Advice on Getting Gum Out of Clothes

Updated on August 08, 2008
C.S. asks from Highland, IL
26 answers

Hello everybody,

At our family reunion last weekend, my son sat in some gum and then on dad's lap. So I now have 2 pairs of shorts with gum and am wondering if any of you have special tricks/ ideas for getting it out. The shorts are beige in color, so I am trying not to use anything abrasive or bleach based that could damage them. All suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

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So What Happened?

Thank you so much everybody for the advice, I really appreciated it. I was a bit nervous about the peanut butter since I won't be laundring the shorts for a few days (just did 3 loads yesterday), so I went with the ice cube approach and it worked great! Yeah! You guys just saved my husband's favourite pairs of shorts!

Featured Answers

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C.F.

answers from Kansas City on

put some ice on it to freeze it. then it will pop off. use a degreasing cleaner like Dawn to spot clean then wash as usual.

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S.G.

answers from Kansas City on

My son got gum on a pair of shorts a couple of weekends ago. I laid them on the kitchen counter and put a piece of ice where the gum was on the shorts. Let them sit there a little while until the gum froze and it came right off.

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S.H.

answers from Wichita on

Peanut butter is supposed to dissolve gum. If it is in clothing, peanut butter is oily so you can put a dab of DAWN soap on the clothes after using the peanut butter (BEFORE putting them in the wash) and scrub if there are any oil marks left on the clothing. DO NOT put clothes in the wash with DAWN soap unless you want a huge soapy mess on the floor!
** I have never tried this, just heard that peanut butter dissolves gum and DAWN dish soap gets out oil stains on clothes.**

Hope this helps!

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A.S.

answers from Kansas City on

Use ice. It works great!! Rub it on area of shorts that have gum on it.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

Try freezing the gum with an ice cube and then scraping it off with a dinner knife. Either that or the peanut butter thing are things I remember my Mom doing (we haven't had this particular problem at our house yet!)

1 mom found this helpful
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M.W.

answers from Kansas City on

This same thing happened to my daughter a few months ago. I used ice and it came right out!

1 mom found this helpful
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B.C.

answers from Kansas City on

Skin So Soft or WD-40 will break down the gum (or any other sticky substance - like adhesive on stickers that stay on glass, etc.). Use it sparingly and keep in mind that you might have a 'grease spot' - I would use it - get the gum out, then use something like ERA or Shout on the oil to get it to lift out, then wash immediately.

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L.Y.

answers from Springfield on

Here's a cheap way to get gum out of clothes or carpet.
Get an ice cube and rub on it untill the gum is hard or frozen, then you can pick it off.

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G.R.

answers from St. Louis on

I have been told an ice cube, peanut butter or mayo. I hope this helps you out.
G. R.

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C.S.

answers from Lawrence on

Yes!!! Non-toxic and safer for your home and environment you need Sol-u-mel!! It works wonders removes gum, grease, crayon, permanent marker and does so much more too!!! So you don't have to use chemicals or anything that will bleach it out!!! Visit www.2abetterlife.com or www.livetotalwellness.com/cindygeoff to get more details on this popular product would love to share the store I am shopping from to get this and so much more to "go green"!!!

Cindy

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J.S.

answers from St. Louis on

Put Peanut Butter on it, then scrub with an old toothbrush. Obviously then wipe off the peanut butter and launder. Works everytime for me!

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K.P.

answers from Wichita on

Goo Gone, in the laundry aisle.

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C.M.

answers from Kansas City on

Rub the areas of gum with lots of peanut butter...the gum will dissolve! Good luck!

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D.L.

answers from Topeka on

Is it a color change or just gum stuck on the clothes? First, would be to remove as much as possible. I've come to discover that a butter knife works best for me with this. Slow work, but normally if I continue to scrap in one direction, it eventually comes loose.

Good luck,
D.

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A.R.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi C.,

I dried a hoodie sweatshirt that had a stick of gum in the pocket 3 times before I found it. I've found ice works the best. Just rub an ice cube over the gum and it hardens so you can pick it off in little bits. You will have to keep working at it, but it does work.

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A.G.

answers from Kansas City on

I've always been able to get gum off ANY fabric by taking a paper towel and setting it on top of the gum stain and taking the iron and rubbing it over the top off the paper towel. It will melt right onto the towel. You will need to repeat it over a few times maybe, but I promise it will come right off. This works well if it ever gets on carpeting in the house, or on the floor off your car....can you tell I've had to do this a few times...LOL

A.

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A.K.

answers from St. Louis on

What worked in my daughter's hair was to freeze it and it cracked off.

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M.

answers from Wichita on

I agree with the ice suggestion. I always have just rubbed an ice cube on it, then gently scrape with a butter knife.

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C.S.

answers from St. Louis on

Peanut butter works wonders on gum in hair so it may help if the ice thing doesn't work out so well... Also, the suggestion about the paper towel and iron sounds good to me. I do that for wax...
C.

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J.S.

answers from Topeka on

Goo Be Gone get's anything out. Get it at Hobby Lobby. Also takes sticker stuff off mirrors and crayon off walls.

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M.G.

answers from Kansas City on

Goo Gone is a wonderful product. I've used it to remove the gummy stuff left after washing a shirt with a sticker on it. It works great to get the goo from tags off of glass. I haven't had any problem with it staining clothes. I usually sturated the area with the Goo Gone get the stuff off and rinse the fabric and then put some dish washing soap on the area to get the Goo Gone out.

Good Luck!

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G.B.

answers from St. Louis on

Not sure about clohing - but peanut butter takes gum out of hir. G.

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A.M.

answers from Columbia on

Stick the shorts in the freezer for a few hours, then the gum should peel right off. This same principle works for gum on carpet, only you put ice cubes on it. The gum freezes quickly and isn't sticky. Watch out, though. It also thaws quickly, so you may have to do a few trips to the freezer, or use ice cubes from the get-go.

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J.V.

answers from Topeka on

Sometimes rubbing ice on it will work. You can also try "OOPS!". You can buy it at Walmart or a hardware store. It stinks and it's toxic around kids.

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K.F.

answers from Springfield on

I've heard that putting the item in the freezer until the gum hardens, and then scraping it off.

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J.L.

answers from Kansas City on

Have you tried rubbing peanut butter on the gum and then washing the shorts?

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