How to Clean Gum Out of a Clothes Dryer

It’s easy to forget to check your pockets before putting garments in the washer or dryer. Unfortunately, if you leave a pack of chewing gum in a pocket, the gum may melt and stick to the dryer walls. If you leave the gum there, gum may start to stick to your garments. To prevent this, clean the gum before you use the dryer again using common household supplies.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber gloves
• WD-40
• Paper towels
• Plastic scraper
• Detergent
• Ice cube
• Old towels
• Powdered laundry detergent

Instructions

WD-40

1. Put on the rubber gloves and open the dryer door.

2. Spray a bit of WD-40 on and around the stuck-on gum if your dryer is electric. Spray the WD-40 on a paper towel, rather than directly in the dryer, to wipe the gum if your dryer is gas.

3. Scrape away the gum with a plastic scraper or any plastic-edged item. Apply more WD-40 if the gum still sticks to the dryer.

4. Dampen a paper towel with warm water. Add a drop of laundry detergent or dish detergent to the towel.

5. Rub the paper towel over the area where you removed the gum to clean up any leftover WD-40.

6. Rub an ice cube over any remaining pieces of gum. Chip the frozen bits of gum off the dryer with the plastic scraper.

Detergent

1. Place some old towels or rags in the dryer and run it, as suggested by "Good Housekeeping." This will warm up the gum.

2. Make a paste from powdered laundry detergent and water. Smear this over the gum, using a cloth.

3. Scrub the gum off the dryer with the cloth, making sure to remove it all. Change to a clean wet rag if the other one is too soiled.

4. Dampen some more clean rags. Run these through the dryer to make certain you got all the gum off the dryer and that it won't transfer to clothing.

Tips & Warnings

• WD-40 is flammable, so use it sparingly on a gas dryer.

References

• Dilla Services: Washer And Dryer Cleaning
• Good Housekeeping: Remove Gum From Dryer