If you are a mom, you probably have encountered the dreaded Gum in your clothing, and you might be Googling how to Remove Gum from clothing, praying you to find something that ACTUALLY works! Well, you have good news! We are sharing 9 tried and true methods that have removed Gum from clothing.
We are sharing the step-by-step guide on how to remove Gum from clothing!
How to Remove Gum From Clothing?
Chewing Gum is a nightmare to remove from anything, especially when it comes to clothing. It is not one of those things that you can just throw in the washer and hope it comes out. It requires pretreatment to try and remove the Gum from any clothing surface.
#1. Freeze the Gum
The first way to remove Gum is to freeze it off. That is right! First, put your item of clothing in the freezer. Once it is frozen, then remove it and take an ice cube and hold it on the clothing for at least 30 seconds.
This will make the Gum become hard, which will allow you to just peel the Gum off. If it is frozen and it still won’t come off you can scrape it off with a butter knife.
Most of the time, you will notice a mark or stain on the clothing because of this. If this happens, fill a bucket with warm water, shave some pieces of a Zote bard into the water with some Biz and let the item soak. Most of the time, I let this sit for at least an hour.
After it soaks, you can scrub it with a noninvasive brush and then add it to the washing machine on a normal cycle washing it at the highest temperature that the garment tag recommends.
This should remove the Gum and the stain from the clothing item. If for some reason it does not work, do not dry, it will set the stain in even more. You can repeat this process or try another method.
#2. Iron Removal
Did you know that using an iron to remove Gum is just as effective for freezing the items of clothing? It is true! Heating makes the Gum soft, allowing it to be easily removed by scraping it off. Of course, you will still have the residue that you will need to remove as well.
To begin, you will want to add some deep heat rub on the opposite side of where the Gum is. So you will add this to the inside of the garment. Next, you grab a piece of cardboard and lay it on a flat surface. Take the Gum and lay it on top of the cardboard. Using your iron on the heat seating of medium, rub the iron all over the area that has the Gum. (Your iron should never touch the Gum since you are ironing the backside of it). As you iron, the Gum will become very soft and start sticking to the cardboard. Do this over and over until all the Gum is removed from the garment.
If you see a stain on the clothing item, repeat the soaking process in the previous section and then wash the item of clothing at the hottest heat setting that the clothing items allow.
#3. Liquid Laundry Soap
Liquid laundry soap is another technique that works.
To use this method, you will need to cover the Gum with liquid laundry soap. Next, take a toothbrush and start to scrub the affected area. By doing this, it will begin to break up the Gum. Using a butter knife, scrape the rest of the Gum off the item of clothing. Use your fingernail if you must to get the rest of it off. Use the pretreat laundry method if it leaves a stain and then washes as normal.
#4. Using a Hair Dryer to Remove Gum from Clothes
Similar to the iron, this hair dryer method requires you to heat the clothing item up to remove the Gum. Before we begin this method, you want to make sure that your clothing item can get hot, so if it says hang dry or air dry, this is not a good method to use because it will probably ruin your item of clothing.
To begin, you will want to lay your gum clothing item on the counter that can get hot. On the hottest setting on your hair dryer, begin heating up the affected area on the clothing item. It will get very hot! Once the Gum is pliable, take a blunt knife like a butter knife and begin scraping it off while heating it up with the hair dryer. You will need to be careful doing this because your metal knife will get very hot! I totally recommend wearing gloves to protect your hands! Once the Gum is removed, pretreat the stain if needed and wash as hot as the garment will allow.
#5. How to Remove Gum With Vinegar
Vinegar is one of those pantry products that work wonders on stains, especially Gum on clothes. In order to use vinegar, it has to be made of colorfast materials. You will want to test the fabric in a hidden area before applying it to the Gum. Just use a q-tip, add some hot vinegar and test the fabric. If you find it to be safe, then follow these instructions to remove Gum from clothes using vinegar.
To begin, you will want to heat your vinegar in a microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute. Once it is hot, then add the vinegar to the Gum for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, the Gum will start to become gummy, and you should be able to remove it. Use an old toothbrush to get the Gum off the clothing item. Once all the Gum is removed, pretreat if needed and wash using a normal wash cycle.
#6. Removing Gum from clothes using toothpaste
Toothpaste is not just for removing plaque from your teeth; it can actually help remove Gum from clothes!
Grab an all-white cheap toothpaste, and let’s get to work!
To begin, add toothpaste to the Gum affected areas of clothing. Next, you will want to flatten the Gum. You technically can do this with your hand, but a credit card will work much better. Let it sit and let the toothpaste completely dry. Once it dries, the Gum should be nice and hard, and you should be able to just remove the toothpaste by peeling it off. Pretreat and wash the clothing as needed after the Gum is removed.
#7. Is it safe to use Peanut butter to remove Gum from clothes?
Peanut butter actually works great to remove Gum from clothes, but you have to be careful because the natural oils of peanut butter can actually stain the clothes as well. So, if you do use this method, be sure you pretreat the stain prior to washing it.
To use this method, completely cover the Gum in peanut butter. You want it to be nice and thick. Leave this on for only a minute, and any longer will stain the clothes. Scrape the Gum off the clothing with a butter knife. This should completely remove the stain. Add the clothing item to a bucket of hot water with Zote and pretreat it for at least an hour. Scrub the affected area before adding it to the washing machine.
#8. Using Coconut Oil to Remove Gum
Coconut oil is great to always have on hand! Recently I discovered that it is a great way to remove Gum from clothing. It works like a champ! You first will want to heat up some coconut oil in the microwave. Once it is hot, dip the clothing item into the coconut oil. Let the oil sit on the stain, and as it does this, it will help dissolve the Gum. Once the Gum is dissolved, you will want to get the oil off the clothes as quickly as possible. I recommend pretreating the stain and scrubbing it before washing the garment on the highest heat setting that the clothing can take.
#9. Gently Scrape
With all these complex methods to remove Gum from clothes, we can’t forget the one that might work the best if we are lucky! If the Gum is fresh and has not had a chance to set it into the fabric yet, you might be able to just scrape it off. If this is not working, you want to immediately stop and use another method as you will set the Gum in even deeper. If this method does work, just remove the Gum and wash as normal.
Have you tried any of these methods for getting Gum out of clothing? Which one is your tried and true method? Share with us in the comments!