How to Remove Chewing Gum from Fabric

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By Mia Carter
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How do I remove gum from fabric? Is there a trick to getting gum off clothing? How do you clean gum off clothes? Keep reading to learn tips for removing chewing gum from fabrics and clothing!

Did you get chewing gum on your clothing or other fabric? It's a problem that's especially common among kids, who may play with their gum and end up with gum stuck on their clothing. Gum can be difficult to remove from fabric because of the way the sticky gum bonds with the fabric fibers. Fortunately, there are a few tricks for removing gum from clothing, fabric and other washable items.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Ice or a Freezer
A Butter Knife
Kerosene
Laundry Detergent
Water

Step 1

FREEZE THE GUM THAT'S STUCK ON THE CLOTHING OR FABRIC: If you're at home, place the clothing or other fabric item with gum stuck on it inside the freezer for about 2 hours. If you're away from home, place ice on the gum and on the under-side of the fabric that's stained with gum for 20-30 minutes. This will harden and freeze the gum.
Step 2

USE A BUTTER KNIFE TO REMOVE THE GUM: Once the gum on the clothing or fabric is hardened from the cold, use a butter knife (the dull side without teeth) to gently scrape the gum. When removing the gum from fabric or clothing, always scrape toward the center of the gum stain; scraping toward the outer edges can spread the gum, especially as the gum starts to thaw.
Step 3

REPEAT STEPS 1 AND 2 UNTIL THE GUM IS LARGELY REMOVED: You will likely need to freeze the gum stain several times, followed by scraping the gum from the fabric. As the gum starts to thaw, you must re-freeze it before continuing the gum removal process. Attempting to remove thawed gum will only spread the gum stain on the fabric.
Step 4

SOAK THE GUM STAIN IN KEROSENE: Once the vast majority of the gum has been removed, a small amount of the chewing gum may still remain stuck to the fabric fibers. If this is the case, soak the fabric or clothing with the gum stain in kerosene for about 30 minutes. For delicate fabrics, spot test an inconspicuous area of the fabric first.
Step 5

WASH THE FABRIC WITH WARM, SOAPY WATER: After soaking the gum spot on the clothing or fabric in kerosene, rinse the fabric. Then apply a dab of laundry detergent and hand wash with soapy hot water.
Step 6

LAUNDER AS USUAL: Launder the clothing or other fabric item as usual using laundry detergent and color-safe bleach.