How to remove gum from clothing the easy way!
Welcome to Pinterest Tested! Ever wonder if that miracle cleaner is really miraculous? Or what about that homemade facial cleanser or delicious-looking recipe? This is the place to find out! Each Monday I am testing Pins that catch my eye to see if they really live up to the claims made on Pinterest. It’s like the Mythbusters of Domesticity!
Today’s Pinterest Tested quest involves this innocent little piece of sweetness:
If you have been around kids much, you know how quickly a piece of gum can go from yum yum to “Holy crap!!! How did you get that horrid sticky mess all over your hair, the carpet, your clothing and the dog all in the two seconds that I stepped out of the room?!?!?!”
I think this is why such a sweet little morsel strikes fear into the hearts of mothers across the nation.
So.
I Pinned a supposed remedy and decided to be proactive and test it before the next gum drama unfolded.
Going against every motherly instinct I had, I thoroughly chewed up a piece of Dubbble Bubble, then grimaced as I kneaded the gum into the fabric with reckless abandon. It was painful, I tell ya. Painful!
What I do for the sake of Pinterest testing… sheesh!
Then I poured some vinegar in a bowl and stuck it in the microwave for one minute. Using an old toothbrush, I began to scrub the gum…
…and I was amazed. UH-MAZED by the results. The gum came right off the fabric like it wasn’t ever a sticky mess to begin with! It’s like the vinegar made the gum not sticky anymore and the heat melted it enough to make it let go of the fabric. It was miraculous, really.
Look at that! There was a tiny pink tinge left where the gum used to be, but I bet that’s just the dye and will wash right out.
My world has been changed forever. I no longer fear bubble gum. My kids will actually get to chew it now.
Sometimes.
(Hey, old habits die hard.)
But this Pin was definitely a win. Hurray for Pinterest tests that actually work out!
Comments & Reviews
Our kids are too young for gum yet (thank goodness), but we get plenty of other messes! Toddlers are not known for cleanliness, haha.
The stain I keep battling are grease stains (we think). Just tried the baking soda pin with temporary results – they seemed gone but appeared again after a wash! Time to do more searching.
Try Dawn liquid soap. I've used that to get butter (from popcorn at the movies), grease, oil stains off my clothes. Just dab a few drops on soiled area, let soak in and then wash in regular laundry with your soap. It's worked every time for me.
I love your pinterest tested series! I will totally use this tip next time! Things like this help me not be too crazy about messes being made (if I know I can clean them up fairly easily).
So earlier today, I stumbled onto your blog and was reading several of your pinterest tests. What are the odds that I would wash a load of clothes and then find that a pack of gum had been hidden in a pocket? Yes, I too can testify that hot vinegar WORKS! My hubby's white dress shirt has been saved from blue gum. Thanks!
Well, Kathy, first off, welcome to the blog! And second, I'm glad the vinegar worked well for you. Nothing makes me stress like gum on clothing!
Peanut butter works well to get gum or tree sap off cars or out of hair, but it takes a ton of shampoo to get the peanut butter out after. I have also used WD-40, again just takes a lot of soap to get rid of the WD-40 after.
Good to know! Thank you, Brit!
Does this also work for gum on couches.??
I think it would as long as you can find a way to saturate the gum with hot vinegar. Maybe soak a washcloth with hot vinegar and place it over the gum area? Good luck!
My kid has just started to chew gum. Hooray me. Today I pull my bathing suit out of washer and this bright green blob is all over the back. I tried the vinegar. I have to say the toothbrush seemed to just move the gum back and forth. I dipped the paper towel into the warm vinegar and it started pulling the gum up. Thank you for your tip. It did save my suit.
Oh, no! Not your bathing suit! I'm so glad you were able to save it!
Worked great! Thanks for testing out & posting about it! My son had gotten gum on his jeans at school….he sat in it. It just melted & scrubbed right off. Yay!!!
Hallelujah!!! Glad it worked for you, Staci!
What type of vinegar?
regular white vinegar
My daughter has recently gotten gum stuck to her Military uniform and I am unable to launder it myself. We just took it to the dry cleaners right before it happened. How do you think I would be able to get it out?
Try rubbing the gum with ice cubes. This makes it more brittle and you can pick off the pieces. Fingers crossed that works for you!
I tried the hot vinegar to remove gum from my husband’s shorts ( a child of a different age) and IT WORKED! This was a lifesaver.
I picked up a pair of nice white Capri pants at a yard sale. But the only problem was it had something sticky on the pant pocket. I asked the lady what it was and she said gum. Now it has a brown spot like still hard gum. Do you think it will still come off?
I’d give it a try and see!
Thanks for sharing such amazing tricks to get rid of gum out of hair. My pup saw gum for first and his curiousness leads him to the worse case. He sticks gum on his fur and I got confused about what to do to get rid of it. I am looking for a solution and get here. I must say Petroleum Jelly and Ice cube really works. If someone is facing same problem, please try Petroleum Jelly and Ice Cube method to get rid of gum out of fur!