How to Remove Gum

Having gum stuck is a sticky situation. Sometime in your life you will have to deal with gum stuck in your carpet, on your furniture or in your child’s hair. Knowing how to remove it can combat tears and arguments or even having to cut hair out of frustration or fear. Having a conversation with your children about gum removal will hopeful allow them to come to you with out trying to hide or “fix” their own problem.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Removal from Fabric

1. Ice or freeze the stuck gum by placing the garment in the freezer for a minimum of 15 minutes.

2. For larger items (like your couch), place ice into a plastic bag and set the bag on top of the gum until it freezes.

3. Now, work quickly and scrape the gum off the fabric with a dull knife.

4. Add salt to the ice bag to drop the temperature and aid in the freezing time.

Removal from Hair

5. Use smooth peanut butter to remove gum from hair.

6. Rub the peanut butter across the hair, and work it into the area.

7. Rinse the hair.

8. Use other products if you don't have peanut butter, including cold cream, lotion, cooking oil and mayonnaise.

Alternate Methods

9. Use rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol will break down the gum and make it easy to remove.

10. Use soda. Coke, for instance, will also break down the gum after soaking for a while. Then rinse, and pull the gum out.

11. Use gasoline. Gasoline will dissolve the gum, but it has to be used with extreme caution because of its flammability issues. Lighter fluid works the same way and has the same cautions.

12. Use hot vinegar. Hot vinegar applied with a brush/tooth brush will remove gum. Work quickly because the vinegar needs to be hot.

13. Iron the area. Trying to transfer the gum from the fabric to cardboard or paper could work by ironing over the other material.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep in mind that some of these methods can stain, lighten or alter the surface you are working on.