Set in Gum on Clothing

I need help, I washed and dried a load of clothes and then found

the gum. Well, I've removed it from the dryer with WD-40, but I

can't get it out of some of the clothing items. It's no longer

a chunk of gum, it's set into the fabric and is very stiff and

looks stained. Any ideas on how to remove it?

Thanks!

Beth

Answers:

Set in Gum on Clothing

This happened to my daughter's fuzzy nightgown years ago. I

rubbed peanut butter into the hard spots, then started scraping

with my fingernails and eventually scraping on the wrong side of

the fabric with a paring knife. I got most of the gum out, then

probably pretreated it with dish soap (that's what I usually do

with any stain). I washed it and it came out clean, but with a

grease spot. I treated the grease spot with either dish soap or

shampoo and washed it again, and the gum/stain was totally gone.

(If you cannot get grease out, you can actually rub cornstarch

into a grease spot on a dry garment before wearing it and then

brush it hard, and the spot usually will not show.) She wore

that nightie till it fell apart. (12/08/2004)

By goodmom

Set in Gum on Clothing

Well when that happened to me I used lighter fluid. You put that

on and let it set for a while then go back and put more on it

then rub it or scrape it. It does work now. (12/10/2004)

By Joyce

Set in Gum on Clothing

I'm a bit of a gum freak, so one night as I chewed on three

pieces (sick, I know) I was playing with a bit of gum pulling it

out of my mouth and letting it snap back and I accidentally

dropped in. I didn't actually find it until the morning of the

next day where it was wedged between my new bra and tanktop. I

hardened the gum with and an ice cube, then applied rubbing

alcohol and pulled the gum off bit by bit with a pair of tweezers.

(04/10/2005)

By GumFreak

Set in Gum on Clothing

This is actually an easy one. Cut a paper bag in half and turn on

an iron on high. Put the bag on the spot and iron the spot; it

will get the gum out and it will get all of it out. Just keep

ironing and moving the bag around and you will get it out. It

also works on candle wax if it gets on your carpet. (08/07/2005)

By Rochelle

Set in Gum on Clothing

Surely by now you have removed the gum from your clothing! For

future reference, however, use Scotch tape to remove the gum

from clothes. The gum will stick to the Scotch tape and peel off

easily!
(02/22/2006)

By Amy

Set in Gum on Clothing

I just used warm vinegar and a butter knife on set in gum. The

gum was on my favorite pair of gauchos and it could not have

worked any better! I warmed the vinegar in the microwave and

scraped it with a butter knife and it came right off. I would

recommend this method to everyone! (07/09/2007)

By Megan

Set in Gum on Clothing

The vinegar didn't work...:-( (07/12/2007)

By dt big boy

Set in Gum on Clothing

The vinegar did work in like minutes yay! (08/28/2007)

By Brandi

Set in Gum on Clothing

My daughter sat in neon green gum wearing white shorts. The

bag/iron method didn't work in this case, but the vinegar did.

It made the gum ball up so it could easily be removed. It left a

little green color behind, but it came out nicely in the wash

with a little bleach. Thanks! (10/15/2007)

By Kellie

Set in Gum on Clothing

Nail polish remover works like a champ. (11/02/2007)

By Phil

Set in Gum on Clothing

I don't recommend the iron method. I tried it on a cotton t-

shirt and it completely set the gum into the fabric and I had to

throw it away. (12/02/2007)

By FB

Set in Gum on Clothing

The iron thing worked great! I am so happy to have my fave jeans

back.
I got the gum in a ballpark about 2 months ago and gave up on

them after a few methods and even went to the store to buy

another pair, thankfully they didn't have them anymore.
(12/11/2007)

By NDR

easier than you think - REALLY!!

OK guys, listen up. A piece of green Trident gum went through an

entire dryer cycle and got all over a load of light colored

clothes. I tried Vaseline and it didn't work. Tried nail polish

remover with acetone, it didn't work. (I was hoping to find

something that wouldn't stain the clothes so I was hesitant to

try anything with oil). Here's what "did" work and it was easy:

Soak the stain in liquid Downy fabric softener for about 15

minutes (I used Ultra Downy). Then rinse in very warm water and

the gum comes right out as you rub your fingers over the stain.

I will never try another method in the future, although I hope I

won't need to. (01/05/2008)

By Carla

Set in Gum on Clothing

I'm a guy and have no idea what to do in these situations, but I

washed all darks with a full pack of gum in a pocket. It was

"bad". I filled the washer with cold water and dumped in a bunch

of ice. Then poured a half bottle of Palmolive dish soap in the

washer with some Shout. This inhibited the stickiness of the gum

and the ice cold water keeps the gum cold and unable to stick.

The gum comes right out. Give it a try! (06/05/2008)

By Chris

Set in Gum on Clothing

I did a science fair project on this. Peanut butter didn't work.

Neither did the ice or the nail polish remover. The vinegar

worked ok, but Windex works the best. (08/20/2008)

By dramaqueen

Set in Gum on Suit

My husband wore a brand new black Alfani suit to a wedding in

New York. On the way there, he leaned against a wall in the

subway and got green spearmint gum all over his suit jacket and

pants. I sat in a bar and tried the ice method for over an hour.

I managed to get the thickest part of the gum out. When I got

home I tried the vinegar method and the hot iron method. I could

not get out the ground in gum. I was reluctant to use the Goo

Gone because I feared that it would ruin the suit. Ultimately, I

used it and it worked like a charm. I applied it with a tooth

brush and the gum disappeared. As for the Goo Gone residue, I

used the vinegar, hot iron, and a press cloth to get it out of

the suit. The suit is like new. (08/24/2008)

By Theresa

Set in Gum on Clothing

Scotch tape worked beautifully for a fresh piece of gum on a

polyester skirt. A good and easy method for a first attempt at

removal. It might be all you need! (08/29/2008)

By ParkBench

Set in Gum on Clothing

Do not use the paper bag and iron trick on synthetic fabrics,

the iron burned a hole right through the material of a chair I

was using it on! It worked great on my jeans though.

(09/20/2008)

By Emily

Set in Gum on Clothing

Windex and a toothbrush on my favorite jeans worked!

(10/09/2008)

By Jen

Set in Gum on Clothing

Step 1: Remove as much gum as possible with a spoon.
Step 2: Use brown Scotch tape to take as much more gum as

possible off.
Step 3: Use Windex and a toothbrush to scrape gum out.

NOTE: the Windex causes the gum to come out in little balls.
Make sure you brush it off into the sink so you don't put gum
lint balls all over your clothes. I Windexed, toothbrushed,
rinsed with cold water and repeated multiple times.

Step 4: Wash your garment.
This made a brand-new polyester/spandex dress look like new, but
it takes patience and work. (05/07/2009)

By vic smith

Set in Gum on Clothing

If there is a lump of gum use ice cube or place in the freezer

and you can remove it. If there is a stain try lemon or lemon

based dishwashing liquid or bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.

(09/26/2009)

By Dorothy

Set in Gum on seat belt

I used the ice method and scraped it off with a paring knife.

What I found to work even better than the paring knife was a

good old fashioned metal potato peeler after the ice. It did

leave some parts of the belt looking more worn, but there is no

gum left at all! (05/13/2010)

By Lisa