Chewing Gum Removal - What You Need to Know

Perhaps something like this has happened to you or a good friend. You go to the picture show and finally get to see that new movie you and your friend have been looking forward to. As you make your way through the aisles and sit down in your seat, you feel something just isn't quite right. As you try to stand back up, your pants give you resistance. Oh no, someone left their used gum in your seat! It is now all over your new pants.

This type of scenario is all too common and chewing gum removal is the only solution for this type of problem. While having gum on the bottom of your shoes happens more frequently and is easier to deal with, getting gum stuck on your clothes makes things a little more tricky. So, what are some of the ways to get rid of this gooey mess from your pants?

The time honored technique that should be tried first is freezing the gum. Whenever you freeze gum it makes it stiff and brittle which in turn will often make it easy to just break off the jeans. How long should the gum be frozen? The best tip here is to leave it in the freezer for at least 12 hours. Do not try to remove any of the excess gum first, it could make matters worse. When you take the pants out of the freezer you will want to use a spoon or butter knife to pry off the gum. The gum will come right up in most cases.

Another method involves using a simple alcohol based solvent that you can pour over the frozen gum. Try and slip the knife under the gum and you should be able to get it up. The only issue here is with the type of fabric the gum is stuck to. This is fine for blue jeans, but you don't want to pour solvent on delicate fabrics. This chewing gum removal technique works well and afterwards you can simply toss the pants in the wash machine.

What about gum that is stuck to your carpeting? Well, it is impossible to put the carpet in the freezer, but there is a way around it. Take a baggie and fill it with a few ice cubes and place it over the gum. Let it sit for an hour or so and then try using a knife to remove it like you would on the pair of pants.

Of course, you can always use the services of a professional dry cleaners or a commercial carpet cleaning service, but you will spending a good sum of money for their services. Try one of these tips the next time you find yourself in this type of sticky mess. Chewing gum removal may be a bit easier with these methods.