How To Get Gum Out Of Clothes?

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Finding a wad of gum stuck to your clothes is always disgusting. Sticking gums on your jeans or jackets while sitting on a bench in the park or other public places is not what you want to bring home. Even kids bring gum sticking to their clothes from school.

You can wonder where the gum came from and how to get gum out of clothes. After a wad of gum stuck to your clothes, you can only think about getting rid of that quickly at home. We can use many household products, including rubbing alcohol, ice, and vinegar. But some tricks can be handy if you are not at home and want to get rid of gum instantly.

Suppose you are on a date or meeting, and a wad of gum is somehow stuck to your clothes. So, I have some genius hacks you can use at home or outdoors to remove gum from your clothes. First, you must understand the characteristics of the fabric before using any method to remove gum. You do not want to ruin the texture of your clothes.

Why Does Gum Stick To Clothes?

Chewing gum is interesting because of its unique properties. The elastic ingredient in gum makes it resistant to air and flexible, giving it the sticky characteristic we all know. While it’s enjoyable in the mouth, it can be problematic when it sticks to fabrics and textiles. The sticky nature of chewing gum enables it to adhere firmly to fabric surfaces, creating a strong and reliable bond. Remembering this information can be helpful when dealing with clothing that has gum stains.

Common Gum-Stained Fabrics

Understanding different fabrics’ unique absorption, texture, and resilience traits is crucial in effectively dealing with gum stains. This knowledge empowers you to choose the correct cleaning method. To better understand their behavior, let’s explore the specific characteristics of frequently gum-stained clothing materials.

Cotton: Cotton is often used in clothes, and because it is porous, it can hold gum well. But don’t worry; it’s strong enough to handle challenging gum removal methods.
Denim: Similar to cotton, it has a rough texture that helps gum stick to it. Plus, the strong fibers can handle deep cleaning.
Wool: This natural, soft material can be challenging to clean because of its complicated structure. However, if treated gently, gum can be removed without causing any damage.

Understanding which types of fabrics gum typically sticks to can help you develop an effective strategy for cleaning it up.

How To Get Gum Out Of Clothes?

Removing as much gum as possible is vital regardless of your chosen method. However, exercise caution when using specific chemicals like hairspray. Hairspray contains alcohol, which can fade clothes. So, if you’re out and have gum stuck on your clothes, it’s best to avoid using hairspray.

After removing the gum as much as possible, you can dampen the remaining stain with soap or a dish. It will be easier to remove the stain if you dampen it. Let’s explore various methods of removing gum from your clothes.

1. Use Of Tape

Use the property of stickiness in gum. If you are not at home, you can use duct tape. Two sticky things would work best to get stuck with each other. This trick can help you remove gum from your clothes without spreading it. You may only remove gum from your clothes entirely if you are away from home. But this trick can help you take gum out as much as possible. Apply tape on the gum directly and pull the gum gently with duct tape.

2. Use of Ice

Ice can come in handy whether you are home or not. If you have drinking soda or anything with ice, you can use it to remove gum from your clothes. Ice will harden the gum, and you can remove as much gum as possible without spreading it. To remove gum stuck on a surface, first apply ice to harden the gum. Then, gently use a credit card or an ice cream stick to scrape off the gum from the surface carefully.

3. Use of Iron

As you can understand, this method will only work if you are at home trying to remove gum you couldn’t remove earlier. As I previously stated, try to remove as much as possible by freezing it with ice. You can try to take the remaining gum out with an iron. Iron will melt the remaining gum; you can transfer it to cardboard or paper. Don’t use iron around the area; use it on the area where gum is stuck, or you may spread it more. You can also use a steam iron to soften the gum and make it easy to scrape it off with any brush.

4. Use Of Vinegar

One highly efficient technique for removing gum involves vinegar. But how?

You need to warm vinegar before removing gum from your clothes. You can use a microwave or put vinegar in a cup and place it in a bowl filled with hot water.

The gum can be removed by softening it with vinegar.
Another well-known method is to pour vinegar onto the gum and sprinkle baking soda to remove the stuck gum from your clothes. This will create a volcano reaction and make the gum removable. Try the abovementioned method if you don’t have baking soda at home.

5. Use of Compressed Air/ Canned Air

Compressed air dust cleaner cans help clean electronic devices and solidify gum. They have freezing components that will harden the stuck gum. Spray directly on the gum until it hardens enough to scrape it out. This trick is handy if you can’t find anything else to remove gum from your clothes. It is an option for an instant solution if you are out and even at home and you won’t find household items to remove the gum.

6. Use of alcohol

Gently dab the cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol over the stuck gum. Let the fabric soak in the rubbing alcohol and dry. Remove the wad of gum with cardboard or duct tape. Gently scrape off the remaining gum with a soft brush. You can use detergent to remove the remaining gum. Pour liquid detergent or dip the brush into it to remove the remaining gum from the fabric.

7. Use of Peanut Butter or Vesaline

Another popular method on the internet is to spread peanut butter over the gum and let the peanut butter release its oil and fat. Fat and oil will decrease the stickiness of the gum. However, this also leaves some residue on some fabric, so you may have to put effort into removing peanut butter residue from your clothes.

You may use Vaseline as an alternative solution. Vaseline has oil that can make gum less sticky and comes off easily with a stiff spatula or any old knife.

Take Away

Whatever method you use to remove gum from your clothes, the key is to make it less sticky or solidify it. After solidifying the stuck gum, the residue is easy to remove.

Whether you’re at home attempting these fixes or out with friends and family, if you find yourself with gum stuck to your clothes, you turn to Google for help, “How to get gum out of your clothes?”

These tricks can come in handy. Use ice, a cold soda can, canned air, and Vaseline to remove as much gum from your clothes as possible. These products toughen chewing gum. After that, you can scrape it out with a card, tape, or cardboard.

You can remove the remaining gum at home using the other solutions mentioned here. Household products like vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and detergent are available to remove gum residue at home.

FAQs

How do you get dried gum out of clothes?

Start by gently warming and loosening dried gum with an iron or steam to soften it. Then, place paper or duct tape to remove as much as possible. Use liquid detergent and a toothbrush to scrub off the remaining gum. For delicate fabric, use steam only.

Does soap remove gum?

First, you must solidify the gum as much as possible. Only then can liquid detergent or soap with warm water remove the gum residue. Without pretreating the stuck gum, you may not be able to get rid of the gum completely.

Can sanitizer remove chewing gum from clothes?

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers contain 60 to 90% ethanol or isopropanol. If you have such sanitizer, pour a small amount over the gum and let it sit for some time. After that, you can remove it with an ice cream stick or credit card.

But if your dress is made of delicate fabric and you don’t want to try it out, you can use Vaseline or any oil product and gently rub it on the gum to remove it.