Popped gum on your clothes can be annoying, but for you lucky soul, it won’t destroy your favorite outfit. You merely need a couple of simple techniques and some very conveniently available household items to deal with this pesky piece of gum on your clothes. In this blogging post, we list some ways How to Get Gum Out of Clothes Quickly and Easily on how to remove gum from clothes, what to do after you have unstuck the gum, and some additional tips so that your fabric does not get damaged.
Why Gum Get Sticks on Clothes
In fact, gum is made of sticky synthetic polymers, which bond immediately with all surfaces, including clothes. Normally speaking, in the case of sticking to the clothes, it merges with the fibers, which makes removal rather cumbersome; however, if you tweak its temperature or apply specific solvents, it is easy to break this bond and make the gum come off your clothes.
Removing gum from clothes
There are a few tested ways to remove gum from the clothes. These include household products like ice, vinegar, peanut butter, and even ironing. Well, let’s understand each method in detail.
- Freezing Method
Freezing is perhaps one of the most popular methods to remove gum from clothes. The gum freezes so that it will become hard, allowing it to easily scrape off.
- Put your clothes inside of the plastic bag
- Ensure that the gum does not come in contact with other parts of the clothes
- Place the bag inside the fridge for at least two hours
- When it gets frozen, you can now safely remove the gum by using a butter knife or your type of tool.
How to Dissolve Gum by Ice Cube
Freezing only the gum will be able to freeze the stick by using an ice cube instead of freezing the whole gown
Steps: Place the ice cube directly on the gum for nearly 15 minutes.
Scrape off the gum once it dries using a blunt tool.
- Vinegar Method
Vinegar is among the most effective natural solvents used to dissolve gum in clothing.
Steps - Heat a small amount of vinegar until warm but not boiling.
- Soak the area where the gum has stuck into the vinegar.
- Rub off the gum using a toothbrush or cloth.
- Wash the fabric with cold water to eliminate the smell of vinegar.
- Peanut Butter Method
Believe it or not, peanut butter is such a good gum remover because it’s oily.
- How to do this:
- Apply a thin layer of peanut butter on the gum.
- Wait for about 5 minutes.
- The peanut butter oils will melt the stickiness of the gum.
- Using your cloth or brush, gently lift the gum off.
- Wash the garment in a standard washing cycle, which should remove the peanut butter residue.
- The Ironing Procedure
You can also use heat to melt the gum sticking to clothes. Here, an iron is used with which the gum softens and you will be able to remove it easily from the fabric.
.Steps: - Place a card under the fabric at the gum location
- Place the iron on top of the gum at medium heat.
- As it is heating up, the gum will roll to the card
- Scrape the residue on the fabric too
- Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is another process that may dissolve the gum stickiness very fast.
Steps
Take a bit of rubbing alcohol, rub it directly on the gum
Allow it to stay for 5 minutes
Scrape off the gum gently using a blunt instrument
Rinse the fabric thoroughly after the removal of the gum - Hair Dryer Technique
You can use the hair dryer to melt the gum thus you’ll easily remove it.
Method:
Position the hair dryer at medium heat
Blow warm air to the gum for a minute or two
Scrape off the gum using a tool once softened by heat.
Wash your clothes after the removal of the gum so that the remaining stick on it could drop off.
How To Proceed After Removing The Gum
You would want to treat the area after successfully removing the gum from your clothing. There should be no residue sticking and stains lingering around. Here is what you can do:
Rinse with cold water: Rinse the spot cold with clean, clear water to remove any pieces of gum lying around
Use a stain remover: If there is still minor staining, use a stain remover or liquid detergent.
Wash normally: Wash the garment as you normally would according to the care label.
Air dry fabric: Do not put the garment in a tumble dryer until you feel certain that all the gum and stain resins have evaporated because heat tends to set any particles which may still be dissolved in the fabric into the fabric.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What kind of vinegar should I use to dissolve chewing gum?
Yes, any will dissolve chewing gum. White is commonly applied since it is mild enough for cleaning anything. Soak the vinegar a little before using it for better results.
Do clothes become stained with peanut butter?
Peanut butter is very staining if not washed right away. As soon as the gum is removed, soak the area in stain remover or liquid detergent right away. Wash this article of clothing in warm water to get all the oils out.
What happens if the gum refuses to budge entirely?
If all these attempts to remove gum fail, do not worry. Another method is lipid emulsion like rubbing alcohol or the freezing technique can be resorted to for getting rid of remaining particles. Persistence pays, and the hair dryer may also prove helpful in this regard by allowing switching between methods for getting rid of unwanted gum.
Is a hair dryer safe on delicate textiles?
For example, avoid the scenario where you apply too much heat on textiles like silk and lace. It’s always necessary to test in a small, inconspicuous area first before proceeding. In case you don’t know what to do, test with a milder method such as an ice cube or freezing since it’s pretty unlikely that fragile materials might get damaged.
Conclusion: Remove Gum Residues from Clothing with Ease
And you do not have to shiver with the fear that there is always gum somewhere stuck in your clothes. Freeze, vinegar, or even peanut butter may be among the steps that promise to give you quick relief from the pesky gum on your clothes so you can continue wearing them fresh. All three work a little differently, but they all either set the gum so it won’t be any trouble to pull it out or melt away the stickiness, thereby making it easy to remove without tearing at your fabric.