I wouldn't dream of putting a tarp in a washing machine though.

I just used the machine for the tub of hot water where I could take it outside to dry through the garage instead of the house. Never ran the machine, I could only imagine it wrapping around the agitator and ripping to shreds.

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[tennistime99]

Kinda off topic, but after seeing this, I had to look up "how to make maple syrup".



You guys ever harvest that sap for this?

Mine were big leaf maple trees. Nothing good from them except maybe furniture.

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[dscotthep]

I've tapped a large maple tree in my yard the past two springs and collected 35 gallons of sap, which cooked down to about 3 quarts of syrup. Maple sap comes out of a tap looking (and running) exactly like water. It tastes like water with a hint of sugar (it's about 2% sugar). I'm not sure what would come raining down from the canopy in the middle of summer that would be that sticky.

[olddog]

Hung under what I believe were poplar trees in Va. once and collected similar droppings. Noticed it first because of the ants collecting it. May have been honeydew droppings from aphids or leaf hoppers. Just wiped off with a damp cloth.