How to Remove Chewing Gum Stains From Clothes

Getting chewing gum on your clothing is a nuisance, but there are steps you can take to remove it while leaving no trace of the sticky mess. Delicate fabrics call for a lighter hand, but the process of removing gum from clothing is straightforward.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Freezer Ice Freezer bag Knife Old toothbrush

1. Act fast. Dried gum will damage your clothing, and other clothing washed along with a gummy garment also can be ruined.

2. Freeze the gum by applying ice to it, to make it hard and brittle. Place the ice in a freezer bag so that you don't wet the material as you attempt to harden the gum. You can put the entire clothing item in a plastic bag and then place it in a freezer. This works especially well with delicate fabrics as the gum becomes brittle and the fabric remains pliable.

3. Scrape the hardened gum off the fabric. If you are cleaning a stiff fabric like denim, you can remove the gum with the help of a knife. For gentler fabrics, patiently remove the gum with your fingers.

4. Use a toothbrush to remove any traces of the gum from the clothing. Make sure all of the gum is discarded and does not end up stuck to another part of the garment.

5. Wash and iron the clothing item as you normally would. This should straighten out any fibers that were pulled during the gum removal process.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not put clothing with gum on it into the washer or dryer, especially with other clothing items. This will transfer the gum to your other items.