How to Remove Gum From Clothes

by kqrpnb

666K11354

Intro: How to Remove Gum From Clothes

Kids will be kids! Even though mine are not allowed to chew gum, that did not stop my not-quite-youngest from getting gum on his NEW karate uniform!! Actually, we do not know who got the gum on his pants, but that is not important for this Instructable (anyone want to tackle "How to find out who really did it?")

This Instructable will show you how to remove bubble gum from clothes. It is simple, easy, and involves no chemicals.

STEP 1: Things You'll Need:

  • clothes with gum attached
  • ice
  • a butter knife
  • a clean sink
  • a small bowl (optional)

STEP 2: Prep the Area and Wait

Take your tools and the garment to a sink, or use some other bowl or container of appropriate size.

Take out two ice cubes. I like to use the old-fashioned ice cube trays because they produce ice with a flat top and a flat bottom, but any ice will do! Use a bowl to contain the ice and garment if you can't stack the ice - see below.

Place one cube under the gummed area, with as few layers of fabric as possible (ie - in the pant leg).

Situate the gum spot in the center of the cube, and carefully balance the second cube on top.

For oddly shaped ice: If you're using weirdly shaped ice cubes, place the ice cubes inside the garment and then press it down into a small bowl and put more ice on top.

Wait for at least 30 minutes. You want the gum to get good and cold, through and through.

STEP 3: Scrape

You have waited long enough. Take the ice cubes off the fabric and find a flat surface. Grab the butter-knife and, using a non-serrated edge, scrape the frozen gum off. It should come right off in one big chunk. You may have to scrape off some small bits too; make sure there are none left on the fabric.

STEP 4: Wash

For best results, pre-treat the area with an enzyme detergent, spot treatment, or just regular clothes soap. Treat for as long as you see fit, then wash per garment instructions.

That is all! I hope you have found the answer to the Burning Question, "How do I get this gum off my pants!"

-kqrpnb

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52 Comments

DawnH117 6 years ago

Today my daughter got gum on her favorite adidas pants while in school. She text me all upset because some (Jerk Kid) in the class before hers stuck gum to chair. I told her it will be find, I will go on the internet & find out what other people recommended. I found this tread, I have to say, I am very please with the peanut butter solution. It really works. There is not one drop of gum left on her pants after I tried this.

My recommendation would be smear the peanut butter on the gum spot, wait 3-5 minutes & then scrape it off. Keep repeating the process until its all gone then add Dawn dishwashing soap to the spot, rub it in & wash it out.

daneel.plaisance 9 years ago

OK so I got blue gum in a nice cotton shirt that I only wore 1 time... I was really mad! anyway it was washed and dried so it was melted into the fabric.. I tried goo gone, oops out, duster, ice, and soap and water( on the biggest part of the stain) nothing worked not even a little. So then I grabbed this stuff called Greased Lighting not even sure where I bought it from but it worked instantly. This stuff is AMAZING im going to find out where I bought it and buy a case...

LorraineS38 6 years ago

my son (24 yrs old) got gum on his jeans. Tried the ice. Didn't work. Put the jeans in the freezer for a couple of hours. Still a no go. Finally, tried the peanut butter thing, and voila....the old sat on stuck on gum,,,,was off the backside of his pants. Thanks everyone

Davidc1185 6 years ago

what is the peanut butter trick ?

Sandflea05 8 years ago

FYI - Grease Lighting can be purchased at most home improvement stores and even Dollar Tree.

mgreenwald 9 years ago

I bought it at Ace Hardware. I havnt tried it on gum but will remember that because i hadvthe same issue with my sons hoodie. It was all over it. Ended up tossing it.

bevishobbs 6 years ago

Can you just put the garment in the freezer?

MarkV123 7 years ago

Just did the can of computer air duster, as instructed by skruddgemire below. Inverted the can and sprayed the gum for 20 seconds, it went rock hard and scraped it off with the back of a butter knife. It was a big blob of gum. Thanks skruddgemire!

minshall1 8 years ago

I use large ice cubes to water my indoor plants. It melts nice and slow allowing the soil time to absorb the moisture as opposed to running right through the bottom.

MuhammadN52 8 years ago

Gum can also be used to remove gum. Roll the gum on gum. It will collect the gum on clothes.

JessicaMills 8 years ago

Need to pin this so I won't forget. Thanks!

JulianAzz 8 years ago

Great idea but what if you sit on gum and you don't realize after a few days and the gum becomes old and it seeps into your clothes?

charlieanderin 10 years ago

My daughters LOVE chewing gum and get it on there clothes all the time

person% 11 years ago

once i bought a clothing and it came with gum in it

ac1D 16 years ago

now we need a how-to remove gum from hair!

bruc33ef 16 years ago

See WD-40 comment, above.
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