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Chewing gum is one of the worst things to try and get rid of. It is extremely sticky and will form a gunky mess, where it will usually have been rubbed into the material that you are trying to clean. If you feel like you have reached the end of your tether with trying to get rid of pesky chewing gum stains, then you should look at the following ideas as to how to battle against it. There are plenty of different ways in which you can approach it, though a fairly simple step by step guide is available below. 1. Assess the situation. If you have a chewing gum stain in your clothes, carpet or upholstery, then you have a much more difficult problem than if the chewing gum is stuck to a hard surface. For hard surfaces, even textured ones, you should be able to remove the whole piece of chewing gum by using step one alone! If the problem is greater, then do not panic, there are things that can be done to get rid of the rest. 2. Put some ice cubes in a plastic bag and apply to the gum. If you try and pick the gum off before freezing it, the gum will warm up, become more viscose and settle further into the fabric. If the gum is stuck to a hard surface, freezing it will solidify the mess and once hard, you should be able to lift the gum form the surface with little to no residue left behind. The same goes for fabric stains, though you will almost definitely have a fair bit of residue left underneath. Just get the gum as hard as possible, and remove as much of it as possible before moving on to the next step. 3. This is where it gets tricky for those of you who are trying to get gum out of a fabric. You will find that there is a certain amount of gum left that is trapped in with the fibers. Keep icing this residue, and use a pin to lift larger sections out, but be careful not to tear or damage the fibers as you do so, as then you will have a torn item as well as a gummed up one! Try to ice as regularly as possible to prevent the gum warming up and getting stringy, as this will only worsen the problem. Keep calm and relaxed, as frustration will usually work the gum in further! 4. Try rubbing salt in to the area, as the gum will soak it up and dry out. If you can saturate the gummed up area with salt, then the gum should start to flake up and crumble off of the fibers that it is stuck to. Keep trying this until you feel like it is not having an effect any more. 5. There are certain digestive enzymes that you can buy in health shops that are for human consumption to aid digestion. If you can get hold of these it is a good thing to have in the house, as they can be very useful for certain stains, including grass stains and gum trouble. Apply the powdered enzyme, or crush the pills on to the area that is effected, on both sides of the fabric if possible, and work it in so that the enzymes get in contact with the whole stain. The enzymes will eat away at the gum, but not the fibers, so aiding in getting the gum out. Keep reapplying and hopefully, you will be gum free in no time! You may also like:
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