How to Remove Chewing Gum Washed in Clothes

The only thing worse than gum on your clothes is gum on your clothes that have gone through the wash. This sticky substance is challenging enough to remove without the heat from a dryer setting it in. If the inevitable does occur, fear not, there is a simple way to effectively remove gum from washed clothing without damaging the fabric or pulling out your hair. Implement a common household tool with a bit of ingenuity to remove set-in chewing gum stains.

Things You'll Need

• Brown paper bag
• Scissors
• Cothing iron

Instructions

1. Cut a square piece of paper out of a brown paper grocery bag. The piece should be a bit larger than the gum stain.

2. Plug in a clothing iron and set it to medium-heat.

3. Place the brown piece of paper over the gum stain and iron the stain with the paper between the gum and the iron.

4. Gradually move the paper around so that clean portions of the paper can collect remaining gum residue.

5. Continue to iron until the gum is effectively removed. Throw away the paper and unplug your iron. Place the garment through a regular wash cycle in your washing machine. The gum stain should be completely gone.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure there aren't warnings on your clothing label that advise against ironing before attempting this method.

References

• Remove set-in gum stains
• Gum removal tips